Three members of the senior team which delivered Coventry's year as UK City of Culture have been recognised in the Queen's Birthday Honours list.
Martin Sutherland, chief executive of Coventry City of Culture Trust, has been awarded an OBE while creative director Chenine Bhathena and director of audience strategy Laura McMillan have received MBEs.
The launch of activities to mark the year had to be delayed because of the covid-19 pandemic but they eventually started last May and brought a broad range of arts and cultural events to Coventry, culminating in Radio 1's Big Weekend concert a few days ago.
The programme included an immersive digital art gallery, a collaboration on digital stories between young people from Coventry and Nairobi and 'theatre next door' which brought live performances to community centres across the city. The calendar has also delivered skills, training, volunteering and sector development activities.
Early estimates published this week have suggested City of Culture welcomed live and online audiences of just over one million to more than 700 events.
Almost 390,000 tickets were issued for live events with a further estimated audience of 137,000 attending unticketed live events, with Coventry securing more than £172 million of direct investment to support the programme.
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Mr Sutherland's award recognises his services to culture and economic and social regeneration in Coventry. He joined the trust in 2018 from his role as chief executive of Royal & Derngate theatres in Northampton.
He is also chairman of the West Midlands Combined Authority's cultural leadership board which he established following an invitation to do so from Mayor Andy Street.
He will remain in his role until March to oversee the transition of the trust and to ensure the success of the cultural legacy.
Ms Bhathena receives the MBE in recognition of her services to culture and to the community in Coventry.
She joined the Trust in 2018 from her role as senior culture manager for the Greater London Authority where she conceived, designed and delivered the Mayor of London's first London Borough of Culture competition and as London 2012 creative programmer delivered an outdoor festival.
Ms Bhathena has spearheaded the City of Culture creative programme, initiating the creative vision for The Reel Store digital gallery and with additional responsibility for developing significant broadcast opportunities with partners such as the BBC and Sky.
She leaves the trust this month but will continue to support it to develop broadcast partnerships and with the evaluation and storytelling of the year.
Ms McMillan also receives her MBE in recognition of her services to culture and the community in Coventry.
She was the trust's first employee in 2015 when she joined as bid co-ordinator, going on to be part of the team that secured the award in 2017.
Before joining the trust, she worked for both the Royal Shakespeare Company and Warwick Castle in sales and marketing roles.
She is also on the board for Coventry's Destination Management Organisation and the Regional Board for Tourism and will continue to work with the trust until October before embarking on a freelance career.
Mr Sutherland said the honours reflected the success of the 12 months but also the lasting impact UK City of Culture had made on the city and the region.
"From day one, it was our aim to deliver a UK City of Culture year that was created with and included all communities in the city and brought lasting social and economic benefit to Coventry and its citizens," he said.
"It meant delivering a very different UK City of Culture than those that had gone before and that was obviously made more challenging with covid.
"It is therefore a great tribute to everyone involved in the year that we were able to deliver on so many of our promises to the city. I am grateful that our work has been recognised in this way."
