European Capitals of Culture – In search of the perfect Cultural Event

Between 1985 and 2019, 60 cities have held the title of European Capitals of Culture – most recently Matera in Italy and Plovdiv in Bulgaria in 2019. Initiated in 1983, by Greece’s then Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, the concept took shape two years later as an inter-governmental initiative under the name of the ‘European City of Culture’. The success of the Capitals of Culture event was such that in 1999, the Council of the EU transformed it into a Community action, and created a more transparent rotational system for the designation of the titleholder. The selection procedure – last modified in 2014 – places particular focus on the monitoring of proposals, the enhanced European dimension of projects, improved competition between candidate cities, and the redefinition of the selection panel role. As more and more cities enter the European Capitals of Culture race, substantial sums of money are being spent, including on the bidding process. 

Image: European Parliament

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