European Capital of Culture

The European Capital of Culture is a city (or multiple cities) chosen by the European Union for a period of one calendar year. The city is given a chance to show its cultural life and cultural development. Most of the cities are very popular and are known internationally (by people around the world).

The idea to have a European Capital of Culture came from Melina Mercouri who was the Minster for Culture in Greece. It began in 1985. It was originally known as the 'European City of Culture' until 1999, when it was re-named 'European Capital of Culture'.

The European Capitals of Culture for 2025 are Chemnitz in Germany, and Nova Gorica in Slovenia (with Gorizia in Italy).

List of by year

Past years

List of capitals chosen by year

Year	Cities	Image	Details
1985	Athens
1986	Florence
1987	Amsterdam
1988	West Berlin
1989	Paris Lyon
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 Krakow Prague Reykjavík Zaragoza
2001	Porto Rotterdam
2002	Bruges Salamanca
2003	Graz
2004	Genoa Lille
2005	Cork, Limerick
2006	Patras
2007	Sibiu Luxembourg Greater Region		Sibiu 2007 Archived 2004-08-30 at the Wayback Machine
2008	Liverpool Stavanger Sandnes		Liverpool 2008 Archived 2007-04-05 at the Wayback Machine Stavanger 2008
2009	Linz Vilnius		Vilnius 2009 Linz 2009
2010	Essen Sarajevo Pécs		Essen 2010 Pecs 2010 Archived 2018-10-01 at the Wayback Machine
2011	Turku Tallinn		Turku 2011 Tallinn 2011
2012	Guimarães Maribor		Guimarães 2012 Archived 2008-12-16 at the Wayback Machine Maribor 2012
2013	Marseille Košice	Marseille Provence 2013 Archived 2010-08-26 at the Wayback Machine Košice 2013 Archived 2008-02-16 at the Wayback Machine
2014	Riga Umeå
2015	Mons Plzeň
2016	San Sebastián Wrocław
2017	Aarhus Paphos
2018	Leeuwarden Valletta
2019	Matera Plovdiv
2020-2021	Galway Rijeka
2022	Esch-sur-Alzette Kaunus Novi Sad
2023	Eleusis Timișoara Veszprém
2024	Bad Ischl Bodø Tartu
2025	Chemnitz Nova Gorica with Gorizia

Future years

These are the planned European Capitals of Culture, according to the official EU website.

Future years

Year	City	Details
2026	Oulu Trenčín
2027	Évora Liepāja
2028	Bourges České Budějovice Skopje
2029	Kiruna Lublin
2030	TBA
2031
2032

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)

Other websites

• European Cultural Capitals and Months