The designation means that Hull gains access to funding to improve its infrastructure and arts facilities, and will host a series of events celebrating local culture.

[12] There was also a bid from East Kent (Canterbury, Ashford, Folkestone, Dover and Thanet),[13] and another from Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, supported by celebrity Graham Norton.

[18] On 1 January 2017, the Hull event opened with a fireworks display over the Humber Estuary and a series of sound and light installations which reportedly attracted more than 25,000 visitors.

[21] The event included multimedia sound and light projections onto landmark buildings in the city's Victoria Square[22] as well as a display of Hullywood Icons featuring local people recreating famous scenes from film.

The events constituting all the seasons of City of Culture were staffed by volunteers working alongside paid staff.

Volunteers wore a uniform designed and provided by local company Arco, consisting of black trousers or shorts, blue polo shirt, jacket, baseball cap and purple backpack.