- Creative submission showcases Harrogate’s water, wellbeing and welcome as part of the town’s UK Town of Culture 2028 bid.
Harrogate Town Council has unveiled a specially commissioned postcard celebrating the town’s unique character as part of its bid to become UK Town of Culture 2028. Produced in response to a Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) invitation issued with just four days’ notice, the postcard combines original artwork with a genuine visitor’s reflections on Harrogate.
The postcard will feature on the official UK Town of Culture interactive digital map, be celebrated across DCMS social media channels on Thursday 2nd July and become part of the permanent collection at National Museums Liverpool.
Harrogate Town Council has revealed a vibrant new postcard celebrating everything that makes the town a special place to live, work and visit as part of its campaign to become UK Town of Culture 2028.
Created in response to an invitation from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the postcard captures Harrogate’s distinctive identity through an original illustration celebrating the town’s people, heritage, green spaces and cultural life. The accompanying message – “Water. Wellbeing. Welcome.” – reflects Harrogate’s spa heritage, its reputation for hospitality and its ambition to create a cultural future that belongs to everyone.
The invitation to produce a postcard was received with just four days’ notice, presenting bidding towns with a challenging deadline to create a piece that reflected their identity and cultural ambitions. Working quickly with designers, Harrogate Town Council developed an original concept that celebrates the town’s unique character while demonstrating the collaborative approach that sits at the heart of its UK Town of Culture 2028 bid.
Mayor of Harrogate, Councillor Viv Poskitt, said:
When we received the invitation to create a postcard, we had just four days to develop something that genuinely reflected Harrogate. I’m incredibly proud of what was achieved in such a short space of time.
The words on the back of our postcard weren’t written for a competition – they came naturally from someone experiencing Harrogate for themselves. She’s my son’s aunty who comes to visit regularly and I simply asked her what she would write about a visit to Harrogate. Her heartfelt comments perfectly capture the warmth, beauty and welcome that so many people experience here. We wanted our postcard to tell Harrogate’s story through genuine eyes, and I believe the finished design reflects the creativity, inclusivity, pride and collaborative spirit that make Harrogate such a special place.
Adding a personal touch, the reverse of the postcard features a handwritten message based on the genuine reflections of a visitor from the United States who stayed with the Mayor of Harrogate during May 2026. Rather than creating a fictional message, the Council chose to feature an authentic account describing Harrogate’s beautiful architecture, green spaces, welcoming atmosphere, independent businesses and friendly community.
The postcard forms part of a national initiative inviting every town bidding for UK Town of Culture 2028 to celebrate what makes their place unique. Although the postcard is not part of the competition assessment, it provides an opportunity to showcase the creativity and pride of towns across the country. All submitted postcards will appear on an interactive digital map, be promoted across DCMS social media channels on Thursday 2 July and be accessioned into the National Museums Liverpool collection as a lasting record of this important moment in the UK’s cultural story.
Harrogate Town Council hopes residents, businesses and community organisations will join the nationwide celebration by sharing the postcard on social media and helping to showcase Harrogate’s bid to audiences across the country.
- The UK Town of Culture digital postcard showcase will launch on Thursday 2nd July 2026.
- Residents, businesses and community organisations are encouraged to share Harrogate’s postcard across their own social media channels using #UKTownofCulture to help celebrate the town’s bid.
