Hansard

Thank you, Presiding Officer.

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us”.

Those are the famous lines that open “A Tale of Two Cities” and which highlight one of the novel’s most prominent motifs and structural figures: doubles. Throughout the novel, Dickens asserts his belief in the possibility of resurrection and transformation on both personal and societal levels. It is fitting, then, that we are here to debate two places—Paisley and Dundee—that have such ambitious, transformative and inspiring plans. Before a member intervenes to highlight the fact that Paisley is not a city, I suggest that although Scotland’s largest town might not be a city, it has the ambitions of one.

The timing for the debate is opportune: Paisley’s final bid to become the 2021 UK city of culture will be submitted on Friday, and Dundee’s 2023 European capital of culture bid is due in on 27 October. Both bids could be outstanding successes for Scotland, the UK and Europe, and I am sure that the judging panels will appreciate the quality and substance of both.

A key strength of culture is that it invites us to reflect on who we are and gives us an understanding of what we can be and become as individuals, as communities, as towns, as cities and as a country. What excites me about Paisley’s and Dundee’s bids is that they are committed, bold and ambitious. Paisley and Dundee recognise the fundamental importance of culture to place, and the profound impact that it has on our quality of life. They understand, as we do, that culture is pivotal in our wellbeing, and their bids say so much about the type of town, city and country that they are and want us to be. Paisley’s and Dundee’s bids have much in common with each other, with their focus on people, communities and connections.

I will begin with Paisley, whose bid journey has been inspiring. It began two years ago, with hundreds of people gathered in picturesque Paisley abbey for the official launch. The Paisley bid has been developed through extensive community engagement: the people of Paisley have helped to put together a strong bid for Paisley and for Scotland. More than 30,000 Paisley people—or buddies—have been engaged in the process of developing the bid, which has broad-based community support. It is part of a broader heritage and culture-led regeneration strategy to transform Paisley into a vibrant cultural and creative destination.

A year-long programme of events has been outlined, with themes that are authentic to Paisley and which have been co-produced with Paisley’s communities. The themes have been inspired by the rich textile heritage of Paisley—the iconic Paisley pattern—and the character of the people. The programme is also designed to have wide appeal to a range of audiences and will be inclusive and accessible by all.

The bid has reached far and wide: from every Renfrewshire school pupil, to limited edition Paisley-branded bottles of Johnnie Walker, to the Paisley pattern being set to feature in luxury knitwear in Pringle of Scotland’s upcoming autumn and winter collection. Paisley has it all.

However, what made a lasting impression on me as being perhaps the most imaginative part of the programme that I witnessed involves iconic Paisley landmarks and famous faces being reimagined in a stunning Lego animation film by local teenager Morgan Spence, in which the 17-year-old perfectly captures Paisley buddies in action, including actors David Tennant and Gerard Butler, and singer Paolo Nutini, which led me to reflect: why do all the cool folk come from Paisley? The film encapsulates the energy, enthusiasm and fresh approach of Paisley’s bid.

Winning the competition will bring with it significant economic, social and cultural benefits, too. Renfrewshire Council has cited that the estimated economic boost over a 10-year period is in the region of 4,700 jobs and £172 million gross value added. I pay tribute to the vision and support of the previous and current leadership of Renfrewshire Council. I also thank Derek Mackay MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and the Constitution, for his firm financial backing for the bid. I pay tribute, too, to the 2021 Paisley bid team, some of whom are in the gallery today, but I also acknowledge that it is the involvement of the communities of Paisley and the embracing of culture by the entire town—all the buddies—that are what make Paisley’s bid so special. I also acknowledge the enthusiastic championing of the Paisley bid by local MSPs of all parties.

We are not here to focus solely on Paisley: this is a tale of two places. I recall standing here almost four years ago offering my full support for Dundee’s 2017 United Kingdom city of culture bid. Although Dundee narrowly missed out to Hull, it has been on an incredibly inspiring journey since then. In that time, tens of thousands of voices from across the city of discovery—from artists to festival directors, from musicians to librarians and from bakers to builders—have helped to take the city to the next level. Dundee led a successful bid to become the UK’s first United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization city of design. The city of discovery is on a pioneering journey with an illustrious network of cities of design, from Berlin to Saint-Étienne to Bilbao, all of which are outstanding contributors to areas of creativity and design.

Dundee is not standing still, however; it is building on its UNESCO status and learning from other European cities and approaches. With its rich cultural heritage and exciting future, Dundee can be a beacon of creativity to the world. It is a city that continuously seeks to create further opportunities to share and to celebrate. The V&A museum of design in Dundee, which will open next year and which has the Scottish Government as its major financial backer, is the flagship development of the city’s waterfront regeneration. Securing the V&A has increased the national and international profile of the waterfront development and of the city. V&A Dundee will attract hundreds of thousands of visitors from across Scotland and the globe, and will redefine Dundee’s offer as a place to visit, to live, to study and to work.

It is little wonder, then, that Dundonians are striving to ensure that their city becomes the next European capital of culture, following on from Glasgow’s success as UK city of culture in 1990. To get Dundee to that place, local voices have been heard in schools, community centres, art galleries, museums, universities and libraries, and on buses and on the streets. The strapline is, “Be brilliant!” and I am sure that that brilliance will shine through as the bid develops. People are excited, engaged and enthused. A recent edition of the Dundee Courier carried the faces and voices of more than 600 local people with their thoughts about Dundee and Europe. It was an extraordinary endorsement of Dundee’s support for being a European city—not just a city in Europe.

I cannot give much away before the bid is submitted, but Dundee’s European capital of culture year will be like no other. It will be packed with cultural celebrations that will ignite the heart and show the richness of the region to the rest of Europe. Local, national and international artists will be involved in a huge range of exciting events and festivals, with practitioners from Stirling to Stornoway to Seville. Gaming, digital and design are at the heart of the bid and will be key factors in helping to secure the win.

Dundee is theming the bid around the concept of connections and the exciting opportunity to strengthen Scotland’s cultural ties with Europe and to celebrate our diverse cultural heritage. The bid is for the city, but it is also for the region, so Angus, Perth and Fife are all contributing creatively to it. It is a bid for Scotland. Local members of the Scottish Parliament Shona Robison and Joe FitzPatrick, who will close the debate for the Government, are passionate advocates for Dundee and the bid.

The designation has tangible benefits. Dundee cites that it would bring 1,600 jobs and 500,000 extra visitors, and that the Tay cities area’s gross domestic product would grow by 4.5 per cent. The programme of events for the year would leave a lasting legacy. Dundee’s bid will create new partnerships and ventures and will explore new ways to reach out and inspire new audiences at home and around the world, by promoting our cultural and creative talent and showcasing our inspiring buildings, design and places to our European partners.

Although Scotland is steeped in meaning and history, it is continually on the move as a country—celebrating its past while seeking new and innovative ways to engage with the world. We are proud of our diverse heritage and traditions, but we continually seek to create opportunities to share and to celebrate. To reflect on that perspective more nationally, working in partnership with Glasgow, our national agencies and other partners in the Glasgow commonwealth games delivered a hugely successful and vibrant year for Scotland. We demonstrated the richness of our cultural life and the depth of our talent, and we celebrated the very best of Scots creativity and cultural heritage. The world was watching. The Commonwealth Games Federation highlighted that it was the best games ever, and the accompanying cultural programme was a significant factor in that success.

We are looking forward to next year’s European championships, which will highlight Scotland as a welcoming and culturally rich destination for visitors from around the world.

Such events and the cultural events that are connected to them can make a big difference to attracting people to visit Scotland. The bids from Paisley and Dundee would, if successful, result in a huge addition to what we can do in telling our cultural story and in using culture to bring people to the country. They can have a huge impact on Scotland’s visitor economy, in terms of the income that is generated, but more important is that they can enable more people to access, enjoy and participate in the wide range of benefits that they deliver to individuals, communities and the country. There are other benefits, including the confidence to be creative and imaginative, and to shape and direct the future on these shores and beyond. I am delighted about the potential that the bids offer for Paisley, Dundee, Scotland, the rest of the UK and Europe.

Culture has a vital role in promoting outward-looking, welcoming and progressive values, which are perhaps more important now than they have been in recent years. International engagement makes a crucial contribution to sustainable economic growth by bringing different perspectives, ideas and partnerships. I want a Scotland in which people are free to express their creativity—a nation that is confident in participating on the world stage, and in which we build cultural bridges with our European and international partners. Those connections, the relationships that we build on them and the value of our Scottish brand and heritage help to open doors across the world.

Paisley’s and Dundee’s bids are exciting prospects. They fit well with the Government’s ambitions. We recognise the significant contribution that the cities make to Scotland’s rich cultural life, and the local and national boosts that the bids’ successes will bring.

In “A Tale of Two Cities”, Dickens created and developed a theme of regeneration. Dundee and Paisley are two places that have innovative, inspiring and engaging plans to re-energise, reinvent and reimagine, so I am pleased to confirm the Government’s support for Paisley’s bid to be the 2021 UK city of culture and Dundee’s bid to be the 2023 European capital of culture.

I move,

That the Parliament recognises the significant contributions that the communities of Paisley and Dundee make to Scotland’s rich tapestry of cultural life and the local, national and international boosts that Paisley’s 2021 UK City of Culture and Dundee’s 2023 European Capital of Culture bids will bring; fully supports both bids, which will promote Scotland’s cultural and creative talent and showcase its inspiring building design and places to UK and European partners; notes that the Paisley bid will deliver a spectacular year-long cultural and events programme inspired by the rich textile heritage of the city and will be inclusive, accessible and appeal to a range of local, national and international audiences; recognises that the bid is part of broader heritage and culture-led regeneration plans seeking to transform Paisley into a vibrant cultural destination, growing the cultural, creative and visitor economy, and re-positioning Paisley as a place recognised for cultural excellence; further recognises that Dundee is on a pioneering journey with culture and creativity driving the continuing regeneration of the city and its waterfront, which includes a world-class design museum in the V&A; supports Dundee’s plans to build on its UNESCO City of Design status, learning from other European cities’ approaches, and supports the valuable role that the bid will have in promoting Dundee’s rich cultural heritage and exciting future.