No culture? But what about our museums, opera and live events?
A CLAIM that Portsmouth is the second least cultural city in the UK has been dismissed as ludicrous.
The Times newspaper is preparing to publish the results of its survey of cultural assets of the nation's towns and cities.
Oxford finishes top, Birmingham bottom, while Portsmouth is rated as the second worst town or city surveyed.
Portsmouth City Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: 'It's ludicrous.
'Portsmouth has a rich and thriving cultural tradition. We have the New Theatre Royal, which attracts big names, the Kings Theatre, the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra plays here 12 times per year, and the Groundlings Theatre has an incredible programme.
'Our amateur dramatics tradition is one of the strongest in the country, we have excellent music venues, including the Wedgewood Rooms and Eastney Cellars which attract massive names. That may not be what The Times regards as culture, but that doesn't mean it isn't.
'We have the Opera in the Park each year and we show operas on the big screen, and are hoping to get the Glyndebourne Touring Opera to perform here regularly.
'We have 12 excellent museums, the RSC performs here every year and right across the city thousands of people are involved in the cultural scene. Maybe we don't make enough noise about what's happening, but I can't see what The Times is thinking of when it says this.'
Portsmouth North's MP Penny Mordaunt was approached by The Times to comment on the survey.
She said: 'They looked at things like the number of independent bookshops, cinemas, art galleries and museums. I don't think it's accurate. People across the city love arts and culture, as can be seen by the response when our dinosaur burned down.
'It's not an accurate picture of our city.'
Steve Pitt, chairman of Portsmouth's Culture Matters, said: 'Hay-on-Wye has the largest number of independent bookshops in the country but it doesn't have anything else.
'There's a wide range of cultural activity in this city. It's interesting Oxford is top when it's the city with probably the highest percentage of Times readers in the country.'
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Friday 25 May 2012
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