Talk of the town: It's time to showcase the success of UK towns

At Visa, we believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere. This includes towns which, home to a rich diversity of independent businesses operating alongside major brands, restaurants, cafes, and retailers, are the places where the majority of us live and work.

It is time to recognise the extraordinary towns driving growth in local economies, which is why we are calling for towns across the UK to enter Let’s Celebrate Towns 2022, a nationwide showcase* of the hundreds of towns helping local businesses and communities to thrive. 

Let’s Celebrate Towns will highlight examples of how different communities are adapting to new challenges and opportunities in a rapidly changing environment and will use these to actively encourage the adoption of best practice, to help unlock prosperity and economic growth throughout the whole of the UK. 

Eight towns will be recognised across the UK; one “Champion” and one “Rising Star” will be named in each nation. The “Champion” awards will highlight towns that have demonstrated an exceptional ability to create a supportive environment that helps business and communities to thrive. The “Rising Star” award celebrates the up-and-coming towns that are on their way to transforming the local economic environment and community as a whole.

Winning “Champion” towns will take home up to £20,000 and those crowned “Rising Stars” will receive £10,000, each prize provided to help fund a local community initiative. All winners will also receive a learning and development package for local businesses.

This latest initiative to shine a spotlight on the contributions of local communities and economies across Britain follows on from our Great British High Street Awards programme and commitment to digitally enable eight million small businesses across Europe during the pandemic.

At Visa, we are proud that our network helps towns across the UK to harness the power of the digital economy. Through continued investment in innovation, Visa aims to help local businesses deliver for their customers and succeed, enabling local communities to thrive. 

*Let’s Celebrate Towns 2022 is a competition independently judged by Promoveritas and open to residents of the United Kingdom aged 18 or over, who are members of the Local Authority or Town Council relevant organisations of the Town. Entries must be received between 09.00 BST on the 13 October 2022 and 23.59 GMT on the 9 December 2022 inclusive. A maximum of one entry per town during the competition period is permitted. A Town is defined as those areas with a population between 25,000 and 150,000 based on the ONS built-up areas population distribution. For full terms and conditions, visit https://www.visa.co.uk/campaign/talk-of-the-town/