These are 12 years that changed Dundee’s culture forever

The V&A Dundee arrived in 2018. (Picture: Steven Neish)

Dundee is one of the world’s most cultural cities – not only because of what it creates, but because of how often it reinvents itself.

From marmalade to music, jute to games, theatre to design, the city has continually found new ways to put itself on the map.

Certain years stand out as cultural turning points – moments when Dundee’s story took a new direction and its reputation grew far beyond the Tay.

Here are twelve years that changed Dundee’s culture forever.

1797 – Janet Keiller and Dundee marmalade

At the end of the 18th century, a bitter shipment of Seville oranges sparked a sweet revolution. Janet Keiller, using her skill and ingenuity, experimented with the fruit to create what became known as Dundee Marmalade. Her method, adding the peel and refining the preserve, was unique – and it turned her family’s small business into a world-famous brand.

By the 19th century, Keiller’s Marmalade was exported across the globe. It gave Dundee a household name long before the age of comics and consoles, and it showed how innovation, even in food, could carry the city’s reputation far beyond Scotland. Marmalade was the start of Dundee’s tradition of cultural exports – something the city has repeated in many forms ever since.

1873 – Juteopolis at its peak

By the 1870s, Dundee had become known as Juteopolis. In 1873, the city’s jute industry reached its peak, employing more than 50,000 people – the majority of them women. Mills dominated the skyline, the sound of machinery echoed through the streets, and the industry defined Dundee’s identity to the outside world.

Jute connected Dundee to global markets, with raw fibre imported from Bengal and finished goods exported worldwide. It brought wealth, but also hardship, with low wages and poor working conditions shaping daily life. Yet culturally, the industry left a deep mark: in the songs, traditions, and resilience of the people who worked in it.

1873 represents both the height of industrial Dundee and the foundation of the reinventions that would follow when the mills eventually fell silent.

1901-05 – RRS Discovery launches and DC Thomson established

On the banks of the Tay in 1901, Dundee shipbuilders launched RRS Discovery – the vessel that would carry Captain Scott and Ernest Shackleton to the Antarctic. Built in Dundee’s yards, Discovery symbolised the city’s expertise in shipbuilding and its willingness to look outward.

The launch wasn’t just an engineering achievement; it placed Dundee at the centre of a story of exploration that captured imaginations around the world. Today, Discovery still sits at the heart of the city’s waterfront, a reminder that Dundee’s culture has always been about boldness, risk and adventure.

1905 was when Dundee’s publishing industry was expanding rapidly, with DC Thomson emerging as a force in mass-market storytelling. Between shipbuilding and publishing, the city was proving it could shape both the physical and imaginative worlds.

1938 – The Beano launches

On 30 July 1938, a new comic arrived on the shelves. The Beano was cheeky, anarchic and funny – and it was made in Dundee.

Home to characters like Dennis the Menace, Gnasher, Minnie the Minx and The Bash Street Kids, the comic became the best-selling children’s magazine in the western world, second only to Japanese manga in global influence.

The Beano wasn’t just entertainment. It shaped childhoods, influenced humour, and gave Dundee a reputation as the UK’s comic capital. Even now, more than eight decades later, it remains an icon of British culture – and a reminder of how storytelling from Dundee can reach millions.

1982 – ZX Spectrum and Dundee Rep

The early 1980s were another turning point. In 1982, Dundee’s Timex factory began manufacturing the ZX Spectrum, a home computer that inspired a generation of coders and gamers. Across the UK, kids typed in programmes, built their first games, and sparked a digital revolution. For Dundee, it was the seed of an industry that would later flourish into a world-leading games cluster.

That same year, a different kind of culture took centre stage when Dundee Rep Theatre opened its new home on Tay Square. The Rep quickly became a beacon for Scottish theatre, nurturing new writing and producing original work through its permanent ensemble. Together, the ZX Spectrum and the Rep showed Dundee’s dual strength: technological innovation and artistic excellence.

1997 – Grand Theft Auto and Abertay’s games degree

In 1997, Dundee reshaped global culture again. DMA Design released Grand Theft Auto, a game that would grow into one of the most successful entertainment franchises of all time. Created in Dundee by David Jones, Mike Dailly and their team, GTA put the city firmly on the global gaming map.

The same year, Abertay University launched the world’s first degree in computer games design. It recognised gaming as a serious academic discipline and turned Dundee into a training ground for talent. Students arrived from around the world, feeding into a growing cluster of studios.

1997 was the year Dundee became not just a place where games were made, but a global leader in the study and development of gaming itself.

1999 – Dundee Contemporary Arts opens

In 1999, Dundee Contemporary Arts opened its doors, bringing a fresh boost to the city’s cultural life. With cinemas, galleries, studios and a café-bar, it quickly became a creative hub and a symbol of confidence.

Built on the site of an old skatepark near the Rep, DCA signalled a shift in Dundee’s identity – from a city of decline to one reinventing itself through culture. It gave local artists a platform, brought international work to Dundee, and became a meeting place for the city’s creative community.

2001 – Dundee Waterfront regeneration announced

In 2001, the city council confirmed ambitious plans to redevelop 240 hectares of Dundee’s waterfront. For decades, the city had been cut off from the Tay by dual carriageways and industrial land.

The regeneration plan promised to change that, reconnecting Dundee with its river and reshaping how it presented itself to the world.

The announcement laid the groundwork for what would follow: Slessor Gardens, the new railway station, new housing and commercial space, and, of course, V&A Dundee. It was a statement of intent – that Dundee would no longer turn its back on the Tay, but embrace it.

2014 – UNESCO City of Design

Following off the back of the unsuccessful bid to become UK City of Culture in 2013, just a year later, in 2014, Dundee became the UK’s first and only UNESCO City of Design.

It was recognition of a heritage that stretched from jute weaving patterns and comics to biomedical research, games, and digital design. More importantly, it was a global label that told the world Dundee was serious about creativity.

The UNESCO designation connected Dundee to an international network of creative cities. It gave the city credibility and status – a platform to shout about its culture on a global scale.

2018 – V&A Dundee opens

Seventeen years later, the promise of waterfront regeneration was realised in spectacular fashion. On 18 September 2018, V&A Dundee opened its doors. Designed by Kengo Kuma, the museum became the UK’s first dedicated design museum outside London and the most striking new building in Scotland for a generation.

The opening drew global attention. Visitor numbers soared, and Dundee was hailed as a cultural destination. More than a museum, the V&A became a symbol of the city’s reinvention – proof that Dundee’s future would be written in design and creativity.

2021 – City of the Future

In 2021, Dundee was named the UK’s only “City of the Future” by Cognizant, joining the ranks of São Paulo and Toronto. It was recognition of Dundee’s innovation, creativity and willingness to look forward.

The same year, the Scottish Esports League was hosted in the city, cementing Dundee’s place as Scotland’s esports capital.

Building on its long games heritage, the city embraced competitive gaming as a new cultural force. By 2023, Dundee and Angus College launched Scotland’s first dedicated esports course, training the next generation of players, organisers and industry professionals.

It was a reminder that Dundee is still shaping the future of culture – from marmalade to esports, the city has never stopped reinventing itself.

2025 – Music reinassiance, new festivals and cultural comebacks

2025 has been a landmark year for Dundee, marked by major launches and milestones that underline the city’s place on Scotland’s cultural map.

LIVEHOUSE Dundee finally opened its doors, giving the city a larger multi-purpose venue.

Alongside it came two brand new festivals – Dundee Music Festival and Dundee Book Festival – adding fresh energy to the city’s calendar.

Music has been at the heart of this cultural revival for 2025 as Doof in the Park, fronted by local DJ Hannah Laing, drew thousands and cemented Dundee’s reputation for homegrown talent making a global impact.

Discovery Festival was also hosted for the first ever time in the city at Slessor Gardens.

And in a national first, Dundee was announced as the host city of the Scottish Album of the Year Award which will take place at the Caird Hall – and a role that will keep through to 2027 – ensuring the city takes centre stage in Scotland’s music industry for years to come.

Heritage and science also thrived. Mills Observatory enjoyed a resurgence in visitors, securing its future as a unique public space for stargazing and learning, while the launch of the CoSTAR Realtime Lab opened new possibilities in film, gaming and virtual production.

2025 feels like the year Dundee stepped confidently into a new chapter, where innovation, heritage, and creativity all converged.

What will be the next big year?

From preserves to pixels, jute to design, Dundee has continually punched above its weight. Each of these years represents a turning point – a moment when the city stepped forward and showed the world what it could do.

The question now is simple: what will the next big year be?

With Eden Project Dundee on the horizon in the 2030s, the transformation of the Maryfield tram depot into a new Museum of Transport by the end of the decade, and a growing role in esports, festivals and virtual production, Dundee’s cultural story is far from finished.

It is guaranteed that the year Eden arrives will join this distinguished list. This could be 2030.

But that next chapter might already be unfolding now – and once again, it could change Dundee forever.