City steels itself for final verdict as the great culture race reaches its last lap

Whatever the panel decides, to Sheffielders their home town is already the UK's City of Culture. Many seem to take the same attitude displayed by musician and singer Richard Hawley when he refused to lend his support to the city's bid to beat off Birmingham, Derry and Norwich for the title.

At an event at Sheffield Hallam University, called My Sheffield: A Personal View, Hawley, in conversation with a number of other famous Sheffield citizens including the Arctic Monkeys' Matt Helders, declared that the city did not need the badge.

"We just get on with doing what we do. No need for accolades, thank you very much," he told the crowd.

The rest of the city might not be quite so dogmatic, but it is the positive element of his message that Sheffield's residents appear to stick to: title or not, Sheffield is a city of culture.

Other Yorkshire cities are defined by pastimes such as shopping – Leeds is home to Harvey Nichols and has been dubbed the Knightsbridge of the North; or history – York has its Minster and Roman and Viking past. Sheffield, meanwhile, has spent recent years redefining itself as the beating heart of the county's culture.

Scratch below the surface of the city and it's easy to see why.

The Crucible, the Millennium Galleries, Richard Hawley, Arctic Monkeys, Marina Lewycka, Warp Films' Four Lions and This Is England, the City Hall, the Arena, Sheffield Contemporary Art Forum's Art Sheffield citywide exhibition... these are the major players on Sheffield's cultural map, but further down the scale there is a lot more happening.

For so long a city whose reputation was built on steel, it has been reborn to reveal a vibrant cultural scene.

Tomorrow, the Yorkshire Post takes the unusual step of dedicating its weekly arts supplement, Culture, to one city. Culture covers a multitude of art under five specific titles: Books, Film, Music, Visual Art and Stage. Even giving over the whole of one issue to a single city – the first time we have taken such a step – will not be enough to adequately encapsulate all that happens in Steel City, or to assess all the qualities that mean it has so deserved to be one of the final four to be considered as UK Capital of Culture. The other three are Birmingham, Derry and Norwich.

The race to be the first to gain this badge, which will be actively used throughout 2013, began when Liverpool ended its reign as the European Capital of Culture. Phil Redmond, Brookside creator, chair of the independent advisory panel for the UK City of Culture, and creative director of Liverpool's year in 2008, said the title had had a major impact on his home city.

The launch to find and crown the UK's cultural equivalent began in January 2009, when the previous government's Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Andy Burnham congratulated Liverpool on its achievements.

"How do we capture – on an on-going basis – the essence of Liverpool's success and unlock the power of culture for the whole country?" Mr Burnham said.

Phil Redmond had a ready answer, and submitted a proposal for a regular UK City of Culture.

Redmond said that perceptions of Liverpool, both from the inside of the city and and among those outside it, had been vastly altered by being declared the European Capital of Culture. Hopes are high that Sheffield will be the first city to win the UK title and receive similar benefits.

A team from around the city has spent the past year working on the bid.

At the heart of the plan, which would see international, national and local cultural players working and presenting in the city, are two issues. The first is the fact that Sheffield already does so much to celebrate culture.

The second key element, says Sheffield City Council leader Coun Paul Scriven, is involvement.

"Our bid is about the people of the city and putting them centre stage in developing the programme and being part of it in 2013. We have huge talent in the city and our bid is about the fact that we want to evolve as a city from watching cultural events, to participating in them. From listening to singing, downloading to uploading.

"Culturally, this city is a major player and we are able to showcase national and international events. Alongside that, we have huge talent here, and being made the City of Culture would allow our local talent to stand alongside those major cultural players."

In pulling the bid together, the Sheffield panel, which has featured most of the city's cultural big hitters working beside some of Sheffield's smaller arts organisations, has revealed much about the

city itself.

Amy Carter, head of Arts for Sheffield City Council, is an example of how culture in the city works. She began her career working in a record shop, which led to work in the music industry, which in turn led to jobs in the community arts sector and to the post of head of arts in the city and one of the key people involved in putting together Sheffield's bid.

"There are so many major cultural names that come from Sheffield, but it's actually the attitude of the people still creating their work here in the city that helps strengthen the bid," says Carter.

"Music is a good example, where there are lots of post-industrial buildings that would otherwise stand empty people have set up small independent recording studios – and some major, internationally successful music has come out of those studios. That sort of attitude is found with all the arts here."

In June, Sheffield's panel presented its bid to the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) and the independent advisory panel. The DCMS, now run by Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, will announce its decision on Thursday in Liverpool.

If Sheffield holds off the other finalists – and it is widely accepted that each of the final four is in with a very good chance for varying reasons – it will be a huge boost. While the title does not immediately mean a king's ransom being thrown at the city for cultural events, the impact, according to the panel behind the bid, will be real and measurable.

It includes an estimated two million extra visitors, 20 per cent of them expected to travel from overseas, spending about 300m in the city. And then there's the priceless sea change in the way the city is perceived.

There are as many people in the city as there are theories about why the cultural life of Steel City is so rich. Some say the empty spaces left by the loss of industry gives people the opportunity to simply make things – be it music or art. Others claim a simple, no nonsense, typically Yorkshire attitude of getting on and doing it that makes it such a self-starter.

John Palmer, director of Corporate Communications and Public Affairs at Sheffield Hallam University, says: "Sheffield is a thriving cultural centre, where students play a key role in shaping the creative heart of the city. Having undergone a programme of social and economic transformation, Sheffield can rightfully take its place as one of the country's most progressive, innovative and creative cities.

"On entering the city centre from the train station, What If?... a poem by Andrew Motion, is displayed on the side of Sheffield Hallam's Owen Building – a dramatic marker welcoming people to the city.

"In the outer reaches there is work by Jarvis Cocker, who received a Sheffield Hallam honorary doctorate last year. The two universities contribute hugely to the cultural heart of the city and some of our students will go on to be the next cultural ambassadors for Sheffield."

At the end of one of the documents submitted for the bid is an unattributed quote. It doesn't matter who said it, but it sums up the sentiment of all involved in this ambitious bid for Steel City to become the UK's first ever City of Culture.

"The bid is ambitious and confident, but typically Sheffield – it's hard working, realistic and there's no froth."