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Final outcome: selection of Matera and ongoing networking
Press release by the European Commission
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Brussels, 17 October 2014 Matera to be 2019 European Capital of Culture in Italy The selection panel of independent experts responsible for assessing the Italian cities competing to be European Capital of Culture in 2019 has recommended that Matera should be awarded the title. The other five cities short-listed after the initial pre-selection round in November 2013 were Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia, Ravenna and Siena. The formal designation of Matera by the EU's Council of Ministers is expected to take place next year. Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner responsible for culture, stated: "I congratulate Matera on its successful bid. The competition for the title in Italy was one of the strongest ever, with 21 initial contenders narrowed down to six finalists. This number is a testimony of the immense popularity of this European Union initiative. I am confident that Matera will attract more visitors from Europe and all over the world to discover the city, its history and the cultural diversity which is one of strengths of our continent. I am convinced that the title will bring Matera and its surrounding area significant long-term cultural, economic and social benefits, as we have seen with previous European Capitals of Culture." Background In accordance with the Decision of the European Parliament and the EU's Council of Ministers, which sets out the criteria for the European Capital of Culture, Bulgaria and Italy are the two Member States which will share the title in 2019. The final selection in Bulgaria took place in September, with the panel recommending that Plovdiv should be awarded the title. The criteria state that cities should prepare a cultural programme with a strong European dimension, which fosters the participation of citizens in the city, its neighbourhood and the whole country. The programme must have a lasting impact and contribute to the long-term cultural and social development of the city. The European dimension is reflected in the chosen themes and in the way events in the programme are organised. Cooperation between cultural operators in different EU countries is encouraged. The process for selecting a European Capital of Culture begins with a pre-selection phase after which an initial shortlist of bidding cities is drawn up. The final selection takes place nine months later. The city chosen by the panel is then officially designated by the EU's Council of Ministers. The panel assessing the cities is made up of 13 independent cultural experts - six appointed by the Member State and seven by the European institutions. The members of the panel appointed by the European institutions currently are:
Following Umeå (Sweden) and Riga (Latvia) this year, Mons (Belgium) and Plzen (Czech Republic) will be European Capitals of Culture in 2015, Wrocław (Poland) and Donastia San Sebastián (Spain) in 2016, Aarhus (Denmark) and Paphos (Cyprus) in 2017 and Valletta (Malta) and Leeuwarden (Netherlands) in 2018. For more information http://ec.europa.eu/culture/tools/actions/capitals-culture_en.htm Follow Androulla Vassiliou on Twitter @VassiliouEU
Source: Matera to be 2019 European Capital of Culture in ... - Europaeuropa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-1176_en.htm
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Responses from the other cities:
Siena acknowledged that Matera took the lead.
"Matera has won the title of European Capital of Culture and even though we're disappointed in Tuscany, this is a well deserved victory. From the start of the competition Matera has been an eye-catcher. The bottom-up approach of its bid was impressive and once the city council married the idea of Matera's candidature (it had initially been born by a private group of people), the committee was swift in connecting the young and creative local scene to European and international forces."
Link: Review of the bid by Siena
Outcome and continuity of the other projects:
Noteworthy is that those cities which were short-listed but did not get the designation seem to have formed a kind of network in Italy to ensure what they have started shall not be wasted. They may follow the model which developed in the UK where the follow-up of Liverpool being selected for 2008, there was created the concept of having on a yearly bais a cultural capital of the UK.
Explicitly it is being stated that
"Siena, Cagliari, Lecce, Perugia and Ravenna aren't planning to pack up yet. In fact the party has only started. The six Italian candidate cities have been working together on #Italy2019, a project that supports the further development of the ideas and topics from all the 20 bidding Italian cities.
Dario Franceschini, Italy's minister of culture and tourism congratulated Matera on its win, but also specified that the recently established #artbonus act will provide the shortlisted cities with means to realize some of the proposed projects in their bid books. Whilst Steve Green, head of the jury made up of seven European and six Italian experts, reaffirmed during the press conference that the jurors had been truly impressed by the thoroughness of each single bid book put together by Italy's six candidate cities. Last but not least Tuscany's governor Enrico Rossi has already confirmed the 40 million Euro that the region of Tuscany was planning to invest into #Siena2019."
Source: http://www.mapitout-siena.com/2014/10/matera-winner-european-capital-of-culture-2019.html
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