A few days ago, on 2 September to be exact, the deadline for submitting the candidature for European Capital of Culture in 2030 for Belgium expired. As Ecocnews already anticipated several months ago (here), six cities have agreed to be part of the competition. They are Namur, Molenbeek, Ghent, Louvain, Courtraie and, once again, Bruges.

In 2030 there will be three countries to designate the European Capital of Culture: Cyprus, Belgium and one of the candidate countries to join the European Union. For EcocNews, it would be fair for the third country to be Ukraine, and for this reason we have launched a public petition. Meanwhile, some candidate cities are already emerging for Cyprus and for Belgium.

Can all of Europe fit in the commercial centre of Larnaka? How could the area become the common ground where all the European cities that have been European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) since the establishment of this very important cultural institution, the longest in the EU, meet? These questions were raised and answered by Larnaka 2030, in collaboration with the Shopkeepers Association of the Historic Centre of Larnaka together with the Architects and Designers working groups of the Organisation.

The month of September will be very important for a number of European cities that want to win the title of European Capital of Culture. In September, in fact, the evaluation panel will have to suggest the European Capital of Culture 2029 for Poland, choosing among the four short-listed cities: Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Kołobrzeg, Lublin. And also in September it will be known which cities in Belgium have decided to participate in the competition for European Capital of Culture in 2030.

After two successful editions, the Brussels2030 Summer Assembly is back in its spring and Molenbeek version.