AN MP has dismissed bookies who have written off Southend’s chances of being crowned City of Culture 2021 – because the town is already the “Alternative” City of Culture for 2017.

Betting firm Ladbrokes has given Southend only a 20-1 chance of gaining the prestigious title in 2021, the outsider of the ten locations expected to submit bids.

Sir David Amess, Tory MP for Southend West, is busy setting up Southend as the “Alternative” City of Culture in 2017 after it missed out on the official title to Hull.

He scoffed at the bookmaker’s odds and suggested the 2021 contest would be irrelevant after Southend’s triumphant showcase four years earlier.

He said: “What wonderful news – the bookies giving long odds of Southend becoming the City of Culture 2021.

“If I were a betting man, I would jump at those odds. You only have to look at Hull to see how wrong the bookies were about their chances.

“None of this much matters, since Southend is the Alternative City of Culture 2017 and all of that is happening at no cost to council taxpayers.

“It seemed an absolute tragedy to have spent so much money on the bid for it all to be wasted – well that isn’t going to be the case.

“In the summer of 2017, there will be a celebration of everything that Southend has to offer in the way of culture.”

Arrangements for a series of cultural events championing Southend’s heritage and culture in 2017 are gathering pace.

Former Southend mayor Sally Carr and Paul Karslake, a worldrenowned artist from Leigh, have been drafted in to head the organisation.

A website listing events will be launched soon and Maldon MP John Whittingdale, who is the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, will attend the next build-up event at the Arlington Rooms, Leigh, in October.

Sir David said: “Southend is awash with culture in terms of a whole range of the arts – singing, dancing, painting, acting, drawing and designing, the list is endless.”