Then the debate moved operationally to the 40th anniversary of the birth of this programme, in Chemnitz, with the presentation of research by Valentina Montalto and her staff. (Our editorial here)

Now come the interesting proposals from Eurocities. Eurocities is a network of large cities in Europe, established in 1986 by the mayors of six large cities: Barcelona, Birmingham, Frankfurt, Lyon, Milan, and Rotterdam. Today, Eurocities members include over 200 of Europe's major cities from 38 countries, which between them represent over 130 million people. The president of Eurocities is now the major of Florence, Dario Nardella.

The debate remains open and EcocNews is ready to host the interventions of all public and private operators.

Here are the proposals of Eurocities.

This document is informed by the Eurocities response to the interim evaluation of the European Capital of Culture action of the EU (September 2024). It was developed through the collection of insights from:

• Our daily contacts with politicians and technicians from 200+ large European cities: this gives us an excellent view of local policy priorities (see the Eurocities Pulse survey 2024), from policy making to project implementation, and of increasing connections between local cultural policies and other urban policies (inclusion, climate change, urban generation, city attractiveness etc).  42 Eurocities members have been European Capitals of Culture (ECoC), at least 59 members have bidden to be ECoC or are currently preparing applications, and 3 are or will be ECoCs: Chemnitz, Oulu and Lublin.

• Direct 1-hour individual Teams meeting conducted in August and September 2024 with representatives from former and future ECoCs, from cities that have unsuccessful bid, and cities that are currently bidding for the title

ECoC brand and visibility
Whereas the ECoC brand is strong, and represent a great value for cities, there is a lack of visibility of the programme at local level. The general public often doesn't know much about it: people remember more what the city did with the title than the title itself.

Factors able to affect the success of the ECoC action

• Connections to other European cities prove to be very helpful for cities during the bidding process and during the implementation of the ECoC year for peer-learning, capacity building, artistic cooperation etc.

• Transversal work: connecting local cultural policies and activities to other urban policies (such as inclusion, regeneration, sustainability, health and well-being), thereby ensuring that cities inhabitants make the most of the ECoC year to improve the quality of life of their inhabitants

• Collaboration with local stakeholders from the cultural sector and other sectors: the ECoC programme brings people, organisations and cities together

Improving the current criteria for the selection of cities hosting the ECoC title

Some of the current criteria could be adapted to changing societal needs and challenges, while others should be clarified.

• ‘Contribution to the long-term strategy’: While many post-industrial cities have been selected as ECoCs, it would be useful to clarify whether ‘city regeneration’ is a criteria as such. The ‘European dimension’ should be clarified. Many cities find it difficult to understand how to respond. There is a need for more guidance on the European dimension of the programme. The programme could also focus on shared European values of diversity, democracy, human rights...

• ‘Capacity to deliver’: delivery promises versus reality. The current structure of the call tends to encourage bidding cities to promise a lot: the application can be too much ‘result oriented’, while we know that the journey to get there can be as important as the final results. Planning 5 years ahead isn’t always possible, especially as there are many local and external factors that can impact the organisation. Also, local cultural organisations don't know what their programme will look like in 5 years.
The already existing local cultural strategies, programmes and infrastructures, as well as the strength of the artistic communities, are elements that could have a stronger weight in the selection process.

• From ‘outreach’ to citizens participation, community engagement and societal impact. There is a need to make ECoCs more visible towards the local population. Many questions focus on the year of the ECoC title, but communication before the year should also be considered.
There could be a move from the ECoC programme requesting cities to do things "for" people towards doing things "with” people. Cities' policies and challenges have changed in the past 15 years: the focus is now more on the role of the people and of the local community, and sometimes not so much on attracting visitors (at least in cities where tourism is already heavily developed).
There is also a need to ensure that cities pay local artists and creatives fairly.

New criteria that should be taken into account in the selection process

• Sustainability aspects: towards greener and more inclusive ECoCs. There is a need to raise awareness locally on the sustainability of local policies and programmes for ECoCs. The 16 principles of the Eurocities Call Lille Call to action on sustainable culture could become guiding principles for cities involved in the ECoC process, from the bidding stage to the implementation of the year. Launched in June 2023 and already signed by 53 Mayors, including Mayors from 10 cities that have been or will be ECoC, our Call to action is a political commitment from cities to develop local cultural policies and activities that are greener and more inclusive.

• Democratic values. Cities are where democracy is felt daily – in town halls, schools, community centres, and public spaces. Cities have become laboratories for participatory governance, developing new forms of citizen engagement that go beyond the ballot box. In cities that are becoming more and more diverse, local governments have the ability to create spaces where individuals can freely express their cultural, political, and civic identities, even when national policies are restrictive.

• The digital transition

• Links between culture, health and well being

Timing for a successful planning of the ECoC year
Cities agree that 4 years is the right amount of time. Some cities consider the first stage as too time-consuming, with a heavy financial cost that may be an impediment for other cities to bid, and propose a selection process in 2 phases:

• The first stage would be more of a "concept proposal" open to many applications; it would be less extensive and less costly to prepare, over a shorter period of time

• In a second stage, fewer cities would be shortlisted cities and would then prepare a bid

Some of the small countries may find it challenging to provide suitable ECoCs every 13 to 14 years.

Longer-term legacy and impact
There are clear examples of long-term legacy and impact, including:

• Every three years Leeuwarden (2018) celebrates its rich cultural programme offering 100 days of culture in the city. The city has also seen a rise in the budget dedicated to culture. ECoC increased Leeuwarden's visibility and expertise in bidding, as the city became UNESCO city of literature and is currently bidding to be European Youth Capital 2028.

• There can also be a legacy even after unsuccessful bids. In Belfast, where the bidding process stopped because of Brexit, the ECoC bid helped to review the local cultural strategy, creating a solid foundation throughout covid and financial crises. It also led to stronger political commitment on the role of culture. Belfast has also developed its Year of Culture 2024.

• In Chemnitz (2025), there is more financial support and engagement from the local government for culture/ social programmes. A city department is specifically dedicated to the legacy planning.

Final remarks or suggestions for improvement beyond 2033
Knowledge sharing: ensuring that information is easily accessible to cities.
Looking for information and resources on ECoC is currently a time consuming exercise. There is a need for cities to have access to an ECoC online platform providing curated and updated information on former and future ECoCs (programmes, bid books, main topics from other bids, research, impact reports etc, as long as question of ownership is respected), contacts, a calendar where all ECoCs could add relevant events and projects. This is currently lacking on the EC website where online resources are very limited.

A capacity building programme for cities
Cities need more support during the whole ECoC process. Cities agree that the EC should provide such support, including information sessions, coaching, knowledge sharing and capacity-building activities, in particular during the second stage of the competition. This would make cities less dependent on external consultants who sometimes do not know the local context, and whose services represent a big financial investment from cities that is not always fair.

Eurocities is well placed to develop the architecture of such a capacity building programme for cities: we look forward to discussing ideas with the European Commission.

Improving the evaluation process
Many cities feel a lack of feedback and of clarity in the feedback given to unsuccessful bids. A better explanation on the evaluation system is needed so that cities understand how the decision is made. In some cases ECoC generated conflicts in cities due to the lack of clarity in the evaluation process and criteria.

In the future, the selection could be based on a scoring system, as this is done for EU public calls for proposals and for tenders.

Eurocities contact: Julie Hervé, head of culture (Questo indirizzo email è protetto dagli spambots. È necessario abilitare JavaScript per vederlo.)

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