While the list of European Capitals of Culture in 2028 is gradually becoming clearer after the nomination of Budweis, from the Czech Republic, and the four French cities still on the short list, there is still a lot of uncertainty among the cities in the running for the 2029 capital.

From Thursday 6 to Saturday 8 July, Open Sound Festival 2023 arrives in Matera, European capital of culture for 2019. This is the concrete representation of the idea of Land Music Experience that characterises the Open Sound project identity: a rigorous investigation of the soundscape that meets sensitivity for new forms of expression, the courage of innovation that meets the ancestral power of origins. This is the leitmotif of an unmissable lineup that brings internationally renowned artists to some of the most iconic venues in the City of the Sassi.

"The European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia has so far demonstrated a serious commitment to the project and significant advancement," European Commission announced last days. The European Capital of Culture 2025 Nova Gorica - Gorizia team (GO! 2025 and EGTC GO), together with the two mayors Samo Turel and Rodolfo Ziberna, reported on May 16 this year to the international commission of experts on the development of the project, and now the commission has published an encouraging report (ecoc-2025-novagorica-second-monitoring-report Attached to this news).

A total of 512,000 visitors, mainly from Luxembourg (60%) and France (27%), attended the 1,351 events and the corresponding 3,145 cultural activities that took place as part of the European Capital of Culture project in the years leading up to and during the title year itself, as well as in its closing phase at the beginning of 2023.

Montpellier 2028, over the past few days, Pierre Soujol (President of the Community of Municipalities of the Pays de Lunel and Mayor of Lunel) hosted a press conference at the Lunel Arena, dedicated to the 2023 Candidacy Programme.