Warsaw Capital of Culture 2016
Candidate City
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development.
A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally. During the first two decades, cities were chosen primarily based on cultural history, scheduled events and the ability to provide infrastructural and financial support.
A 2004 study by the European Culture Commission (Palmer Study) demonstrated that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for the cultural development and the transformation of the city. Consequently, the beneficial socio-economic development and impact for the chosen city are now also considered in determining the chosen cities.
The European Capital of Culture programme was initially called the European City of Culture and was conceived in 1983 by Melina Mercouri, then serving as Greek Minister of Culture. Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued. The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder. During the German Presidency of 1999, the European City of Culture programme was renamed the European Capital of Culture.
In 2016, it will be the turn of Spain and Poland to showcase a city.
There are 7 candidate cities which will compete with each other to become European Capital of Culture during 2016. These are Gdańsk, Lublin, Łódź, Poznań, Szczecin, Toruń & Warszawa (Warsaw).
Information about Warsaw's 2016 bid can be found on the official Warsaw 2016 website.