Kwartiermaker (bid lead) Maike Fleuren is looking forward to it: "The fact that such a large part of the council is now backing this shows that we, as a city, truly want to become European Capital of Culture."

Over the past six months, Team Kwartiermaken Nijmegen2033, made up of Maike Fleuren, Angela Verkuijlen and Joris van Meel, has already spoken with more than 1,100 people from Nijmegen. "Because you become Capital of Culture with the whole city, or you don't become it at all."

All those conversations revolved around one question: how is Nijmegen really doing? The picture that emerged is clear: Nijmegen is doing well, but concerns are growing. Nijmegen wants to remain a city where everyone feels at home. But strong growth is putting the social fabric under pressure. Fleuren: "That is exactly what makes this the perfect moment to work very deliberately on the question of how to hold a growing city together. Capital of Culture can help with that, because culture can do what policy cannot."

A laboratory for Europe
The question of how a growing city remains a city for everyone is not just a Nijmegen question; it is a European one. All across Europe, urban growth is putting pressure on both physical and mental space: the space to count, to run into one another and to try something without it having to pay off straight away. Together with the region, Nijmegen does not want to be a model that shows how it should be done, but a laboratory. A city that experiments, that is allowed to fail and that shares what it learns, while there is still time to change course.

In autumn 2027, Nijmegen will submit its first bid book. It will set out the story the city wants to tell together with the region, along with the first example projects that bring that story to life. At the end of 2027, an independent European jury will decide which cities go through to the next round. The shortlisted cities will write a second bid book in 2028, after which the Dutch European Capital of Culture for 2033 will be announced.

Join in!
The European jury wants to know why Nijmegen, of all places, should become Capital of Culture, and why now. The whole city is being involved to formulate a sharp answer to that question.

Fleuren: "We notice that there is a great deal of energy in the city to help build Nijmegen2033. Among cultural makers, entrepreneurs, education, regional partners and engaged residents of Nijmegen. We are going to bring that energy together. We see residents as co-creators: that is why we are making the bid book together with the city and the region."

A kick-off event for everyone who wants to help build the bid will be scheduled shortly. As a loyal newsletter reader, you will automatically be kept informed.

Meanwhile, the Dutch Ministry of Culture has announced that the call for applications will be published on 16 November 2026.