East Kent has today crashed out of a bid to be named UK City of Culture in 2017.

The area did not make the shortlist of four unveiled by the government this morning after judging by an independent panel.

Culture minister Ed Vaizey announced Dundee, Hull, Leicester and Swansea Bay will go through to the next round of the contest.

County bid leaders spoke of their disappointment today - but declared the process of bidding "a victory in itself".

The area of east Kent was competing against 10 others across the UK for the cultural title.

But Kent's bid had stretched beyond a city - to include Canterbury, Ashford, Dover, Folkestone and Thanet.

Chris Hespe, Kent County Council's head of culture and sport, spoke on behalf of the east Kent bid team.

He said: "We are all hugely disappointed not to be progressing to the next stage of the competition. We have always believed that east Kent has a powerful case to be crowned UK City of Culture, one that challenges conventions and encourages people to think again about an area they thought they knew.

"Nonetheless the very process of bidding has been a victory in itself – helping us to realise the power of culture to inspire, to excite and to bind the people of east Kent.

"That such a rich and diverse range of east Kent cultural organisations have come together to craft a bid that has captured the imagination of thousands, is testament to the spirit of partnership and collaboration that the campaign has fostered. This spirit will long outlive our disappointment."

Mr Hespe added: "It is crucial that we don't lose sight of this powerful collaboration, and the many other positive outcomes that this process has achieved. We have put east Kent on the national map as an area of great creativity, of world-class culture and of commitment to placing the arts at the centre of economic regeneration.

"Regardless of today's outcome, we remain committed to ensuring that 2017 will be a very special year for east Kent culture – and we will be spending the next few weeks deciding which elements of our proposed programme we will be taking forward – so watch this space!"

East Kent's bid for the title had received high-profile backing from county celebrities including Hollywood heartthrob Orlando Bloom, chat show host Paul O'Grady and musician Jools Holland.

A range of cultural events had been planned across east Kent in 2017 - falling under the banners of "movement", "innovation" and "collaboration".

UK City of Culture is a nationwide competition organised by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport which "aims to use creativity to transform communities and help grow artistic talent".

Winning cities host a year of cultural events designed to help attract more visitors and bring communities together.

Taking place every four years, the first city to be awarded the crown was Derry-Londonderry, who are hosts of the UK City of Culture 2013.

The east Kent bid was a joint partnership between Kent County Council and authorities in Ashford, Canterbury, Dover, Shepway and Thanet along with major arts and cultural organisations including Canterbury's Marlowe Theatre and Margate's Turner Contemporary.

The four shortlisted cities will now submit a final bid by the end of September before the winner is announced in November.

Other contenders had included Aberdeen, Chester, Hastings and Bexhill-on-Sea, Plymouth, Portsmouth and Southampton and Southend-on-Sea.