The title of European Capital of Culture, created in 1985 by the Union European on the initiative of Mélina Mercouri and Jack Lang, aims to bring the peoples of Europe together and to affirm the central role of our cities in the fields of the arts and culture.

Becoming a European Capital of Culture represents an extraordinary opportunity to mobilise and unite the inhabitants of an area, while ensuring an exceptional degree of international publicity. The implications of selection are considerable, not only in terms of cultural impact, but also as regards important social and economic knock-on effects.

Since Athens in 1985, some thirty cities have obtained the title of European Capital of Culture. Among them are three French cities: Paris in 1989, Avignon in 2000 and Lille in 2004. This year, Linz and Vilnius are the European Capitals of Culture. In 2013, France and Slovakia will be the hosts.

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Concept of the european capitals of culture

The project presented by the candidate cities must meet two essential criteria:

A European dimension:

•    Reinforcing co-operation between cultural institutions, artists and cities in the member states concerned and in other member states, across all cultural sectors,
•    Promoting the wealth of Europe's cultural diversity,
•    Highlighting the shared aspects of European cultures.


A local dimension: the city and its citizens:

•    Encouraging the participation of the inhabitants of the city and its surroundings, arousing their interest and that of citizens living abroad,
•    Ensuring the event will be sustainable in character and that it will play an integral part in the long-term cultural and social development of the city (and of the area).

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Selection criteria

Every year, two European cities are selected as European Capitals of Culture. In 2013, France will host a Capital of Culture (Marseilles and the surrounding area), along with the Slovakian city of Kosice. The cities were selected in a two-stage process held over two years.
•    First year: pre-selection phase, involving an initial application file and a presentation before the panel.
•    Second year: final selection phase, involving a more detailed application file, a visit to the city by four panel members and a final presentation.

The selection panel was made up thirteen people, including six experts appointed by France and seven experts appointed by European institutions. The seven “European” experts are appointed for a three-year period and a third of the panel members are renewed every year. These panel members work alongside “domestic” experts from both Member States involved (France and Slovakia for 2013) to assess the bids against the required objectives and criteria. The composition of the panel remained the same for both the pre-selection and final selection phases, with the exception of one member appointed by the European Commission.

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Calendar of the european capitals of culture

2005    Cork (Irlande)
2006    Patras (Grèce)
2007  Luxembourg (Grande Région) et Sibiu (Roumanie)

2008     Liverpool (Royaume-Uni) et Stavanger (Norvège)
2009     Linz (Autriche) et Vilnius (Lituanie)
2010     Essen (Allemagne), Pécs (Hongrie) et Istanbul (Turquie)
2011     Turku (Finlande) et Tallinn (Estonie)
2012     Portugal et Slovénie
2013     France et  Slovaquie
2014     Suède et Lettonie
2015     Belgique et République Tchèque
2016     Espagne et Pologne
2017     Danemark et Chypre
2018     Pays-Bas et Malte
2019     Italie et Bulgarie

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