The announcement was made yesterday, September 24, at around 2 p.m., in the Royal Library in Brussels, by the chair of the European Commission's Evaluation Panel, Jelle Burggraaf.

The cities of Namur and Molenbeek were also on the shortlist, but it was Leuven's dossier entitled ‘Leuven & Beyond’ that convinced the panel. The slogan indicates the city's desire to transcend geographical borders and become a community that is open not only to its province but also to international dimensions.

The university and the presence of various art schools certainly played a very important role in this context, giving the bid a modern vision, not strictly anchored to the past, and ready to respond to the needs and perspectives of the younger generations, who in many contexts represent the weakest and most unheard link in both urban communities and bidding processes.

Ecocnews remembers very well that at the beginning of Leuven's candidacy, when it had not even made it onto the short list, it was approached by a university student of Italian origin asking for advice on the candidacy and wanting to learn more about the secrets that had led Matera to win the title for Italy in 2014 for 2019.

During its visit to the city, the evaluation panel must have appreciated this new movement of ideas, this vital energy, this drive towards innovation that looks beyond its own borders. It must also have been convinced by the play on words that transformed the name of the city Leuven into Lov. That is, Love. A word that Belgium, Europe, and the whole world today feel a vital and urgent need not only to pronounce but also to realize.

The jury observed how the city deals with its complicated recent past, including a visit to the Sanda Dia mural, and highlighted its cultural and natural resources, from the Grote Markt and Naamsestraat to the surrounding countryside and Meerdaal forest.

However, it is important to note that the work done by the other two cities, Namur and Molenbeek, was also enormous, gigantic.

Namur presented a bid book entitled “Confluences.”

“Namur, just like the rest of Europe, is going through a period of diffluence. In the field of hydrology, diffluence refers to the time when a water course begins to split into branches that will never converge again. In our societies, this phenomenon can be seen everywhere, with divisions, nationalism, identity entrenchment, threatening social cohesion and contributing to the rise of all kinds of racism and discrimination issues.
“Security” has now become a major issue for the population of Namur despite stagnating crime levels. We are watching our territory fragment in response to the fears that beset us. There are a thousand names for the local and international crises that we are currently witnessing and the resulting ruptures between people, between places, between tradition and modernity. But there may not be a thousand ways of resolving them”. 

Namur presented its KIKK digital arts festival, its historic center, folklore, and famous échasseurs Namurois stilt walkers. Located at the confluence of the Sambre and Meuse rivers, the city has long been admired and was recently named the fifth best European destination by European Best Destination, ahead of Amsterdam and Prague.

A huge, enormous and extremely useful job has also been done by Molenbeek, which is more of a community than a real city.

Molenbeek has had to fight hard to change its reputation for violence and political instability. Yet in recent years, thanks in part to its candidacy, the community has managed to establish itself on the local and international scene as a true example of multiculturalism, coexistence, and creativity. Along the way, they organized several assemblies to fully understand the needs of citizens and the responses to be given, which all ended up in the dossier around one word: Sadaka.

Our guiding value, Sadaka, meaning generosity without expecting anything in return, remains the heart of this journey. It is alive in the bonds we’ve created, the projects we’ve launched, and the everyday acts of care and creativity that will continue to shape our city and our continent.

Fatima Zibouh & Jan Goossens, co-mission holders, emphasize: “Our project is much more than a candidacy: it is a collective movement, driven by a universal value – Sadaka – which in over ten languages means generosity, empathy, altruism, and social justice. Our ambition? A city where everyone feels welcome, supported, and heard. In this way, we hope to contribute to a new European narrative built on generosity.”

They demonstrated this during the jury's visit to the city when, for example, around 200 volunteers cleaned the streets to show their generosity.

But in the selection process, even if it was not officially stated, the absence of a fully operational government in Brussels must have weighed heavily.

However, the following words reveal an idea, a hope for the future of Molenbeek, Belgium, and Europe: “Today, the European jury has announced its decision for the European Capital of Culture 2030, and Molenbeek for Brussels 2030 (MB2030) was not selected. While this moment may feel like a pause in our adventure, it is not an ending. What we have built together over these years is too strong, too alive, and too necessary to stop here. We applaud the titleholder and we will contribute with all of our generosity to their further development into the European Capital of Culture 2030.