Today, EcocNews hosts an interesting presentation by Luna Voss, Customer Success Manager and board member of Elsinore 2032.

There's something in Elsinore that beats both louder and faster than in other cities. Something that is. As in the present tense of "to be." Because that is the question: Do we want to be? Or do we not want to be - European Capital of Culture, when Denmark next gets the title in 2032?

You feel it beating when you're at Toldkammergården for the Youth School's summer concert, where musical students sing far beyond the edge of the stage, and the audience - across generations-claps, laughs, and maybe sheds a tear behind their sunglasses. You feel it during community dinners, when a stranger puts down their cutlery and starts a conversation with you. Maybe it beats a little nervously, but you can feel that you are.

You feel it at Sommertiva in the Soulgarden. At the ELværket during Helsingør Festival. In the streets during PASSAGE. At Kronborg during the Shakespeare Festival... The first time I felt that beat myself was when I moved here to attend high school.

I hadn't planned to live here. But I didn't know the feeling of a city that pulses in rhythms you can't quite measure. Suddenly, I found myself part of communities I hadn't planned on. It didn't feel like I chose the city- more like the city chose me. And I didn't just settle for living here. I am here.

Now- a few years later - it's becoming clear to me what the city actually is. I see it as a body: We, the citizens, are the cells. The municipality - which literally means community-is the brain, the one that needs to make wise decisions. And the business sector, where I work, is the muscles. We are the city's legs to walk on. And its arms to lift with.

But what happens when technology- and increasingly artificial intelligence - starts taking over most of the work? Then something will be missing. Something you can't code. That which is. That which beats. Yes, you read me right: the heart.

Culture is the heart. The thing that pumps fire, nourishment and soul through the entire system. And soon, that beat will grow even stronger. Elsinore 2032 - the association I'm part of - has brought together citizens, associations, businesses and cultural institutions in a cluster of energy, courage and curiosity. We'll be ready when the Minister of Culture launches the competition between Danish cities.

That's why it's important we talk about the project in the right way. Not as decoration. But as an investment in everything that already exists - and that can grow, if we choose it. I understand if some ask: What about the schools? What about welfare? These are completely fair questions. But we must also ask ourselves: What about the city where it all happens? The community that gives welfare meaning and holds everything together? The city we should want to be in- not just live in.

It's not about choosing between brain, muscle, or heart. We need all of it. We must remember what makes people like me come here. And more importantly, stay. Sometimes, the wisest choice is to choose with your heart.

Elsinore 2032 is working to have Helsingør selected as European Capital of Culture in 2032, when Denmark next gets the opportunity. The Ministry of Culture is expected to announce the national competition among candidate cities as soon as possible.

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