Rotherham Children’s Capital of Culture gets £275k boost

Rotherham Council’s cabinet has agreed to allocate a further £275,000 of funding for Rotherham as Children’s Capital of Culture in 2025.

The money will complement £1.84m in funding awarded by the government’s Community Renewal Fund in 2021 to help establish a “Creative and Cultural Skills Embassy” linked to the event and additional funding from Arts Council England.

The Yorkshire town is planning to brand itself as the world’s first Children’s Capital of Culture as part of a cultural strategy highlighting Rotherham as “a place people want to visit, where everyone can enjoy Rotherham through the eyes, ears and actions of children and young people”.

The money will be used to finance the next stage of the project over the coming year, with the Children’s Capital of Culture team will partner with three cultural providers and work with local young people to “deliver a programme of creative and cultural events, festivals, experiences and opportunities across Rotherham”, according to a cabinet paper.

“The ultimate goal of Children’s Capital of Culture is to support more children and young people across the borough to create a bolder, more ambitious and creative future for themselves, increasing overall pride and aspiration in our borough and nurturing a skilled young workforce that can make a real difference to Rotherham’s future,” said Children’s Capital of Culture Programme Manager Sarah Christie.