Vilnius, Lithuania European Capital of Culture in 2009

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.

[edit] 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.

[edit] List of European Cities/Capitals of Culture

[edit] 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

[edit] Current year

• 2009: Vilnius Linz

[edit] 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

[edit] See also

• American Capital of Culture – a similar initiative among the American countries
• Arab Capital of Culture – a similar initiative among Arab countries
• Europalia

[edit] References

1. ^ Official EU website

• 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)

[edit] External links

[edit] 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.

• Linz 2009

[edit] Past

• Cork 2005
• Sibiu 2007
• Liverpool 2008
• Stavanger 2008

[edit] 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

[edit] Past candidate cities

• Gävle 2014
• Norrköping 2014
• Lund 2014
• Liepāja 2014 [2]
• Cēsis 2014

[edit] Future Candidates

[edit] Czech Republic

• Ostrava 2015 - candidate city
• Plezeň 2015 - candidate city

[edit] Belgium

• Mons 2015 - candidate city

[edit] Spain

• Alcalá de Henares 2016 - candidate city
• Burgos 2016 - candidate city
• Cáceres 2016 - candidate city
• Córdoba 2016 - candidate city
• Málaga 2016 - candidate city
• Palma de Mallorca and the Balearic Islands - candidate city
• Santander 2016 - candidate city
• Tarragona 2016 - candidate city
• Donostia-San Sebastián 2016 - candidate city
• Segovia 2016 - candidate city

[edit] Poland

The majority of cities begin preparations before their year as Capital of Culture begins.

• 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

[edit] Denmark

• Aarhus 2017 - candidate city
• Sønderborg 2017 - candidate city

[edit] Netherlands

• Almere 2018 - candidate city
• Utrecht 2018 - candidate city
• BrabantStad 2018 - candidate city

Maastricht 2018 [3] - candidate city

[edit] Italy

• Matera 2019 - candidate city
• Siena 2019 - candidate city