Perth launches City of Culture bid
Perth's bid to become UK City of Culture in 2021 has been officially launched.
The city is the latest to bid for the title - Paisley, Coventry, Sunderland and Stoke-on-Trent have already announced their plans. Milton Keynes and Cardiff are also said to be interested in bidding. The winning city would host a number of high-profile cultural events and could see a multi-million pound boost to the local economy. A flash mob and a performance by the Red Hot Chilli Pipers were part of Friday's launch event. The first UK City of Culture was Derry-Londonderry in 2013 - an award which reportedly brought one million additional tourism visits. Hull will be the second city to receive the title, beginning in 2017. Cities are designated as the UK City of Culture for 12 months. The bidding process for 2021 begins in January, with the winner announced by the end of next year. Perth and Kinross Provost Liz Grant said, "We want to give everybody in Perth and Kinross the chance to take part in culture and creative learning, connecting our rural and urban communities through inspiring arts programmes which bring people and places together. "We have such a fantastic wealth of culture and heritage here. "I can't wait to showcase it to the world."