In 2026, the European Capitals of Culture will be Trencin, Slovakia, and Oulu, Finland. But how are the two cities preparing? This focus is on Trencin, which, in addition to supporting the organisation of cultural events, is placing great emphasis on the training of cultural workers from the region or from the city itself. These are very important actions for a European Capital of Culture because training serves not only to raise citizens' skills, but also to strengthen connections between different skills and experiences.

There is an increasingly important issue affecting cities and the lives of citizens: it is the relationship between the centre and the neighbourhood.

The first monitoring reports for Trencin 2026 with the recommendations of the evaluation panel have been published on the European Commission website.

Below are the recommendations for Trencin.

This autumn Trencin 2026 will launch Runway training programmes to help organise the European Capital of Culture project. They are starting with training for cultural managers who want to take their organisation or project to an international level.

Europe Day in Trenčín was held in the spirit of concerts, discussions, literature and experiential formats. With the Europe in Trenčín mini-festival, the city joined the European celebration of Europe Day - a celebration of peace and unity in Europe.