Swindon may have missed out on the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2029, but the suggestion that the town has nothing to offer couldn’t be further from the truth. Perhaps it’s time residents stopped putting Swindon down and started supporting what’s already on their doorstep.
Swindon has missed out on the shortlist for UK City of Culture 2029, and, predictably, the announcement has brought out a familiar response across social media.
“Swindon has no culture anyway.”
“Who thought we’d ever win?”
“There’s nothing to do in Swindon.”
It’s the sort of reaction that has become almost automatic whenever the town receives disappointing news. And while everyone is entitled to an opinion, perhaps it’s time to challenge the idea that Swindon has nothing worth celebrating.
Because the reality is rather different.
A Town With More Culture Than It Gets Credit For
For a town supposedly lacking in culture, Swindon has a remarkable amount going on.
There’s the annual Swindon Arts Fringe Festival (SWAF), bringing together performers, artists and creatives for two weeks of entertainment and expression.
There’s Swindon Paint Fest, which has helped transform ordinary walls into impressive works of street art.
And then there’s Swindon’s independent music scene, which deserves far more recognition than it receives.
The Swindon Shuffle has just celebrated its 20th year, an incredible milestone for a festival that has spent two decades championing original music, giving emerging artists a platform and bringing live performances to venues across the town.
Twenty years. That’s two decades of local musicians, independent venues, organisers and audiences coming together to celebrate original music.
Not bad for a town that supposedly has no culture.
Then there’s My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival, another fantastic example of Swindon’s passion for live music, bringing original artists and bands together while raising money for charity.
These aren’t simply events where people turn up to hear familiar cover versions. They’re festivals celebrating creativity, original songwriting and musicians who are producing something of their own.
Alongside these festivals, venues including The Victoria, The Pulpit and The Castle regularly provide a stage for local musicians and touring artists.
Swindon also boasts independent cafés, restaurants, craft breweries and an increasingly diverse food scene that reflects the people who call the town home.
Then there’s Wilkes Academy, helping develop the next generation of performers, and a wealth of amateur theatre companies that consistently deliver productions worthy of much larger stages.
Groups such as SALOS Musical Theatre Company continue to bring ambitious productions to the Wyvern Theatre, while other local performers, artists and organisations work tirelessly to keep Swindon’s creative scene alive.
Productions such as Carrie and Kinky Boots demonstrate the talent and ambition of Swindon’s local theatre companies, while art exhibitions, workshops, comedy nights and live performances provide plenty of opportunities to experience something different.
And that’s before considering the Swindon Culture Collective, which brings together people and organisations determined to strengthen the town’s cultural future.
Its recent autumn conference brought together more than 100 local creatives, all sharing ideas, making connections and looking at ways to develop Swindon’s cultural offering.
These aren’t imaginary attractions dreamt up for a funding application. They’re real people, real organisations and real events happening right here in Swindon.
And this is only scratching the surface.
Missing Out Doesn’t Mean Swindon Failed
It’s worth remembering that Swindon made the longlist for UK City of Culture 2029.
That achievement alone deserves recognition.
The purpose of the bid wasn’t simply to collect a shiny title and put up a few banners around town. It was an opportunity to showcase what Swindon already has, identify where improvements are needed and make a compelling case for further investment.
And let’s be clear: Swindon absolutely needs more investment in its cultural offering.
The town has lost venues, parts of the town centre need serious attention, and too many creative organisations are expected to achieve extraordinary things with limited resources.
There are genuine challenges that shouldn’t be ignored or brushed aside.
But there’s a considerable difference between acknowledging that Swindon’s cultural scene needs investment and declaring that it doesn’t exist.
In fact, the need for greater investment was one of the strongest arguments for entering the competition in the first place.
The disappointment of missing out shouldn’t overshadow the work that went into the bid, the connections made along the way or the opportunity to build on that momentum.
Perhaps the Biggest Problem Is Swindon’s Attitude Towards Itself
There’s something rather frustrating about the way Swindon talks about Swindon.
It’s almost become fashionable to put the town down.
A new restaurant opens, and someone predicts it will close within six months.
An event is announced, and the comments immediately turn to complaints about parking, prices or why it isn’t happening somewhere else.
An organisation tries something ambitious, and there will inevitably be someone waiting to explain why it won’t work.
And when Swindon misses out on something like City of Culture, the response from some quarters isn’t disappointment or encouragement to try again.
It’s satisfaction at having been proved right.
But what exactly does that achieve?
Nobody is suggesting that people should ignore the town’s problems. Swindon has plenty of them, and those responsible for improving the town should absolutely be held to account.
However, constantly telling everyone that Swindon is rubbish does very little to make it better.
Worse still, it risks undermining the independent businesses, artists, performers, volunteers and community groups who are actually doing something positive.
It’s difficult to imagine how a town can build confidence, attract investment and encourage creativity when some of its own residents seem determined to convince everyone that it has nothing to offer.
Culture Doesn’t Survive on Complaints
Here’s the uncomfortable truth.
A thriving cultural scene needs more than talented people willing to put on events.
It needs an audience.
Live music venues need people buying tickets and supporting the bar. Theatre companies need people filling seats. Independent galleries need visitors. Festivals need volunteers, sponsors and people willing to turn up.
And local businesses need customers prepared to support them.
It’s easy to complain that there’s nothing happening in Swindon while spending another Saturday evening at home scrolling through social media.
It’s rather harder to justify that complaint when there are gigs, exhibitions, theatre productions, comedy nights, workshops and community events taking place across the town.
Of course, not every event will appeal to everyone. Nor should it.
But the suggestion that there is nothing to do simply doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.
Just look at the Swindon Shuffle.
An independent festival celebrating 20 years of original music doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because people care enough to organise it, musicians care enough to perform and audiences care enough to support it.
The same can be said for My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival and the countless other events that make up Swindon’s cultural calendar.
These events don’t survive on complaints about what’s missing.
They survive because people get involved.
So Here’s a Challenge to Swindon
Rather than spending another evening complaining about what Swindon doesn’t have, why not discover what it does?
Book tickets for a production at the Wyvern Theatre or Swindon Arts Centre.
Go and watch a local band at The Victoria, The Pulpit or The Castle.
Support the next Swindon Shuffle or My Dad’s Bigger Than Your Dad Festival.
Visit an art exhibition, support an independent café, explore a local festival or try an event that wouldn’t normally be on the calendar.
Take a look at What’s On Swindon or Old Town Swindon Events to discover what’s happening.
And perhaps most importantly, when someone puts time, money and effort into creating something positive for the town, give it a chance.
Supporting local culture doesn’t have to mean spending a fortune. Sometimes it’s as simple as turning up, sharing an event with friends or telling someone about a brilliant evening out.
And if something is missing from Swindon’s cultural scene, perhaps the answer is to help make it happen rather than simply complain that it doesn’t exist.
The City of Culture Bid May Be Over, but the Opportunity Isn’t
Swindon won’t be UK City of Culture 2029, and that’s disappointing for everyone who put their energy into the bid.
But the town’s cultural future was never going to be determined by one competition.
The people who make Swindon’s cultural scene what it is today will still be here tomorrow.
The musicians will keep performing. The theatre companies will keep rehearsing. The artists will keep creating. The organisers will keep putting on events, often with little recognition and even less financial reward.
The Swindon Shuffle will have another opportunity to showcase original music. Local theatre companies will stage their next productions. Independent venues will continue giving artists somewhere to perform.
What happens next depends on whether the wider town chooses to get behind them.
Swindon doesn’t need everyone to pretend it’s perfect.
It needs people to recognise what’s good, demand improvements where they’re needed and support those who are working to make it better.
Because a town’s culture isn’t defined solely by its buildings, its funding or whether it wins a national competition.
It’s defined by its people, their creativity and the communities they build.
Perhaps the biggest threat to Swindon’s culture isn’t a lack of things to do.
It’s the number of people who have already decided there’s nothing worth doing.
And that’s something Swindon can change without winning a single competition.
