Frequently Asked Questions

The European Capital Culture is an annual project which provides an opportunity for two selected European cities (one from the established EU member states and one from the new member states) to showcase their uniqueness and diversity, to display their cultural heritage, to present bold and innovative plans for the future, and to bring the city’s culture closer not only to its own citizens, but to the citizens of Europe as a whole. The winning city gains a superb opportunity to establish itself firmly on the cultural map, to strengthen its cultural scene, implement bold and innovative projects, involve the general public in cultural life, forge international contacts, build new cultural facilities and to become one of Europe’s cultural centres.

The European City of Culture project was launched in 1985 and was the brainchild of the Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri. The idea was born during a conversation between Mercouri and the French Minister of Culture Jack Lang in January 1985, when the two ministers met at Athens airport while waiting for a plane. The programme was launched by the Council of Ministers on 13 June 1985 with the aim of bringing Europe’s people closer together. In 1999 the project was renamed the European Capital of Culture.

In 2015 the Capitals of Culture will be one Belgian city and one Czech city. Competing for this title are the Czech cities of Plzeň,Hradec Králové and Ostrava. The only Belgian candidate is the city of Mons. The definitive list of candidates will be known when all applications have been received, at the end of October 2009.

The short list could include all candidate cities, but it also could have just one. The decision is completely up to the panel of jurors.

The selection panel meets for the first time on 7 and 8 December 2009 in Prague, at the invitation of the Ministry of Culture, with the goal of becoming better acquainted with the applications. Each city will have 30 minutes for its own presentation. Afterwards, time will be given for the jurors to ask questions. At the end of the first phase the panel will announce the list of cities advancing to the second phase of selection, which takes place in September 2010. Afterwards, the panel will compile a detailed report on how it evaluated the applications of individual candidate cities, including its recommendations for advancement to the second phase.

In the interim between the first and second phases of the competition, the cities will have time for supplementing their applications in accordance with the recommendations of the panel of jurors. In the spring of 2010 a delegation composed of members of the panel and representatives of the European Commission and the Czech Ministry of Culture will visit the cities that have advanced to the second phase in order to personally evaluate their potential to become European Capital of Culture for 2015.

The second phase of the competition is to determine the final selection of one city to become European Capital of Culture 2015. The second phase proceeds similarly as the first phase. Again, a 13-member panel of jurors will make a decision based on a more elaborate and detailed presentation of each city’s project and a report by the delegation of panel members from the visit to each city. The selected city will be officially named the European Capital of Culture for 2015 by the Council of Ministers of the European Union in May 2011. From the time of this decision, the chosen city may officially use the title of European Capital of Culture.

Between 1985 and 1999 Capital of Culture status was awarded to just once city per year. Since 2001 two cities have shared the title each year. The year 2000 was an exceptional one, with nine cities becoming Capitals of Culture in a celebration of the new millennium. The list shows that the title Capital of Culture has often been held by industrial cities not generally associated with culture (Lille, Glasgow, Rotterdam, Essen or Košice).

European Capitals of Culture 1985 - 2009

In addition to an exceptionally rich and top-quality range of cultural events, Ostrava’s 2015 bid will also bring an improvement and extension of the city’s cultural infrastructure. In terms of economic impacts, a successful bid will stimulate a growth in tourism not only in Ostrava, but throughout the entire region. This is also linked with the creation of new jobs and the safeguarding of existing ones, the promotion of Ostrava as an attractive investment location, and the development of the ‘cultural market’. The Ostrava 2015 project with which Ostrava is competing for this prestigious title is conceived in such a way as to bring sustainable benefits to both the city and its inhabitants. It is important to mention that the Statutory City of Ostrava, in conjunction with Charles University (Prague), is preparing a conceptual plan for the development of culture in Ostrava up to 2020, and this has been a major factor in the Authority´s decision to bid for Capital of Culture status.

The bid itself is being funded by the Statutory City of Ostrava. Related projects as part of the supporting campaign are funded from a range of sources – mainly by the private sector.

The Mayor of the Statutory City of Ostrava Petr Kajnar and the City Council have appointed the TV and film producer Čestmír Kopecký as the director of the Ostrava 2015 project. For more information on the project team, see the link HERE. The project bid also involves a wide range of important city institutions and major local personalities in culture, education, the non-profit sector and the general public.

The winning city receives the Melina Mercouri prize, named after the founder of the project, which contributes 1.5 million € to the city budget. Previous winners have found that this sum makes up only a small part of the total budget spent on the project. The main sources of funding are public budgets (city, region, ministries), the EU and the private sector.