BREXIT, that ugly portmanteau, has done for Dundee’s ambitious bid to be crowned European Capital of Culture.
And not only Dundee’s bid, of course, but also those of the cities of Nottingham, Leeds, Milton Keynes and Belfast.
The decision, made by the European Commission, came as a shock. The bid’s organisers only learned of the new reality when news broke on a political website on Thursday morning.
The Commission has said that the UK is no longer eligible to vie to be a host city after if it leaves the EU in 2019.
The timing of the news is vexatious: the Dundee bid team were only days away from making their presentation to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport in London. Much work and many hours have been spent preparing for that moment. Now that work, it seems, in vain.
The Dundee bid’s response yesterday said the timing was “disrespectful.” Hilary Benn, MP for Leeds Central, said it was “shoddy”.
Unsaid by any official yesterday, is a feeling of greater injustice – Scotland did not vote for Brexit, which makes the brutal scuttling of Dundee’s bid seem all the more unfair.
But from the Commission side, the decision, they say, “makes sense”.
The UK, and Hungary, were designated as hosts of the title in 2014, two years before last year’s Referendum result.
They say the resulting withdrawal of this chance is a “concrete consequence” of the Brexit vote.
Countries eligible to host the European Capitals of Culture are: EU member states, candidates to join the EU and EFTA/EEA countries.
What can Dundee do? Although Scotland did not vote for Brexit, one suspects this argument won’t change many minds at the Commission: and it is unlikely to be granted exceptional status.
Given the febrile nature of the Brexit negotiations, perhaps, at some point, the chance to host the honour will somehow be restored as part of the bargaining process in the coming months.
Dundee has lost out on honours before. With a handsome bid, it made the short list for the UK City of Culture title for 2017. It was shortlisted with Leicester, Swansea, and the winner, Hull. At the time, it was mentioned that perhaps Dundee had much going for it already, with the Dundee Rep, the DCA, the emerging V&A Dundee on the banks of the Tay, and Duncan of Jordanstone art school. Now the city has to somehow make its cultural ambitions, represented in its bid, come to fruition in other ways.
As for the future, one suspects this will only be the start of the cultural damage wrought by the Brexit vote.
A report for the British Film Institute, by economist Oxera, said that a “hard Brexit” could lead to the loss of 14,000 film and screen jobs in the UK. There are fears of rising bureaucracy, and pricier international co-productions. There is the question over whether Scotland will be able to access Creative Europe funds (worth £1billion), and the crucial issue of visas to work in other countries. These remain moot. The Brexit impact on the cultural world has only just begun.
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