Milton Keynes has often been dismissed as somewhere not worth pulling off the M1 for, frequently by people who have no plans on visiting in the first place. But recently, that tide has turned. The BBC spoke to four people who have been part of the city's evolution and believe it has a chance of being crowned the UK City of Culture for 2029.
In 2025, the city was named one of the best places to live and work in the UK. It is now in with a real chance of winning the £10m prize having been shortlisted as one of four places for the City of Culture contest. The shorthand used to describe Milton Keynes often refers to concrete cows and its many roundabouts.
However, for Irish-born Nigerian creative Maureen Onwunali, who grew up and lives here, the city has so much more to offer. While researching for her poem as part of the city's original bid, she said she found it "surprisingly so fascinating". "I devoured all of these facts so now at any party, I have at least five Milton Keynes facts." City of concrete cows still loved, say residents In "An ode to Milton Keynes", Onwunali refers to "the colossus, the world's first programmable computer" and "self-driving cars on Roman roads".
She told the BBC: "It's so funny because I tell people about Milton Keynes and culture and they look at me as if I'm being sarcastic, because Milton Keynes has this stereotype of being soulless. "But there's so many artists who've come out of Milton Keynes. "A lot do go off to bigger cities like London or Manchester but I think it's just a matter of harnessing their talents and having opportunities to platform them." Cultural events already held in the city include Reggae Land at the National Bowl and the Milton Keynes International Festival.
This is alongside annual functions held at Campbell Park such as Art in the Park, the Zimbabwe Heritage Festival, MK Pride and Oktoberfest. On the day the shortlist was announced, a four-month exhibition celebrating the life of British artist Laurence Stephen Lowry opened at the MK Gallery. Director Anthony Spira said it was "great" that the city's place on the shortlist had surprised people.
"People who live here absolutely love it. But externally, people are saying, 'Milton Keynes, is there culture there?' Well, yes, there is, there's a lot and there's going to be a lot more." Spira is confident the city, which was born only 59 years ago, can win: "We've got a very different story." Alongside its gallery, the city is proud of its theatre and live music venue - The Stables - which was developed by world-renowned jazz musicians Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Laine. The city is also home to smaller creative groups.
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