Southampton well in the running for City of Culture award

Southampton is well on track to become the UK's City of Culture 2017, according to bookies' latest odds.  

Dailyecho.co.uk claims the south coast city's bid with Portsmouth sits joint-fourth favourite to land the title with William Hill, who is offering odds of 8/1 on a triumph for the pair.

Councillors in Southampton have already made it perfectly clear just what the title could do for the city. Local letting agents could quite easily witness a spike in demand for properties around the area following a victory, while a boost to tourism is also at stake.

Chester is currently listed as favourite to scoop the accolade, although its hefty price of 4/1 means no city has managed to distance themselves from the pack. 

Furthermore, Southampton and Portsmouth's bid looks far more optimistic than attempts from Southend-on-Sea, at 14/1, and East Kent, at 16/1. These stragglers now have less than a month to wow the judges ahead of an announcement at the end of June, which be for the four shortlisted cities.

These will then undergo further assessment before the winner is announced in November.

As reported by thisisleicestershire.co.uk, Leicester was 5/1 with Ladbrokes earlier this month, with Swansea Bay and Aberdeen also hovering around favourite spot. Dundee, Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, Hull, Plymouth and are also vying for the title.    

Posted 24-05-2013
Author: Richard Towey