Following a recommendation by a panel in Prague, Pilsen will be European Capital of Culture for 2015 for the Czech Republic. The Council of Ministers is set, probably in May 2011, to formally nominate Pilsen. Prior to this, in February 2010, Belgium recommended the Walloon town of Mons.

According to the 2006 decision establishing the European Capital of Culture, the Czech Republic and Belgium are the two host member states for 2015. Applications are examined by a panel made up of 13 independent cultural experts, with six appointed by the member state concerned and the other seven by the EU institutions. Cultural capitals this year are Essen (Germany), Pécs (Hungary) and Istanbul (Turkey). They are followed by Tallinn (Estonia) and Turku (Finland) in 2011; Guimarães (Portugal) and Maribor (Slovenia) in 2012; Marseilles (France) and Kosice (Slovakia) in 2013 and then Umea (Sweden) and Riga (Latvia) in 2014.

“I am confident that Pilsen will prepare an exciting programme of events, with a strong European dimension,” said Androulla Vassiliou, the commissioner responsible for education, culture, multilingualism and youth. The Commission also makes a contribution from the Culture Programme. Originally €500,000, the Commission grant is now €1.5 million. Public funds from state and local bodies, as well as from the EU Structural Funds, are the main sources. Budgets for a European Capital of Culture, in putting the programme in place, have ranged from €6 million to €100 million over the past 25 years.

Earlier this year, the Commission celebrated the 25th anniversary of the European Capitals of Culture initiative. Since the first European Capital of Culture, Athens, in 1985, over 40 cities from all over Europe have held the title. The programme became so successful that it even spawned eight cultural capitals in one year ⁽¹⁾.

Background

Behind the initiative, in 1985, were Melina Mercouri, then Greek culture minister, and her French counterpart, Jack Lang. From 1985 to 2004, European Capitals of Culture were designated solely by national governments. In 1999, it became an EU initiative with new criteria and selection procedures. A chronological list of member states was drawn for hosting the event. The title apparently helps bring in tourists, with an average 12% increase in overnight stays in a capital than in the previous year. Liverpool saw an estimated 25% increase in tourism in 2008. Total amounts invested in infrastructure have ranged from ten million euro to 220 million euro.

⁽¹⁾ In 2000, the following eight cities were chosen: Bergen (Norway), Bologna (Italy), Brussels (Belgium), Helsinki (Finland), Kraków (Poland), Prague (Czech Republic), Reykjavík (Iceland) and Santiago de Compostela (Spain).