Norwich was one of 22 places in the UK to submit outline proposals to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.
Norwich City Council has been working with other cultural groups in the city and the bid has the backing of Stephen Fry, who said “Norwich is a city with a long history and a distinguished one at that. But it is not a chocolate box town, rather a thriving, living city, and a contemporary place which has consistently moved ahead in its own distinctive, radical and independent way."
A shortlist will be drawn up this month and the winner announced in the summer.
Chris Gribble of the Writers Centre Norwich said “Culture and the arts drive job creation, personal satisfaction and community well being - culture just makes life better in every way. As supporters of the bid for Norwich to become a UNESCO City of Literature next year, Writers’ Centre Norwich is delighted to be able to support the City of Culture bid.”
A bit of a contrast with Norwich's recent shortlisting to twin with Disney World, which came about after a Norwich resident wrote a fantastic description about Norwich and entered the Disney World prize draw.
Anything which helps to promote Norwich to the wider world, bringing more tourism and money into the local economy can't be bad.
Norwich is a bit of a laughing stock to the rest of the country but once people get here they love it so much, they rarely leave - shall we keep it as our hidden gem or shall we let everyone know about Norwich?
