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Debbi Lander, bid director of Lancashire 2025, and Tony Attard, chairman of the board of Lancashire 2025, have led the charge since the vision was launched in November 2019 and have

now appointed a team of experts to create cultural programmes and community engagement.

The new team includes Ben Blackman, operations director, Sarah Rowland, project producer, Andrew Chetty, technology and strategy consultant, and Loz Kaye, citizen engagement

Tony Attard and Debbi Lander - at the launch of Lancashire 2025, Lancashire’s bid to become City of Culture in 2025

manager.

Graham Baldwin, vice chancellor of University of Central Lancashire (UCLan), has also been appointed to the Board of Lancashire 2025.

It is the first time a county-scale cultural programme will compete for the title and the first time a submission will envisage a county as one ‘virtual city’.

Tony Attard, chairman of the Board of Lancashire 2025, said: “Over the last year we have made good progress in terms of developing the extraordinary ‘virtual city’ vision for Lancashire

University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) Vice Chancellor Professor Graham Baldwin

2025, and beginning the vital stakeholder and community engagement that will be crucial to Lancashire’s success.

“We’re now delighted to welcome this exceptional group of creative individuals, who will help Debbi as bid director.

“Together they have many years of experience, as well as the broad range of skills and networks now needed to take our Lancashire 2025 bid to the next level.”

Lancashire 2025 commissioned FutureGov, a national change agency passionate about improving the lives of citizens, and Manifesto, an award-winning agency of creatives, strategists

and technologists, to work on a project to engage with Lancashire’s 1.5 million citizens which is due to launch this spring.

Professor Graham Baldwin, representing Lancashire 2025 strategic partner UCLan, said: “The University of Central Lancashire is proud to be a strategic partner of Lancashire 2025 and

I’m delighted to be joining the board and to be involved in such a bold cultural and creative vision for this great county.

“I’m confident that Lancashire 2025 can develop an outstanding and ground-breaking submission to become City of Culture for 2025.”

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Meet the team of experts ready to take Lancashire’s City of Culture 2025 bid to the next level