New Ipswich music festival aims to 'give back to county' Two Door Cinema Club and The Vaccines are among the acts due to play the first Halo Festival.

Incredible news to round off an amazing week for Ipswich.

Halo Festival will have some of the UK's biggest bands playing in front of 10,000 people.

Another example of our town's thriving arts and culture scene.

Thank you to the Halo team for backing Ipswich.

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

We're in.

I'm delighted Ipswich has made it through to the next stage of the City of Culture competition.

This is a testament to our thriving arts and culture scene and the efforts of so many people.

There's work ahead, but we should celebrate this moment.

#CityOfCulture2029 #TeamIpswich2029

☀️ Rise and shine, Ipswich - I've got some great news for you.

Our town has made it through to the next stage of the City of Culture competition!

There is a lot of hard work ahead of us, but we should be really proud of this achievement.

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

A huge thank you to:

- Birketts for hosting and their sponsorship
- DanceEast and Ipswich Central for all their hard work
- Our other sponsors - Ipswich Town F.C., Suffolk New College and Churchmanor Estates - for their support
- John Ferguson for his pictures

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

City of Culture bid backed by councils outside of Ipswich Babergh District Council and Mid Suffolk Council have both pledged their backing behind Ipswich's bid to become the next City of Culture.

I'm delighted that Mid Suffolk and Babergh District Councils have both backed Ipswich's City of Culture bid.

It shows this bid isn't just for people in Ipswich, but for everyone in Suffolk.

You can #BackTheBid too. Register your support: www.ipswich2029.com

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

Poster in Ipswich Town FC blue: 'Ipswich City of Culture, we're backing the bid'. The asset has been adapted with a Wolsey Writers logo (a black cat on a turquoise background), and a photo that has been sticky taped on of a Wolsey Writers workshop in progress.

Wolsey Writers in progress, a creative writing community at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. A full upstairs lounge bar filled with writers, busy writing in notebooks. This was taken November 2025.

Wolsey Writers in progress, a creative writing community at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. A full upstairs lounge bar filled with writers, busy writing in notebooks and reading printed handouts. Taken January 2026.

Wolsey Writers in progress, a creative writing community at the New Wolsey Theatre, Ipswich. A full upstairs lounge bar filled with writers, busy writing in the winter sun. Taken December 2025.

Exciting times for Ipswich! SO much creativity is here, on the page and in performance.
#WolseyWriters is in our 11th year at New Wolsey Theatre.
Meet. Write. Share.
And #BacktheBid
Ipswich 100% deserves to be #cityofculture2029

More info: www.ipswich2029.com
#teamipswich2029. #cityofculture2029 💙

This morning, I spoke to Rob Dunger on Suffolk Sound about Ipswich's City of Culture bid.

This is for the whole of Ipswich, and we need to rally support with a month to go.

Please go to www.ipswich2029.com, #BackTheBid and share it with everyone you know.

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

Opinion: Ipswich should back City of Culture bid In just one month's time, Ipswich will submit its bid to become the UK City of Culture in 2029.

With one month to go until Ipswich submits its City of Culture 2029 bid, I am urging residents, organisations and businesses to #BackTheBid.

Join #TeamIpswich2029 at ipswich2029.com

My @eadt.bsky.social / @ipswichstar.bsky.social column 👇

It is Ipswich's time.

Go to www.ipswich2029.com to register your support.

#BackTheBid #TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

📰 THE STAR BACKS IT 📰

I'm delighted the @ipswichstar.bsky.social is supporting Ipswich's City of Culture bid.

With a month to go before we submit our application, we are urging everyone to #BackTheBid!

Head to www.ipswich2029.com for more information!

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029

I'm backing Ipswich's City of Culture bid because it's a once-in-a-generation opportunity for our town.

With a month to go before we submit our application, we are launching the #BackTheBid campaign.

Go to www.ipswich2029.com to register your support!

#TeamIpswich2029 #CityOfCulture2029