European Capital of Culture

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 60 cities have been designated so far. The current European Capitals of Culture for 2026 are Oulu in Finland and Trenčín in Slovakia.

Selection process 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)– 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.Study prepared for the European Commission 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.

History

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.Kiran Klaus Patel, ed., The Cultural Politics of Europe: European Capitals of Culture and European Union since the 1980s (London: Routledge, 2013) In 1999, the European City of Culture program was renamed to European Capital of Culture.

List of European Capitals of Culture

+ Year City Country Notes/Links Candidate cities 1985 Athens 1986 Florence 1987 Amsterdam 1988 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. 1989 Paris 1990 Glasgow Glasgow Garden Festival 1991 Dublin 1992 Madrid 1993 Antwerp 1994 Lisbon 1995 Luxembourg City 1996 Copenhagen 1997 Thessaloniki 1998 Stockholm 1999 Weimar 2000 Avignon 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. Bergen Bologna Brussels Helsinki Kraków Prague Reykjavík Santiago de Compostela 2001 Porto Rotterdam 2002 Bruges Salamanca 2003 Graz 2004 Genoa Lille 2005 Cork Cork Caucus Galway, Limerick, Waterford 2006 Patras 2007 Luxembourg City Sibiu 2008 Liverpool Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Newcastle and Gateshead (joint bid), Oxford Stavanger 2009 Linz Linz 2009 Vilnius 2010 Essen Representing the whole Ruhr as Ruhr.2010. Braunschweig, Bremen, Görlitz, Halle an der Saale, Karlsruhe, Kassel, Lübeck, Potsdam, Regensburg Istanbul Pécs 2011 Tallinn Turku Turku 2011 2012 Guimarães Maribor 2013 Košice Košice 2013 Marseille Marseille-Provence 2013 Bordeaux, Lyon, Toulouse 2014 Riga Umeå 2015 Mons Mons 2015 Plzeň 2016 San Sebastián Donostia/San Sebastián 2016 (Donostia 2016) Burgos, Córdoba, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Segovia, Zaragoza Wrocław Gdańsk, Katowice, Lublin, Warsaw2017 Aarhus Aarhus 2017 Sønderborg Paphos Pafos 2017 Limassol, Nicosia2018 Leeuwarden Eindhoven, Maastricht, The Hague, Utrecht Valletta Valletta 2018 2019 Matera Matera 2019 Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna, Siena Plovdiv Plovdiv 2019 Sofia, Varna, Veliko Turnovo2020 – April 2021 Galway Galway 2020 Limerick, The Three Sisters (joint bid Waterford, Wexford, Kilkenny) Rijeka Rijeka 2020 Dubrovnik, Osijek, Pula2022 Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette 2022 Kaunas Kaunas 2022 Klaipėda Novi Sad Novi Sad 2022 (Coronavirus postponement) 20231 Eleusis Eleusis 2023 (Coronavirus postponement) Kalamata, Rhodes Timișoara Timișoara 2023 (Coronavirus postponement) Baia Mare, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca Veszprém Veszprém 2023 Debrecen, Győr2024 Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024 Dornbirn, St. Pölten Bodø2 Bodø 2024 Banja Luka, Mostar Tartu Tartu 2024 Kuressaare, Narva2025 Chemnitz Chemnitz 2025 Hannover, Hildesheim, Magdeburg, Nuremberg Nova Gorica/Gorizia joint bid GO! 2025 Ljubljana, Piran, Ptuj2026 Oulu Oulu 2026 (Theme: "Cultural Climate Change") Savonlinna, Tampere Trenčín Trenčín 2026 (Theme: "Cultivating Curiosity") Nitra, Žilina2027 Évora Évora 2027 Aveiro, Braga, Ponta Delgada Liepāja Liepāja 2027 Daugavpils, Valmiera2028 Bourges Bourges 2028 Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Denis České Budějovice České Budějovice 2028 Broumov, Brno, Liberec Skopje2 Skopje 2028 Budva 2029 Kiruna Kiruna 2029 Uppsala Lublin Lublin 2029 Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Kołobrzeg2030 Larnaca Larnaca 2030 Shortlisted cities: LimassolOther applicants: Nicosia Leuven Leuven 2030 Molenbeek, Namur, Bruges, Ghent, Kortrijk Nikšić Nikšić 2030 Lviv2031 TBA September 2026 shortlisted: Victoriaother applicant: Birgu pre-selection March 2026 candidates: Burgos, Cáceres, Granada, Jerez de la Frontera, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Oviedo, Palma, Potries, Toledo2032 TBA TBA potential candidates: Aalborg, Elsinore, Holstebro, Næstved, Sønderborg, Vejle2033 TBA potential candidate: Heerlen TBA potential candidates: Turin, Pesaro/Urbino, Viterbo TBA2 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. The candidate cities were Dundee, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Nottingham and a joint bid from Northern Irish cities of Belfast and Derry and the town of Strabane.

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.

European Capital of Culture

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