In a room packed with every recognisable face from business, education, arts and community organisations, Ashton delivered a speech worthy of its stage at the New Wolsey Theatre on Friday, 28 November, declaring the club's complete commitment to winning UK City of Culture 2029.
"I believe that there are amazing things happening in this town," Ashton told the crowd on Friday morning. "We've got to talk this town up."
His message was unequivocal: if Ipswich enters this competition, it enters to win.
More than just a football club
For Ashton, the football club isn't separate from the town's culture – it's fundamental to it.
"We believe if we have a successful football club, the economic impact of Premier League football will affect every bit of the community in our town, whether that's the local cafe, whether that's the local authority, whether that's institutional stakeholders," he explained.
The chairman pledged the full weight of the club behind the campaign. "You'll have the full support of the football club, the full support of me, the full support of my manager, the full support of my board, the full support of my players, and the full support of 30,000 people in that stadium every week."
It's a promise that goes beyond financial backing – though Ipswich Town FC has joined Birketts and Church Manor Estates as the bid's founding sponsors. Ashton wants those 30,000 fans mobilised to champion the town.
"This is not sleepy Suffolk," Ashton declared. "We are going to celebrate all the amazing things that are happening in this town, and we intend to help you, us, win this and celebrate this amazing town."
No room for doubt
But Ashton's most striking demand was directed at everyone in the room.
"Those who know me, will know this. If we're in it, we're in to win it. Let's be really clear," he declared. "What we can't have today is any of you in here going, 'Yeah, yeah, yeah,' then walk out the door, 'Nah, this is not going to happen.' No."
He asked the audience to do something that might seem simple, but often proves difficult for many residents: feel proud about the town. No corridor conversations except positive ones. No slagging the town off on Facebook feeds or forum threads. "Let's talk about how we're going to do this."
A town united
The event brought together an unprecedented coalition of support for the bid. Representatives from business, education, arts organisations and community groups packed the New Wolsey Theatre, reflecting the breadth of stakeholders invested in Ipswich's success.
Doug Rintoul, chief executive and artistic director of the New Wolsey Theatre, welcomed the crowd. Lee Walker, chief executive of Ipswich Central, threw his full support behind the bid, and Bryony Hope, head of communications at DanceEast, talked delegates through some of the details as she takes responsibility for writing the bid.
Alongside Ipswich Town FC's backing, Birketts – a top 50 UK law firm with over 700 people and a 160-year heritage in the town – has committed as a sponsor.
Commercial property developer and investor Churchmanor Estates, responsible for Providence House on Princes Street, where Birketts are based, has also joined as a founding sponsor.
Helen Pluck, chief executive of Ipswich Borough Council, explained the strategy behind securing these partnerships.
"No matter how much talent we have in this room, none of us won the Olympics for the UK. None of us have won a City of Culture bid for a town or city before," she said. "So one of the very first things that we did was look to see who might be available to support us to do this, who might have that expertise."
She stressed that expertise costs money, and that money will initially be provided by ITFC, Birketts and Churchmanor Estates, with others in the pipeline.
The stakes and the process
Ipswich faces a competitive field. The town must first reach a shortlist of eight from what could be dozens of applications across the UK. However, leaders believe Ipswich will be the only bid from the East of England, with Norwich not expected to compete.
The competition follows a structured timeline. Expressions of Interest opened on 30 October 2025, with an information event for bidders held on 1 December 2025. The deadline for submissions is 11 January 2026. That's the first hurdle.
The longlist will be announced in February 2026, with each receiving £60,000 to help develop their full applications. That's when the real works start.
The full application window opens in February 2026, with a deadline in May or June 2026.
The shortlist will be announced in summer 2026, followed by panel visits to shortlisted places in September 2026. The winner will be announced in winter 2026, with the UK City of Culture 2029 programme delivered throughout 2029.
For the first time, there will be a confirmed £10 million cash prize for the UK City of Culture winner to help deliver the year-long programme of cultural events and activities. The three most impressive bids from places that reach the shortlist but are not selected as the winner will receive £125,000 each.
Ipswich doesn't need to be a city to compete – the title is open to large towns, regions and groupings of places across the UK.
Fighting for the town
Jack Abbott MP, who has been leading the charge for the bid over the summer, outside of the public eye, framed the competition in stark terms.
"If we don't fight for our town and all the good stuff in it, no one will."
He pointed to the transformative impact on previous winners. Liverpool and Hull saw real regeneration and lasting change. Bradford, the current UK City of Culture, has already seen over 11,000 pupils benefit from education programmes and over 40,000 local people participate in cultural events within the first six months.
"This is not a vanity project," Abbott said. "There are huge economic benefits. We turn around the town centre by driving investment and footfall. This is a catalyst for change long into the future."
One town, one vision
For Ashton, the path forward requires unity above all else.
"One of the things that we've talked about at the football club: the club, the town is so special, you can't move forward unless you move forward as one," he told the audience.
"My message to you is, please when you leave here, no corridor conversations other than positive corridor conversations."
He acknowledged his passion might seem intense, but insisted it comes from a genuine belief in the people working on the bid. "You're fortunate to have Jack. You're fortunate to have Helen [Pluck] and her team. You're fortunate to have Ipswich Central. Because they care."
As the crowd filed out of the New Wolsey Theatre on Friday morning, Ashton left them with one final rallying cry: "Remember, we have to do this as one."
The bottom line
Mark Ashton captured what makes Ipswich's City of Culture bid different from its better-resourced rivals – it's driven by genuine pride and authentic community spirit, not celebrity glamour or vanity, as could be argued for Wrexham, the favourites to win the bid.
The town has assembled serious firepower for the competition ahead. Now comes the hardest part: making it happen, and getting this town – everyone in this town – behind it.
More to follow.
