Cities recognized by the European Union as culturally significant for Europe
The logo used by European Commission for European Capital of Culture
Melina Mercouri
A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for a city to generate considerable cultural, social, and economic benefits, and it can help foster urban regeneration , change the city's image, and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale. Multiple cities can be a European Capital of Culture simultaneously.
In 1985, Melina Mercouri , Greece 's Minister of Culture , and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual City of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values.
The Commission of the European Union manages the title, and each year the Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European Capitals of Culture: more than 40 cities have been designated so far. The current European Capitals of Culture for 2024 are Tartu in Estonia , Bad Ischl in Austria and Bodø in Norway .
Tartu (Estonia), the European Capital of Culture for 2024
Bad Ischl (Austria), the European Capital of Culture for 2024
Bodø (Norway), the European Capital of Culture for 2024
An international panel of cultural experts is in charge of assessing the proposals of cities for the title according to criteria specified by the European Union.
For two of the capitals each year, eligibility is open to cities in EU member states only. From 2021 and every three years thereafter, a third capital will be chosen from cities in countries that are candidates or potential candidates for membership, or in countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA)[ 1] [ 2] – an example of the latter being Stavanger , Norway , which was a European Capital of Culture in 2008.
A 2004 study conducted for the Commission, known as the "Palmer report", demonstrated that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for cultural development and the transformation of the city.[ 3] Consequently, the beneficial socio-economic development and impact for the chosen city are now also considered in determining the chosen cities.
Bids from five United Kingdom cities to be the 2023 Capital of Culture were disqualified in November 2017, because the UK was planning to leave the EU before 2023.[ 4]
The European Capital of Culture programme was initially called the European City of Culture and was conceived in 1983, by Melina Mercouri , then serving as minister of culture in Greece . Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued. The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder.[ 5] In 1999, the European City of Culture program was renamed to European Capital of Culture.[ 6]
List of European Capitals of Culture [ edit ]
Year
#
City
Country
Notes/Links
Candidate cities
1985
Athens
Greece
1986
Florence
Italy
1987
Amsterdam
Netherlands
1988
West Berlin
West Berlin
City under Western Allied occupation until 1990; territory was claimed by the Federal Republic of Germany . The name "European City of Culture" was used instead of "Capital" in order to not provoke the East German government.[ 7] [ 8]
1989
Paris
France
1990
Glasgow
United Kingdom
Glasgow Garden Festival
1991
Dublin
Ireland
1992
Madrid
Spain
1993
Antwerp
Belgium
1994
Lisbon
Portugal
1995
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg
1996
Copenhagen
Denmark
1997
Thessaloniki
Greece
1998
Stockholm
Sweden
1999
Weimar
Germany
2000
Avignon
France
The year 2000 was called the millennium year and treated in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to world culture and civilization. Because of that, nine locations were chosen, including two cities of states that were to join the EU on 1 May 2004.[ 9]
Bergen
Norway
Bologna
Italy
Brussels
Belgium
Helsinki
Finland
Kraków
Poland
Prague
Czech Republic
Reykjavík
Iceland
Santiago de Compostela
Spain
2001
Rotterdam
Netherlands
Porto
Portugal
2002
Bruges
Belgium
Salamanca
Spain
2003
Graz
Austria
2004
Genoa
Italy
Lille
France
2005
Cork
Ireland
Cork Caucus
Galway , Limerick , Waterford [ 10]
2006
Patras
Greece
2007
Sibiu
Romania
Luxembourg City
Luxembourg
2008
Liverpool
United Kingdom
Birmingham , Bristol , Cardiff , Newcastle and Gateshead (joint bid), Oxford [ 11]
Stavanger
Norway
2009
Vilnius
Lithuania
Linz
Austria
Linz 2009
2010
Essen
Germany
Representing the whole Ruhr as Ruhr.2010 .
Braunschweig , Bremen , Essen , Görlitz , Halle an der Saale , Karlsruhe , Kassel , Lübeck , Potsdam , Regensburg
Istanbul
Turkey
Pécs
Hungary
2011
Turku
Finland
Turku 2011
Tallinn
Estonia
2012
Guimarães
Portugal
Maribor
Slovenia
2013
Marseille
France
Marseille-Provence 2013
Bordeaux Lyon Toulouse [ 12]
Košice
Slovakia
2014
Riga
Latvia
Umeå
Sweden
2015
Mons
Belgium
Plzeň
Czech Republic
2016
San Sebastián
Spain
Donostia 2016
Burgos , Córdoba , Las Palmas de Gran Canaria , Segovia , Zaragoza [ 13]
Wrocław
Poland
Gdańsk , Katowice , Lublin , Warsaw [ 14]
2017
Aarhus
Denmark
Aarhus 2017
Sønderborg [ 15]
Paphos
Cyprus
Pafos 2017
Limassol , Nicosia [ 16]
2018
Leeuwarden
Netherlands
Eindhoven , Maastricht , The Hague , Utrecht [ 17]
Valletta
Malta
Valletta 2018
2019
Matera
Italy
Matera 2019
Cagliari , Lecce , Perugia , Ravenna , Siena [ 18]
Plovdiv
Bulgaria
Plovdiv 2019
Sofia , Varna , Veliko Turnovo [ 19]
2020 – April 2021
Rijeka
Croatia
Rijeka 2020
Dubrovnik , Osijek , Pula [ 20]
Galway
Ireland
Galway 2020
Limerick , The Three Sisters (joint bid Waterford , Wexford , Kilkenny )[ 21]
2022
Kaunas
Lithuania
Kaunas 2022
Klaipėda [ 22]
Esch-sur-Alzette
Luxembourg
Esch-sur-Alzette 2022
Novi Sad
Serbia
Novi Sad 2022 (Coronavirus postponement )
20231
Veszprém
Hungary
Veszprém 2023
Debrecen , Győr [ 23]
Timișoara
Romania
Timișoara 2023 (Coronavirus postponement )
Baia Mare , Bucharest , Cluj-Napoca [ 24]
Eleusis
Greece
Eleusis 2023 (Coronavirus postponement )
Kalamata , Rhodes [ 25]
2024
1
Tartu
Estonia
Tartu 2024
Kuressaare , Narva [ 26]
2
Bad Ischl
Austria
Salzkammergut 2024
Dornbirn , St. Pölten [ 27]
32
Bodø
Norway
Bodø 2024
Banja Luka , Mostar [ 28]
2025
Nova Gorica /Gorizia joint bid
Slovenia Italy
GO! 2025
Ljubljana , Piran , Ptuj [ 29]
Chemnitz
Germany
Chemnitz 2025
Hannover , Hildesheim , Magdeburg , Nuremberg [ 30]
2026
Trenčín [ 31]
Slovakia
Trenčín 2026
Nitra , Žilina
Oulu
Finland
Oulu 2026
Savonlinna , Tampere [ 32]
2027
Liepāja
Latvia
Liepāja 2027
Daugavpils , Valmiera [ 33]
Évora
Portugal
Évora 2027
Aveiro , Braga , Ponta Delgada [ 34]
2028
1
České Budějovice [ 35]
Czech Republic
České Budějovice 2028
Broumov , Brno , Liberec
2
Bourges [ 36]
France
Bourges 2028
Clermont-Ferrand , Montpellier , Rouen
32
Skopje
North Macedonia
Skopje 2028
Budva [ 37]
2029
Lublin [ 38]
Poland
Lublin 2029
Bielsko-Biała , Katowice , Kołobrzeg [ 39]
TBA December 2024[ 40]
Sweden
shortlisted:[ 40] Kiruna , Uppsala
2030
1
TBA
Cyprus
deadline 13 December 2024[ 41]
2
TBA September 2025[ 42]
Belgium
shortlisted cities:[ 42] Leuven , Molenbeek , Namur
Bruges , Ghent , Kortrijk [ 42]
32
TBA
TBA
deadline 16 October 2024[ 43]
2031
TBA
Malta
Birgu , Victoria [ 44]
TBA
Spain
potential candidates:[ 45] Burgos , Cáceres , Granada , Jerez de la Frontera , Las Palmas , Toledo
2032
TBA
Bulgaria
TBA
Denmark
potential candidate: Næstved [ 46]
2033
1
TBA
Netherlands
potential candidate: Heerlen [ 47]
2
TBA
Italy
potential candidates: Turin ,[ 48] Pesaro /Urbino ,[ 49] Viterbo [ 50]
32
TBA
TBA
1 The European Capital of Culture was due to be in the UK in 2023. However, due to its decision to leave the European Union , UK cities would no longer be eligible to hold the title after 2019. The European Commission's Scotland office confirmed that this would be the case on 23 November 2017, only one week before the UK was due to announce which city would be put forward.[ 51] The candidate cities were Dundee ,[ 52] Leeds , Milton Keynes ,[ 53] Nottingham and a joint bid from Northern Irish cities of Belfast and Derry and the town of Strabane .[ 54]
2 A new framework makes it possible for cities in candidate countries (Albania , Bosnia and Herzegovina , Georgia , Moldova , Montenegro , North Macedonia , Serbia , Turkey , Ukraine ), potential candidates for EU membership (Kosovo ) or EFTA member states (Iceland , Liechtenstein , Norway , Switzerland ) to hold the title every third year as of 2021. This will be selected through an open competition, meaning that cities from various countries may compete with each other.[ 55]
Locations of European Capitals of Culture.
Green designates current cities; red is for past cities; and blue for future cities.
^ "Decision No 445/2014/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 16 April 2014" . 3 May 2014. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017 .
^ "European Capitals of Culture 2020 to 2033 — A guide for cities preparing to bid" (PDF) . European Commission. Archived (PDF) from the original on 3 June 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2017 .
^ Palmer, Robert. "European Cities and Capitals of Culture" (PDF) . ec.europa.eu . Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 April 2015.
Study prepared for the European Commission
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^ "Marseille named Europe's culture capital for 2013" . France24 . 16 September 2008. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "The European Capital of Culture in Spain in 2016 will be San Sebastián" . euroalert.net . 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Wrocław Chosen as European Capital of Culture 2016" . culture.pl . 28 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Sønderborg, Denmark: EU Capital of Culture 2017?" . The Avid Cruiser . 13 March 2012. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Nicosia and Paphos outbid Limassol for European Capital of Culture 2017" . Cyprus Mail . 22 June 2011. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Who What When Where Why: LF2018" . The Northern Times . 11 June 2018. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Matera to be 2019 European Capital of Culture in Italy" . International Institute of Gastronomy, Culture, Arts and Tourism . 20 October 2014. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Four cities shortlisted for Bulgaria's European Capital of Culture 2019" . The Sofia Globe . 12 December 2013. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "The Final Shortlist of European Capital of Culture Announced" . Council Journal . 24 November 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Galway to be European Capital of Culture 2020" . Visual Artists Ireland . 15 July 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Kaunas is shortlisted for the title of European Capital of Culture 2022" . Kaunas City Municipal administration . 27 June 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Veszprém formally named 2023 European Capital of Culture" . Budapest Businesss Journal . 6 March 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Timisoara 2021" . European Capitals of Culture Ποιειν Και Πραττειν - create and do . Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Eleusis 2023" . Aeschylia Festival . Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
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^ "FAQs" . Salzkammergut 2024 . Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Bodø recommended for the European Capital of Culture 2024 title beyond the EU" . European Commission . Retrieved 5 November 2024 .
^ "GO! 2025 - European Capital of Culture Nova Gorica-Gorizia 2025" . GECT GO / EZTS GO . Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Chemnitz to be European Capital of Culture 2025" . DW . 28 October 2020. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Trenčín to be the European Capital of Culture 2026 in Slovakia" . europa.eu . 10 December 2021. Archived from the original on 29 December 2021. Retrieved 29 December 2021 .
^ "Oulu named European Capital of Culture 2026" . The Barents Observer . 9 June 2021. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Liepaja is the European Capital of culture for 2027" . EcocNews.com . 10 May 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "Évora named 2027 European Capital of Culture" . Portugual Resident . 7 December 2022. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ "České Budějovice to be the European Capital of Culture 2028 in the Czech Republic" . European Commission. Retrieved 1 July 2023 .
^ "Bourges to be the European Capital of Culture 2028 in France" . European Commission. Retrieved 15 December 2023 .
^ "Skopje 2028, is online the Panel's Decision" . ecocnews.com . 31 October 2023. Retrieved 2 November 2024 .
^ "Lublin has been awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2029!" . White Mad . 25 September 2024. Retrieved 25 September 2024 .
^ "Lublin has been awarded the title of European Capital of Culture 2029!" . White Mad . 25 September 2024. Retrieved 1 November 2024 .
^ a b "Kiruna och Uppsala vill bli kulturhuvudstad" . Kulturrådet (in Swedish). Retrieved 21 February 2024 .
^ "Πολιτιστική Πρωτεύουσα της Ευρώπης για το έτος 2030" . Cyprus Ministry of Culture . Retrieved 24 January 2024 .
^ a b c "European Capital Of Culture 2030 Belgium" . ECOC2030BE . Retrieved 25 October 2024 .
^ "Call for applications for the 2030 European Capital of Culture title for cities in EFTA/EEA countries, in candidate countries and in potential candidates for EU membership" . European Commission . Retrieved 24 January 2024 .
^ "European Capital of Culture 2031 Candidates" .
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