The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally. During the first two decades, cities were chosen primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial support. A 2004 study by the European Commission by Robert Palmer (Palmer Study) 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.
Contents |
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 Greek Minister of Culture. 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 the European Capital of Culture.
List of European Cities/Capitals of Culture
Past years
- 1985:
Athens - 1986:
Florence - 1987:
Amsterdam - 1988:
West Berlin - 1989:
Paris - 1990:
Glasgow - 1991:
Dublin - 1992:
Madrid - 1993:
Antwerp - 1994:
Lisbon - 1995:
Luxembourg - 1996:
Copenhagen - 1997: Thessaloniki
- 1998:
Stockholm - 1999: Weimar
- 2000: Avignon,
Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, 
Helsinki, 
Kraków, 
Prague, 
Reykjavík, Santiago de Compostela - 2001: Rotterdam, Porto
- 2002: Bruges, Salamanca
- 2003:
Graz - 2004: Genoa, Lille
- 2005: Cork
- 2006: Patras
- 2007:
Sibiu, Luxembourg and the Greater Region - 2008: Liverpool, and Stavanger
Current year
Future years
According to the official EU website[1]. From 2015 to 2019, only the countries have been chosen, based on the rotation system.
- 2010: Essen (on behalf of the Ruhr Area),
Istanbul, 
Pécs - 2011: Turku,
Tallinn - 2012: Guimarães,
Maribor - 2013: Marseille-Provence,
Košice - 2014: Umeå,
Riga - 2015: Belgium, Czech Republic
- 2016: Spain, Poland
- 2017: Denmark,
Cyprus - 2018: Netherlands,
Malta - 2019: Italy,
Bulgaria
See also
- American Capital of Culture – a similar initiative among the American countries
- Arab Capital of Culture – a similar initiative among Arab countries
- Europalia
References
- García, B. (2005) “De-constructing the City of Culture: The long term cultural legacies of Glasgow 1990” in: Review Issue of Urban Studies (vol 42, n5/6) (pp. 1-28)
- García, B. (2004) “Cultural Policy in European Cities: Lessons from Experience, Prospects for the Future” in: Special edition on Cultural Policy and Regeneration, Local Economy (vol 19, n4) (pp. 312-326)
- García, B. (2004) “Urban Regeneration, Arts Programming and Major events: Glasgow 1990, Sydney 2000 and Barcelona 2004” in: Gibson, L. & Stevenson, D. (Eds) Special Issue of the International Journal of Cultural Policy: Urban Space and the Uses of Culture (vol 10, n 1) (pp. 103-118)
External links
Current
- Vilnius 2009 The Art Strike Biennial was organised by the Second Temporary Art Strike Action Committee – Alytus Chapter (STASAC-Alytus) in response to this.
Past
Future
- Istanbul 2010
- Istanbul 2010 - European Capital of Culture (Unoffical Portal)
- Essen 2010
- Pécs 2010
- Turku 2011
- Tallinn 2011
- Guimarães 2012
- Maribor 2012
- Marseille Provence 2013
- Košice 2013
- Rīga 2014 [1] -
- Umeå 2014
Past candidate cities
- Gävle 2014
- Norrköping 2014
- Lund 2014
- Liepāja 2014 [2]
- Cēsis 2014
Future Candidates
Czech Republic
Belgium
Spain
- Alcalá de Henares 2016 - candidate city
- Burgos 2016 - candidate city
- Cáceres 2016 - candidate city
- Córdoba 2016 - candidate city
- Cuenca 2016 - candidate city
- Málaga 2016 - candidate city
- Palma de Mallorca and the Balearic Islands - candidate city
- Pamplona 2016 - candidate city
- Santander 2016 - candidate city
- Tarragona 2016 - candidate city
- Donostia-San Sebastián 2016 - candidate city
- Segovia 2016 - candidate city
- Zaragoza 2016 - candidate city
Poland
- Gdańsk 2016 - candidate city
- Lublin 2016 - candidate city - (en), (es), (ua)
- Łódź 2016 - candidate city
- Poznań 2016 - candidate city
- Szczecin 2016 - candidate city
- Toruń 2016 - candidate city
- Warszawa 2016 - candidate city
Denmark
Netherlands
Maastricht 2018 [3] - candidate city
Italy
|
|||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
