European Capital of Culture


A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension.
Preparing a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for the 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.
In 1985, Melina Mercouri, Greece’s minister of culture, and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual Capital 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.
It is strongly believed that the ECoC significantly maximises social and economic benefits, especially when the events are embedded as a part of a long–term culture-based development strategy of the city and the surrounding region.
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.

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 – an example of the latter being Stavanger in 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 the cultural development and the transformation of the city. 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 by 2023 the UK is no longer an EU member.

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. During the German presidency of 1999, the European City of Culture programme was renamed to European Capital of Culture.

List of European Capitals of Culture

Year#CityCountryNotes/Links
1985Athens
1986Florence
1987Amsterdam
1988Berlin
1989Paris
1990Glasgow
1991Dublin
1992Madrid
1993Antwerp
1994Lisbon
1995Luxembourg
1996Copenhagen
1997Thessaloniki
1998Stockholm
1999Weimar
2000AvignonThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000BergenThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000BolognaThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000BrusselsThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000HelsinkiThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000KrakówThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000PragueThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000ReykjavíkThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2000Santiago de CompostelaThe year 2000, called the millennium year, was treated by the European Union in a special way, in order to emphasize the enduring heritage and contribution of European cities to the achievements of 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.
2001Rotterdam
2001Porto
2002Bruges
2002Salamanca
2003Graz
2004Genoa
2004Lille
2005Cork
2006Patras
2007SibiuSibiu 2007
2007Luxembourg
2008Liverpool
2008Stavanger
2009Vilnius
2009Linz
2010Essenrepresenting the Ruhr as Ruhr.2010
2010Istanbul
2010PécsPécs 2010
2011Turku
2011Tallinn
2012Guimarães
2012MariborMaribor 2012
2013MarseilleMarseille-Provence 2013
2013Košice
2014Riga
2014UmeåUmeå 2014
2015MonsMons 2015
2015PlzeňPlzeň 2015
2016San Sebastián
2016Wrocław
2017Aarhus
2017Paphos
2018Leeuwarden
2018Valletta
2019Matera
2019Plovdiv
2020Rijeka
2020Galway
20211Timișoara
20212Eleusis
202131Novi Sad
2022Kaunas
2022Esch-sur-Alzette
20232Veszprém
20241Tartu
20242Bad Ischl
202431Bodø
2025TBATBA December 2020
shortlisted cities: , , ,
2025TBATBA 23 September 2020
shortlisted cities: , , , , ,
2026TBAapplication deadline: 31 October 2020
potential candidate cities: Banská Bystrica, , Martin, Nitra, Prešov, , Trnava, ,
2026TBATBA summer 2021
shortlisted cities:, ,
20271TBA
20272TBApotential candidate cities: , Braga, Coimbra, , Faro, Guarda, , Ponta Delgada
202731TBATBA
2028TBApotential candidate cities: Brno
2028TBApotential candidate cities: Clermont-Ferrand, Rouen, Bourges
2029TBA
2029TBA
20301TBA
20302TBApotential candidate cities: Leuven, Liège
203031TBATBA
2031TBApotential candidate cities: Tarxien, Cottonera, Sliema, & Gozo
2031TBApotential candidate cities: Cáceres, Granada
2032TBA
2032TBA
20331TBA
20332TBA
203331TBATBA

1 A new framework makes it possible for cities in candidate countries, potential candidates for EU membership or EFTA member states 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.
2 The European Capital of Culture was due to be in the UK in 2023. However, due to its decision to leave the European Union in 2016, 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 Belfast, Derry and Strabane. This caused anger amongst the UK candidate city's bidding teams due to the very short notice of the decision, and because of the amount of money they had already spent preparing their bids.