It was City of Culture disappointment for Wrexham on Tuesday night.

Bradford was crowned City of Culture 2025 live on the One Show from Coventry. 

The announcement from Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries was met with a damning silence at a packed out Ty Pawb as the result began to sink in. 

Wrexham Council Leader Mark Pritchard addressed the crowd stating his pride in the bid, while Chair of the Wrexham culture steering group, Joanna Swash said the bid had acted as a catalyst for Wrexham. 

READ MORE: 'We have come so far': Plenty of positives to take from City of Culture bid

Ian Bancroft, chief executive of Wrexham Council, said: “We have a much better understanding of what Wrexham culture is, and what culture means to Wrexham.

“Culture plays a part in people’s daily lives and has a capacity to change and improve our surroundings and wellbeing.

“We need to ensure that the links made during this competition as well as the learnings from it are not lost, and head towards a future where culture plays a key role in our planning and decision making for the benefit of our county.”

Lesley Griffiths MS said: “Congratulations to Bradford on being named City of Culture 2025 and commiserations to everyone who contributed so much to the Wrexham bid.

READ MORE: RECAP: Bradford is announced as the next City of Culture 2025

“Despite the setback, the #Wrecsam2025 team can be proud of everything they achieved and everyone in Wrexham thanks them for all their efforts and hard work.  The team did an outstanding job and it was heartening to see so many people unite behind the bid.

“I hope the positivity generated by the campaign can be harnessed, allowing the town to continue to thrive in the months and years ahead.”

Chair of the Wrexham Council City of Culture steering group Cllr Hugh Jones said: “As the only region on the shortlist from Wales, we flew the flag for our country as well as Wrexham.

"Achieving shortlist status has helped us raise the profile of Wrexham, but it’s also sparked momentum and given us a platform to build on for future.”