Strabane, County Tyrone, has been shortlisted for the first UK Town of Culture competition, to be awarded in 2028. The nomination comes as the town’s main arts centre, the Alley Theatre, remains closed because of a water leak, with no reopening expected until at least the end of 2026.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport competition drew almost 400 applications. Fifteen places are now shortlisted, with the winning town receiving £3 million to stage a year-long cultural programme. Two runners-up will each get £250,000. The initiative runs alongside the existing UK City of Culture programme.

Strabane, with a population of about 13,000 and located 14 miles from Londonderry, has a history of producing notable cultural figures. Singer-songwriter Paul Brady, solar astronomer Annie Maunder, and writer Brian O’Nolan – best known as Flann O’Brien – all lived there at one time.

Ciara McCay, director of the Strabane Drama Festival, said the shortlisting felt bittersweet given the theatre’s prolonged closure. Her father, Aodh McCay, helped design the venue. Comedian Emer Maguire had to move two sold-out performances because of the shut-down. She said the situation underlined a belief that problems in Strabane are sometimes resolved more slowly than in larger cities.

Maguire expressed hope that a Town of Culture win would bring lasting investment, such as school workshops, rehearsal spaces and new performance venues. She said similar programmes shaped her own career and were important in showing young people that creative work does not require leaving the town.

Martin Gallan, an uilleann pipe maker and former president of the local chamber of commerce, said the shortlisting confirms what many residents have long argued – that Strabane has significant cultural weight. He added that the theatre closure has made it harder to attract major acts.

Local businesses have welcomed the nomination. Caf and shop owners Gillian Maxwell, Raymond McGoldrick and Diane Faulkner all said they hoped the recognition would bring more visitors and investment to the town’s main street.