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- Our Programmes and Actions
- European Capitals of Culture
Past, Present and Future Capitals
More than 40 cities have been designated European Capitals of Culture so far, from Stockholm to Genoa, Athens to Glasgow, and Cracow to Porto.
Up to 2010, cities from non-EU countries were able to host the event. But, from 2011, only cities in EU countries are allowed to bear the title. Each year, two cities from two different Member States will be selected.
EU countries are invited to host the European Capital of Culture event in turn between 2005 and 2019. The order, given below, was decided in agreement with the Member States and laid down in the Decision on the European Capital of Culture 2007-19 – 1622/2006/EC.
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European Capital of Culture event in turn between 2007 and 2019 |
2007 Luxembourg and Romania |
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2008 United Kingdom |
2009 Austria and Lithuania |
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2010 Germany and Hungary |
2011 Finland and Estonia |
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2012 Portugal and Slovenia |
2013 France and Slovakia |
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2014 Sweden and Latvia |
2015 Belgium and Czech Republic |
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2016 Spain and Poland |
2017 Denmark and Cyprus |
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2018 Netherlands and Malta |
2019 Italy and Bulgaria |
In depth
Summary of the 25 year anniversary conference 
[2 MB] on the European Capitals of Culture
The brochure: the road to success from 1985 to 2010 [8 MB]
Official documents
European Capital of Culture for the years 2007 to 2019
- Decision No 1622/2006/EC
- Guide to Candidate Cities
- Study on the European Cities and Capitals of Culture and the European Cultural Months (1995-2004)
Palmer report
