Hull has been named the next UK City of Culture and started work on a multimillion-pound programme to bring the city “out of the shadows”.
It saw off competition from rival bids by Dundee, Leicester and Swansea Bay to win the accolade which is handed out every four years.
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Maria Miller said the announcement could “produce a wonderful mix of inward investment, and civic pride” for the city.
TV producer Phil Redmond, who chaired the advisory panel that helped choose the winner, said: “Ultimately it was the unanimous verdict of the panel that Hull put forward the most compelling case based on its theme as ‘a city coming out of the shadows’.
“We were particularly impressed with Hull’s evidence of community and creative engagement, their links to the private sector and their focus on legacy, including a commitment to enhance funding beyond 2017.”
The current city of culture, Londonderry, has seen visitor numbers double over the course of this year and has had around £120million of capital investment pumped into it since the title was won in 2009.
Hull’s plan for 2017 includes an opening ceremony with 3,000 volunteers paying tribute to its heritage as a major fishing port, a light show and the planting of thousands of trees to create “sustainable gateways to the city”.
The council admits one of the aims of the bid is to “change the perceptions” of the city.
It is often derided and last month an Economist article cited Hull as one of “Britain’s Decaying Towns”.
Perhaps the city’s most famous cultural connection is the poet Philip Larkin who lived and worked in Hull as a librarian for many years.
The city’s music scene has produced names including guitarist Mick Ronson, who regularly backed David Bowie, and indie duo Everything But The Girl.