Assembly to discuss Highland's UK City of Culture bid

Highland Council plans to hold an event this summer to help it progress its UK City of Culture 2029 bid.

Inverness-Highland is the only Scottish entry on the long list of candidates for the award.

The winner will be announced later this year and it will receive £10m to deliver a year's worth of cultural activities drawing on its "local strengths and stories".

Highland Council has proposed holding what it calls a "cultural assembly" to bring together artists, businesses and tourism groups to discuss the bid.

Councillors will be asked to approve the plan at a meeting next week.

Blackpool, Ipswich, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Swindon and Wrexham are also in the running.

Bradford, Hull and Derry-Londonderry are previous winners.

The competition was developed by the UK government with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

It is being run by the UK government's Department for Culture, Media and Sport.

Highland Council said its bid provided an opportunity to "strengthen connections" between Inverness, the Highlands and visitors to the area.

In a report, officials added: "It offers a platform to deepen understanding of the region's cultural richness and contemporary identity, building on its established appeal and reinforcing its position as a distinctive place to visit."