European Capitals of Culture

An initiative putting culture at the heart of European cities with EU support for yearlong festivals of art and culture.

In 2015, the European Capitals of Culture celebrated their 30th anniversary.

Discover the brochure illustrating successful projects in recent European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) and the factsheet [pdf] on the history and highlights of the initiative over the years.

What is it?

The European Capitals of Culture initiative is designed to:

• Highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe
• Celebrate the cultural features Europeans share
• Increase European citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area
• Foster the contribution of culture to the development of cities

In addition to this, experience has shown that the event is an excellent opportunity for:

• Regenerating cities
• Raising the international profile of cities;
• Enhancing the image of cities in the eyes of their own inhabitants
• Breathing new life into a city's culture
• Boosting tourism

How does it work?

Designation of European Capitals of Culture in EU member states

Six years before the title-year the selected host member states publish a call for applications, usually through their Ministry for Culture. Cities interested in participating in the competition must submit a proposal for consideration.

The submitted applications are reviewed against a set of established criteria during a pre-selection phase by a panel of independent experts in the field of culture. The panel agrees on a short-list of cities, which are then asked to submit more detailed applications.

The panel then reconvenes to assess the final applications and recommends one city per host country for the title. The recommended city will then be formally designated as European Capital of Culture.

The role of the European Commission is to ensure that the rules established at EU level are respected all along the way.

From designation to implementation…

European Capitals of Culture are formally designated four years before the actual year. This long period of time is necessary for the planning and preparation of such a complex event. The panel, supported by the European Commission, has a continuing role during these four years in supporting European Capitals of Culture with advice and guidance and taking stock of their preparations.

At the end of this monitoring period, the panel will consider whether to recommend or not that the European Commission pays the Melina Mercouri Prize (currently €1.5m funded from the EU Creative Europe programme).

… to evaluation of the outcomes

Each year the European Commission publishes an evaluation report on the outcomes of the European Capitals of Culture of the previous year. For the Capitals post 2019, the cities themselves will carry out their own evaluation and send it to the Commission by the end of the year following that of the title.

What has been done so far?

The initiative was developed in 1985 and has, to date, been awarded to more than 50 cities across the European Union. The 2020 European Capitals of Culture are:

• Rijeka (Croatia),
• Galway (Ireland).

EUROPEAN CAPITALS OF CULTURE DESIGNATED UNTIL 2023:

• 2021 - Timișoara (Romania), Elefsina (Greece) and Novi Sad (Serbia, candidate country);
• 2022 – Kaunas (Lithuania) and Esch (Luxembourg);
• 2023 – Veszprém (Hungary);
• 2024 - Tartu (Estonia), Bodø (Norway, EFTA/EEA country) and Bad Ischl (Austria).

The chronological list of Member States that can host the ECOC title from 2020 until 2033 is available. It is indicated in the Annex to the Decision adopted by the European Parliament and the Council in April 2014. Competitions are organized at national level with the publication of a call for submission of applications by the responsible authority (usually the national Ministry of Culture).

This new framework was amended in September 2017 by another decision of the European Parliament and the Council. This decision makes it possible for cities in EU candidate countries, potential candidates  or members of the European Free Trade Association party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (so-called EFTA/EEA countries) to hold the title in 2021, 2024, 2028, 2030 and 2033. These cities are selected through an “open competition”, meaning that cities from various countries may compete with each other.

Cities wishing to hold the ECOC title should await the announcement of a competition in their own country, and then complete and submit a bid in response to the call for applications published.

The competitions for the ECOC 2025 titles concluded in 2020. In Germany, Chemnitz was recommended in October to become the European Capital of Culture. In Slovenia, the pre-selection meeting took place in February and 4 cities – Ljubjana, Nova Gorica, Piran and Ptuj – have been shortlisted. The final selection meeting took place on 16-18 December 2020 and Nova Gorica was recommended.

Finally in 2026, Finland and Slovakia will both host a European Capital of Culture. In Finland, 3 cities were pre-selected in June 2020: Oulu, Savonlinna and Tampere. The final selection will be in June 2021. In Slovakia, the pre-selection meeting will take place in February 2021 and the final selection is planned in December 2021.

The impact of coronavirus

The measures taken by Member States’ Governments to curb the spread of the coronavirus have affected the activities of the 2020 European Capitals of Culture.

The European Commission presented a proposal to the Council and the European Parliament that would give Rijeka and Galway the possibility to have their title year prolonged until 30 April 2021.

The Commission also proposes to postpone the year in which Novi Sad (Serbia) is due to host a European Capital of Culture from 2021 to 2022 and the year in which Timisoara (Romania) and Elefsina (Greece) will hold the title from 2021 to 2023.

The Capitals from 2011 onwards