What future do the European Capitals of Culture have? And how can this competition be improved through new changes to the regulations for the new programming cycle? And how can culture be integrated into processes of environmental sustainability? And what is the relationship between culture and democracy?

EcocNews.com, an online newspaper based in Matera, born in February 2021 as a spin-off of Matera2019 and from the experience of professionals who have worked in the long and exciting journey of Matera, European Capital of Culture, has become mediapartner of Culture next, a network of 34 cities representing 19 European countries.

A few days ago, on 2 September to be exact, the deadline for submitting the candidature for European Capital of Culture in 2030 for Belgium expired. As Ecocnews already anticipated several months ago (here), six cities have agreed to be part of the competition. They are Namur, Molenbeek, Ghent, Louvain, Courtraie and, once again, Bruges.

From 4 August to 29 September 2024, Austrian light and media artist Victoria Coeln invites visitors to discover and playfully explore the medium of light as a phenomenon and tool of knowledge in the outdoor area of the Austrian Papermaking Museum on the River Traun and in its gallery spaces.

In 2031, Spain and Malta will name the European Capital of Culture. 

Since EcocNews has been online, just after the pandemic, we have been doing a series of interviews with cultural managers and European Capital of Culture experts.

Next year the European Union's European Capital of Culture programme will celebrate its first 40 years. An important date as we have already written here.

In the last few days, Culture Next organised in Bielsko Biala, one of the four cities on the short list to become the European capital for Poland in 2029 (the others are Lublin, Katowice, Kołobrzeg) an interesting international symposium on the topic of branding European capitals of culture and communication.

As part of the Capital of Culture 2024, the artist Grace Ellen Barkey is showing the installations "Solastalgia" at the Landungsplatz Ebensee railway station and "Windows and Mosaic of Leaves" at the Kalvarienbergkirche Gosau.