The meeting that kicked off Sandown’s bid, February 2026 — photo Tracy Mikich
Early in 2026, Sandown’s community got together to talk about a bid to be selected as the first UK Town of Culture in 2028. Our seaside town’s rundown reputation is no secret, but people wanted to focus on all the good things happening here.
Sandown’s bid was soon taking shape, with enthusiastic ideas for a big festival celebrating the best of the town…our heritage, our carnival tradition, our amazing natural setting and our potential to make a mark in both arts and science. Thrilled that our ideas have already impressed the UK Town of Culture judges, we’re now putting together Sandown’s final bid as we go up against 14 other UK towns for the £3 million that goes to the eventual winner.
Launching in the first half of 2028, our plans are designed to bring life to Sandown’s sense of place and future-proof the town’s economy. They include hands-on science and performance, all rooted in community involvement, culminating in the Tide Turner Festival to explore Sandown’s past, present and future.
And we’re in talks with world renowned sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor about a landmark feature on our shore, building on Sandown’s groundbreaking work to create artificial marine habitats.
This is the story we submitted to the UK Town of Culture 2028 competition.
Sandown is a town crafted by the sea. Tides constantly shape the dramatic Cretaceous cliffs and sandy beaches of our spectacular Bay. Ebb and flow are part of our human history too. Our identity was forged by the restorative air that lured the Victorian elite and the seaside fun that drew in the Bucket and Spaders. These contrasting eras of Pierrots, promenades, pink candy floss and arcades made our hearts and coffers sing. When they vanished, and the tourism tide ebbed, Sandown did not disappear; we simply turned inward. Sandownians developed resilience in bright bucketfuls. Our character and culture evolved as we unified as volunteers, carnivalers, cold-water swimmers, Regatta hat paraders, Hullabalooers, Canoe-lake-carp-savers and Sandown Clowners.
Amalgamating the words shabby and wonderful in the style of Lewis Carroll, a famous visitor to our town, Sandown is a shunderful paradox as you’re never more than 500 metres from crumbling dereliction and the natural beauty of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. But rather than being defined by decay, we plan to turn the tide.
In 2028, we will prove we are the Tide Turners, revivifying Sandown’s sense of place and future-proofing its economy. Our programme, comprising placemaking projects, fieldwork residencies, hands-on science, and performance, is rooted in passionate community involvement. Launching early in the year, it will culminate in the Tide Turner Festival, featuring four thematic zones that explore origin, ecology, wellbeing, and imagination.
Unearthing roots, from the footprints of dinosaurs via Darwin's momentous writings, On the Origin of Species, penned initially in Sandown, to the manufacture of habitat-creating vertipools; our town has always been a place of discovery.
Using science and art to explore nature and imagination, showcasing innovative artist and academic partnerships in work responding to our place.
Recognising our deep carnival heritage, where everyone's a participant, we'll celebrate the diverse voices that gain expression through community arts.
Engineering recovery through creativity, an innovative partnership with marine sculptor Jason deCaires Taylor will create a lasting body of work.
We will build the Tide Turner: a new engine of change reconnecting culture, environment, health, and education. We celebrate Sandown’s power of assembly, where land, sea, people, and nature meet. We are defining the UK’s first culture-led coastal regeneration model rooted in biosphere science. As Darwin wrote:
