Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, whether the UK will be able to participate in the European capital of culture under the terms of the proposed EU withdrawal agreement.

DCMS officials were in regular contact with the European Commission throughout 2016 and 2017 about the European Capital of Culture competition, and were notified of the European Commission's decision to discontinue the UK’s eligibility in the competition for the next round (2020-2033).

The UK is seeking an ambitious agreement on cultural cooperation with the EU as part of our future partnership as set out in the Political Declaration. The UK is continuing to explore participation in the successor to Creative Europe, which includes the European Capital of Culture Competition. Ultimately, UK participation in EU programmes and competitions is a matter for the next phase of negotiations with the EU, and details of our participation would be agreed as part of those discussions.