Part II The European Cities of Culture for the Year 2000

Chapter I

Cities and approaches

1. HISTORY

Since 1985 one European Capital has been selected per year, sometimes twinned with a second city which has hosted a cultural month. In November 1993, when choosing the Cities of Culture for the year 1998 and 1999, the Ministers took the following approach with regard to the year 2000, “The Ministers acknowledged the cultural importance of Avignon, Bologna and Prague, whose applications were supported by several delegations. The Ministers pointed out that the year 2000 would be of quite specific symbolic importance. They agreed to consider the possibility of involving a larger number of towns and cities in events planned for that year, including Avignon, Bologna and Prague. (Introductory note for Council of 20.11.95)

June 1995, gave the particular symbolic importance to the year 2000, after six other cities announced their interest in being an ECC for the year 2000: Bergen (Norway), Brussels (Belgium), Krakow (Poland) Helsinki (Finland), Reykjavik (Iceland) and Santiago de Compostela (Spain). Due to the difficulties in selecting only one European Capital among the proposed cities that arrived in Brussels, the fifteen Ministers of Culture reached a compromise and agreed to give all nine of these ci ties the Cultural Capital title for the year

2000. (Extract from the Draft Minutes of the Council of 20.11.1995)

“These cities are being asked to coordinate their programme and define a common theme for this event; they will thus be able to share in the organisation of a European Cultural Area in the year 2000” commented the European Ministers after the decision. (Extract from the Draft Minutes of the Council of 20.11.1995)

The reaction from the nine cities varied from amazement to disappointment. After the first shock, however, Avignon, Bergen Brussels, Bologna, Helsinki, Prague, Krakow, Reykjavik and Santiago de Compostela soon combined their forces and started to plan collaborative actions and projects.

Apart from the AECC joint projects (10), most beneficial collaboration took place on bitrilateral level, between some of the cities (about 60).

2. NINE CITIES OF CULTURE NINE CULTURES OF THE CITIES

According to the resolution governing the programme the cities of Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Prague, Krakow, Helsinki, Reykjavik, and Santiago de Compostela were, "free to determine their own emphasises and theme and to organise programmes and projects within the time scale and budget which each city decided". (Resolution, 13 June 1985) Due to the fact that the nine Cities of Culture of the year 2000 were different in size, ambitions, needs and tastes of the local and international community they focused on different directions . Inevitably the cultural programmes and approaches of the cities varied massively.

Although each cultural programme was independently planned and managed by each European City of Culture 2000 Office, Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Prague, Krakow, Helsinki, Reykjavik, and Santiago decided jointly the nine different themes around whom they build up their own programme. Thus providing a measure of cooperation and to welcome the new millennium "with a common message". (ECC Meeting in Helsinki, September 1996) This decision resulted in nine rich and wide cultural programmes reflecting the nine different cultures of the cities.

The city of Avignon, vibrant home to artistic creation, decided to celebrate the year 2000 under the motto, “Art and creativity”. The city of Bergen, the Grieg’s home-town decided to welcome the new millennium under the sign of, “Art, Work and Leisure”. The cultural city of Bologna, “la dotta”, selected the motto “Culture and Communication”, focusing on young people and used the chance to open an array of new cultural spaces including a covered salt warehouse. The capital of Europe, Brussels, decided not presenting a great millennium festival but concentrated on initiatives which, under the theme, “the City”, will have long

term impact after decades when it has been ripped apart to make way for the EU institutions. Prague looked to its past heritage and built up a rich and ambitions programme under the theme of Cultural Heritage. The Nordic city of Helsinki decided to use this opportunity to bring Finnish culture to an international awareness level and to foster the link between culture and, “Knowledge, Technology and Future”. Santiago de Compostela, well known for being the end of the St. James’ pilgrim road questioned itself on the place of,

“Europe and the World”. The city of Reykjavik placed all the events under the theme, “Culture and Nature”, while Krakow , the city with its tradition of various cultures and religions existing together for over a thousand years chose the theme of, “Thought, Spirituality and Creativity”.

2. AVIGNON: ART AND CREATIVITY

2.1. The city of culture

Situated in Provence on the left bank of the River Rhone, Avignon lies in the heart of a vast Rhone Mediterranean region. The town of popes rules over an urban framework composed of a dozen towns. In the midst of this conglomeration, where the quality of life needs no illustration, there is an efficient transportation infrastructure that spreads out in every direction. The imminent opening of the high-speed train station will

bring the travel time between Avignon and Paris down to less than 2 hours and 30 minutes.

A town undergoing urban transformation, with its current population of 88.000 inhabitants promises to grow substantially. Gifted with a secular agricultural tradition, Avignon has built a solid reputation for itself in the food-processing and other related industries. Its fertile ground has made the town a place where provençal cooking is second to none all year round. Its privileged geographical situation has earned the town the title of, "Capital of the Côtes du Rhône". Avignon is also a universal centre for tourism. Its remarkable architecture has been inscribed on UNESCO's World Heritage List.

2.2. The culture of the city

The international reputation of the Festival d'Avignon has turned the town into a new haven for the performing arts. Each month there are scheduled events, shows or various gatherings. Its status as European City of Culture gave Avignon a unique opportunity to enter the international stage to promote its resources in numerous artistic fields: to contribute to the building of a Cultural Europe; to establish additional contacts through the creation of new information exchange networks.

2.3. Programme and theme

The distinction awarded to Avignon in the year 2000 prompted the inter-ministerial mission (set up by the French President for the purpose of planning events to commemorate the third millennium) to choose the town for a prestigious exhibition entitled "Beauty". Three levels of programming were implemented around the theme of Art and creativity: a European programme, a national programme and a local programme.

- The European programme

This first category of programming included all of the projects calling for co-operation between structures, associations, or artists from the three cities which, like Avignon, had been named as European Cities of Culture. There was a total of 50 or so projects, many of which were presented in Avignon as well as in the 9 other European Cities of Culture. Local artists were also asked to produce an original creation on location in Bergen, Helsinki, Brussels and Dozza (a town near Bologna).

- The national programme.

The Avignon 2000 mission in France decided to organise a landmark exhibition in Avignon entitled "Beauty". This was done partly in an effort to decentralise the events relating to the third millennium and partly in recognition of Avignon's status as European City of Culture.

Both internationally renowned artists and local players were called in for this exhibition which, was a retrospective catalogue of the notion of beauty in the 20th century.

- The local programme.

This programme was to promote the rich culture and heritage of the region. The term culture was by no means restrictive, covering all of the social, artistic and economic practices of our society. The programme was elaborated by the Avignon 2000 mission on the basis of numerous proposals from local players (192 projects). Priority was given to those projects whose aim was regional development, value enhancement and entertainment.

Three major categories of art were represented:

· Visual arts (plastic arts, image arts in general)

· Performing arts (theatre, dance, music)

· Cultural heritage (buildings, furniture, iconography, literary works)

2.4. Programme structure

The programme structure focused on Avignon's historical, human, and geographical reality. Two strong notions were added, the town's continuing history and its future. The theme of Art and creativity served as a reminder that Avignon has always been a fertile artistic haven and is still actively involved in this area. This theme was also open to the field of new technologies, thereby favouring the town's entry into the digital age. The programme structure focused on two main areas:

1. The town of Avignon:

The cultural practices of the people of Avignon.

The identity of the town and its inhabitants.

The blend of tradition and festivities.

2. The Cultural Capital: Major projects:

- Thoughts on the aesthetic shifts of the 20th century: "Beauty" exhibition.

- The artistic heritage of the 20th century: The Yon Lambert Centre for Contemporary Art.

- Preparing for the 21st century: AVIGNONumérique / Les Mutalogues

- Avignon, the World Theatre Capital: the Festival d’Avignon and Eastern Europe.

- The European dimension: Trans-Dance-Europe, Kide, Voices of Europe,

Transplant’Heart, European Portrait, Communication, Restitution of Beauty.

The nomination of Avignon as European City of Culture was recognition of its rich culture and heritage as well as its prominent reputation in theatre. The aim of Avignon 2000 was to reinforce this image and affirm its role as a future capital. Avignon 2000 was intended for everyone. It reached out to every social level in the population by adopting the widest possible definition for culture. Priority was given to events and activities for children and young people, to projects having a strong impetus on social advancement, as well as to

projects aimed at various levels of sensitivity and knowledge.

The primary objective of the 2000 events was to draw in a large crowd, not only during the summer months, but also throughout the entire year. With more than a million visitors, the results far surpassed our expectations. However, it is too early to give a final analysis of the economic impact of the year 2000. This will only be possible once the final report comes in. Indeed, the repercussions of large-scale events on tourism and the local economy take years to assess.

4. BERGEN: CONTEMPORARY CULTURE AND THE REGION

4.1. The city of culture

Originally named Björgvin, the city was founded in about 1070 by King Olaf « The peaceful ». It was the capital of Norway in the 13th century and the largest city in the country for the next 600 years. Due to its harbour setting and commercial importance Bergen became a vital link in the Hanseatic League from 1350 to 1560. “Bryggen” (the Dock) is a part of Bergen’s collective cultural heritage and has its place on

UNESCO’s World Heritage list.

Today, Bergen is Norway's second-largest city and has a population of 220.000. The city’s major industries are pelagic and farmed fisheries, oil and maritime industry and technology, administration and education. Bergen is the major city of Western Norway, an area with a population of 800 000 and a north-south length of over 500 km, and east-west of 300 km of very difficult terrain. All this area, 3 counties and 70 municipalities were a part of the cultural city project.

4.2. The culture of the city

Bergen has a rich and concentrated cultural life. Both traditional and contemporary art forms are well represented : A rich music life is lead by the city's symphony orchestra, founded in 1765, (one of the oldest in the world) and the contemporary BIT20 ensemble, over 30 museums with both local and internationally important collections and several theatres, amongst them the Bergen International Theatre. The most important dance company is the Carte Blanche contemporary company. Bergen has many festivals, the most famous being the Bergen international festival in May.

Bergen 2000 European City of Culture was the final event in a ten years programme of strengthening the city’s cultural life. The municipality has assisted in a major cultural infrastructure programme and has, together with the cultural life of the city created and implemented specific art sector based plans for the different sectors of cultural life. The goal of which was to make Bergen “Cultural City Number One” in Norway. The fulfilment of these plans was the main goal of Bergen 2000. Bergen has pioneered this sort of planning and collaboration in Norway.

4.3. Programme and theme

The cultural year started in Bergen on February 17th, 2000 and ended officially on December 3rd. (Nordic light festival) The programme 2000 was spread into 3 programme seasons: Dreams in the spring, Roaming in the summer and Spaces in the autumn. Each season contained both profiled art projects and spectacular folk-festivals. A focus in Bergen in spring and autumn, during the summer the focus covered the entire western fjord region of Norway.

The Bergen2000 Foundation received more than 1200 proposals for collaborative projects. In selecting the projects the priority has been given to independent artists outside established institutions and to projects that gave the partners a stronger basis for the years after the year 2000. The programmes particular successes and strengths were:

· Contemporary dance : Establishing a successful festival – The Oktoberdans – in 1999 and 2000 with a very strong international programme, the Trans Dance Europe project, and a number of contemporary dance street projects.

· Contemporary theatre : Programs included « The world in Bergen » series that included Wooster group form New York and many European groups. « 216T » series focusing on text and theatre, « Skudd ! » that gave new artists assistance and a national tour.

· Rock, blues and roots music : Bergen 2000 gave the largest ever Norwegian support to this field and in collaboration with the artists established festivals, an international club programme and concert series, and several regional and European tours for important jazz groups.

· Art and craft arts : Several major national exhibitions were in Bergen in 2000. Museums and galleries in Bergen had the opportunity to curate international exhibitions.

· A large series of over 50 outdoor art projects throughout the year by individual artists and groups brought the contemporary to the general public, both permanent and non permanent projects made this a showcase for the visual and three dimensional arts.

· A knowledge programme with the university connected researchers and cultural institutions. Amongst these were large festival weeks on comparative religion, stage arts, design and marine sciences. A part of this was a group of internet projects: An international archives project, a library project and several national projects.

· Schools programmes: « My city – Our City » engaged 70 school for 2 years on the subject of urbanism. 30 000 children were part of the « Lydyngel » concert and music festival. Other projects were programmes for teenagers to learn to be concert organisers, for computer parties, for dance and dance music and several internet projects.

· The coastal culture programme: The largest single programme in the year 2000. All forms of culture and all levels from local programmes to international collaboration. The focus on the coast as an open border gave over 500 projects. In this kaleidoscope of events were museum exhibitions side by side with presentations of contemporary art, traditional music and pop, theatre and avant-garde, dance festival and open air spectacles for thousands of spectators.

The regional programme was a particular success both culturally and politically. 50 municipalities were partners with programs throughout the year. The focus was on contemporary arts and on family events, not least a series of traditional festivals of music and dance.

These points are but a small sketch, Bergen 2000 had over 3000 projects with a total of

over 20 000 performances and events.

4.4. Results

· In a Gallup over 60 % of the population agreed that the year had been a success, only 20% disagreed. The greatest level of satisfaction was in low income groups with children.

Over 40% of the population had a greater cultural consumption in the year 2000 than before.

· A great majority of artistic and cultural partners say that they have reached their artistic and cultural goals, most are also satisfied for the increasing number of public.

· Almost all our major partners have had 20% to 50% larger public participation in the year 2000 than the years before.

· The tourist industry has had a successful year with more transport tickets and hotel rooms sold at a higher price than before. A national Gallup shows that Norway as a whole identifies ‘City of Culture’ with Bergen.

· Bergen 2000 was the largest ever sponsorship receiver in Norway, the sponsors are satisfied.

· Bergen 2000 and its projects received enormous local and regional press coverage and much more international press than usual, but was less successful in the national media.

5. BOLOGNA: CULTURE AND COMMUNICATION

5.1. The city of culture

Bologna, with a population of approximately 400.000 inhabitants, is the seventh largest Italian city. The city is also the administrative, commercial and cultural centre of the Emilia-Romagna region. Since Florence in 1986, and therefore for the first time in fourteen years, Bologna is the second Italian city to be accorded such prestigious recognition as European City of Culture that testifies to the beauty, history, and cultural vitality of the city. New challenges were faced: to prepare a program showcasing the importance of Italian culture, to enrich the city with more spaces for culture and the arts, and to make the city even more pleasant and

welcoming.

Centuries of art, porticoes, towers and squares animated with life: Bologna is a crossroads of past, present and future, a city with a wealth of history and certainly one amongst the most beautiful in Italy.

Placed by the Romans at the centre of the imperial road network, Bologna has always been a fundamental nexus for the mobility of individuals and goods. Thus, right from its very beginning, Bologna was already known as the ‘Cultured’ by the ancient Romans, when the poet Martial defined it as ‘dotta’ (learned). Bologna has been the dominant centre of European cultural modernisation in the 12th and 13th centuries, with an artistic history among the greatest and, in the late 15th century, it became a significant centre of Renaissance art.

Bologna is the home of the oldest European University which celebrated its nine-hundredth anniversary in 1988, that has maintained its prestige throughout the years, standing among the greatest universities in Italy in terms of its number of departments, institutes, museums, and libraries. With approximately 80,000 students (100,000 including branch campuses), the University is a “city within the city”: 3.500 professors offer courses in 59 degree programmes and 87 graduate programmes. Bologna's mission for transmitting learning around the world is also evident in the numerous foreign universities that have chosen the city to host their

foreign campuses. Bologna is also the home to important national research centres, including the National Council on Research.

5.2. The culture of the city

Bologna is perhaps the most culturally vibrant city in Italy. It is an extraordinarily welcoming city, famous for its vibrant cultural life, the openness and kindness of its citizens, the quality of urban life, its ‘joie de vivre’ and a nightlife that never seems to end.

Without a doubt, it is the city with the highest rate of participation in cultural and leisure activities. Museums, libraries, theatres and opera, music, summer festivals, movies, alternative culture, social groups and clubs are the motors of the city.

Its deep cultural heritage can be seen in its 43 museums, 14 theatres, 50 cinemas and more than 200 libraries. This fertile intellectual and creative climate has also been expressed in an intense underground artistic production over the last twenty years and with some very positive results, especially in the field of music, comics, video, theatre entertainment and narrative.

5.3. Programme and theme

Bologna 2000 European City of Culture represented an occasion for further enrichment for a city which has always played a leading role in the European cultural panorama.

An unprecedented effort has been dedicated to completing an array of cultural spaces in the city. In 2000, the city of Bologna has planned the finishing touches on cultural facilities costing 150 billion lire—almost 100 million dollars.

These works fit into an ambitious overall plan that involves the cooperation of the entire city to beautify Bologna, restoring porticoes and historic facades and improving city lighting: a plan for veritable urban rebirth. The cultural programme that Bologna has created during this unforgettable year saw a sequence of a huge variety of events ranging from art to theatre, communication to music, from cinema to philosophy, from history to wine and food.

With the 995 projects presented, which involved 1000 authorities, more than 2000 events were held, including:

- 940 concerts and performances

- 282 exhibitions and installations

- 166 editorial initiatives

- 288 conventions and conferences

- 177 workshops and seminars

- 14 cultural awards

Among the nine European Cities of Culture, Bologna was assigned the theme of Communication. In consideration of its efforts the civic government dedicated itself to developing public communication, the pioneering spirit of excellence of the University in the science of communication and the presence of a strong fabric of associations and businesses active in the multimedia field. This project offered a framework to be applied to those outside the city and region as well as those within the strategically central role played by

communication today.

Festivals, exhibitions and other events were organised to intrigue and attract citizens and tourists into the world of communication today and tomorrow, taking advantage of the most innovative tools developed by scientific education.

Conventions and meetings dealt with some of the most significant current theoretical problems, and their practical consequences, bringing to Bologna the leading experts in various scientific disciplines to examine the state of the art and trace the blueprint for future study.

The main objectives of Bologna 2000 were the positioning of Bologna on the international map of European cities of arts and culture on the ground of its heritage and high level of supply and consumption of cultural productions.

Bologna therefore aspires to attract a strong flow of cultural tourists alongside the already solid base of visitors drawn to its fairs, businesses, and conventions.

6. BRUSSELS: THE CITY

6.1.The city of culture

Brussels is unlike any other capital city due to its combined status as the capital of Belgium and as the administrative capital of the European Union. In addition, the reference to Brussels may also infer the Brussels Region, which is one of the three regions of Belgium. As a city, Brussels comprises 19 communes, each with its own mayor and administrative structure. This complexity creates considerable confusion when reference is made to Brussels as a European City of Culture.

There is a further complication in that certain responsibilities within Brussels are completely devolved to the different linguistic communities of Belgium-French, Flemish and German. Belgium has therefore three official languages.

The 19 communes, which comprise Brussels, have a total population of approx. 1 million, although many more people use Brussels as their centre of work, leisure pursuits and shopping. This ambiguous reference to Brussels as a geographic, political or cultural entity creates many problems for its definition as a European City of Culture. The complex issues concerning the different identities and management of the city have had an impact on the philosophy and organisation of Brussels 2000 European City of Culture. The official title is

Bruxelles/Brussel 2000 representing French and Flemish, and all documentation requires translation into a minimum of two languages. Brussels is also complex geographically.

Although symbolically, the Grand Place serves as the city’s central square, in reality each commune has its own town hall , meeting places and markets.

6.2. The culture of the city

Cultural life in Brussels is very cosmopolitan and multi-lingual. Over 50 different nationalities are represented, with a strong mix between Latin and Germanic traditions. As the capital of Europe (in addition to capital of Belgium) Brussels has a relatively large international community of diplomats, administrators, press, media and support staff which are required to serve the European Union and other major international institutions and businesses based in Brussels. There is clearly a divide between the, “residents” of Brussels, and those itinerant workers living in the city or its surroundings for short periods of time.

The main cultural organisations and institutions of Brussels fall into distinct categories: federal institutions (such as ‘La Monnaie’ Opera, the ‘Palais des Beaux Arts’, the national museums); French or Flemish organisations, reflecting the source of their financial support; facilities and organisations run by the communes (Museum of the City of Brussels, etc) In total, there are 80 museums and 30 performing spaces in Brussels, and many arts organisations and artists live and work in the city. There are 15 festivals (film, jazz, contemporary music, theatre…) that take place every year, and the promotion of many international events is a part of the annual cultural programme. In addition to the French and Flemish cultural organisations, there are vibrant multi-cultural communities, with large numbers of people from the Mediterranean, North African and other counties. The integration of minority cultures is a sensitive political issue.

6.3. Programme and theme

The starting point of the Brussels 2000 programme was the desire to use it as a point of departure for the cultural renewal of the city. Brussels 2000 is the first major cultural programme involving the two French and Flemish-speaking artistic communities together.

The central theme that was selected was “The City”- deceivingly simple in term, but very complex if one attempts to re-interpret this idea given the divisions that exist in Brussels.

The programme combined the importance and discovery of the city’s collective memory and the need for contemporary creation. Brussels 2000 was conceived as a vehicle to promote partnerships and dialogue between the different communities, between artists and artistic sectors. Particular emphasis was given to innovation, experiment and accessibility. The priority was to engage the city’s cultural communities in a process that would continue beyond the cultural year. The programme was not developed as a one-off mass event for tourists, but as the beginning of a new process of working together and of initiating dynamic pilot projects on both small and large scales, and in different parts of the city.

The programme was developed around six main thematic axes:

- celebrating the city

- re-imag(in)ing the city

- the city, a public domain

- the city, a laboratory

- the city and its creations

- the city and heritage

In general, the approach was not simply to ‘label’ existing events as projects of Brussels 2000. Rather, projects had to subscribe to the agreed concept, theme and methodologies of Brussels 2000. In any year, more than 2000 cultural events take place in Brussels. The Brussels 2000 programme was created to complement these events, but had its own distinct character. It consisted of direct productions of Brussels 2000, coproductions between Brussels 2000 and other partners, and support given to partners to organise their own special projects.

The cultural programme of Brussels 2000 comprised 350 special projects, most of which were collaborations with one or more of the city’s 500 arts organisations. A few examples of projects included: a large-scale opening festival, the Zinneke Parade (with 3500 participants), over 150 new artistic creations (dance, music, theatre, visual arts, new circus, film, etc), new technology projects including Café9.net with the other 8 cities of culture for 2000; 25 artists in residence programmes in local schools, a major exhibition of 16/17^th century tapestries from the Spanish court but which had been made in Brussels; an exhibition of 100 years of contemporary art; an outdoor poster project called, “We Are So Happy” and a detailed reflection in architectural and cultural terms of, “The Mountain of Arts,” an historic quarter in the city centre. Brussels 2000 also managed a large central information exhibition centre and meeting point (The Brussels 2000 Centre) located in the heart of the city.

There was also a programme of infrastructure developments of the city comprising the renovation of cultural facilities, historic buildings and public spaces. This included the opening of a musical instrument museum, the complete refurbishment of the city’s largest concert hall and the opening of a Centre for Architecture during the year 2000. All public authorities collaborated in this effort to physically renew parts of Brussels. The Brussels 2000 programme proved to be a significant step on a creative path through one of the most culturally rich, diverse and complex cities in Europe.

7. KRAKOW: THOUGHT, SPIRITUALITY AND CREATIVITY

7.1. The City of Culture

With its 800,000 inhabitants, Krakow is Poland’s third largest city. By the end of the 10th century Krakow had become a major commercial centre and, since the early 11th century, was the capital of Poland until the year 1609. After the city was destroyed by Tartar invasions and then rebuilt, no major alterations were introduced. For eight centuries the city’s heart has been its Main Market Square recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1978.

7.2. The Culture of the City

Krakow is the only city in the world where two Nobel winning writers took permanent residence. It is, however, dramatic art that is the city’s distinctive feature. Today, Krakow is an extremely popular tourist destination not only for its plentiful architectural heritage but also thanks to its vibrant cultural life and countless festivals. Every year, besides the programmes of local institutions of culture, the city houses approximately 50 international and national festivals.

7.3. Programme and Theme

Krakow was the only European City of Culture of the year 2000 to use this opportunity to offer its residents a Five Years Festival during which time cultural events began in 1996 and ended in December 2000.

In 1996 the patron of the Festival was Andrzej Wajda, an Oscar winner for the whole of his artistic creation. It was then that the programme of the Year of Film and Theatre included a multitude of notable events, among them the 5th Festival of the Union of the Theatres of Europe.

The Year of Poetry (1997) was presided over by two laureates of the Nobel Prize for Literature, Wislawa Szymborska and Czeslaw Milosz, whereas the Meeting of Poets of East and West became a great and widely commented festivity of men of letters and literature lovers.

The choices made by the most famous Polish composer defined the artistic strategy of the Year of Music (1998) with its grand finale, Krzysztof Penderecki Festival. The year 1999 was devoted to the preparations to Krakow 2000 – European City of Culture Festival, therefore most of the events held in 1999 heralded those to be held at the turn of the millennium.

In the year 2000, Krakow, as a place of extraordinary genius loci , became the stage for numerous great performances. Such abundance of variety reflects both the history and the daily life of today’s city, the city whose openness has always attracted individuality, and whose gates have always been open for people of different nationalities , religions, or ways of thinking.

Thus, in the year 2000, the programme of the festival encompassed greater and smaller events aimed at various age groups and interest ranges. In this kaleidoscope of events room was found for both museum exhibitions and presentations of contemporary art, performances of classical music as well as pop concerts, theatre classics and avant-garde productions, traditional ballet and modern dance, poetic meetings, scientific conferences, and open-air shows for crowds counted by the thousand.

The programme brought forth the works of the masters of Polish 20th-century art Stanislaw Wyspianski and Tadeusz Kantor. Festivals devoted to these great artists were the first ever presentations of their works to be so complete. The main corpus of the festival events embraced the 2nd Krakow Meeting of Poets – a direct reference to the most important event of the Year 1997. Religious music events were countless and diverse. Together with the concerts of Orthodox and Jewish music, the Seven Traditions series presented the

achievements of various Christian traditions and unveiled the manifold face of Krakow and European spirituality. Returning to the roots was the leading concept of a range of events held in the year 2000, most significant among them certainly being the grand Wawel 1000-2000 exhibition illustrating the history of the Wawel hill and castle, and by large, the Polish statehood. The Crossroads , Rozstaje Festival referred to the sources of folk culture of Krakow, the Region of Malopolska (Lesser Poland,) and the Land of Galicia. A wide variety of traditions that shaped the face of the contemporary theatre were brought up in the Mysteries,

Initiations Festival, a display of the richness of forms of religious expressions in various, often primitive cultures of the world. The programme of the festival went beyond the presentation of local values which was attested by magnificent events such as the Ludwig van Beethoven Easter Festival and concerts of the Great Performances Series given by the world’s leading orchestras, including ones as famous as the New York Philharmonic. Worth emphasising among the international events whose production Krakow was actively involved in was the Voices of Europe concert series , spectacular and unique through its combination of various cultures and periods, and the reading of the Codex Calixtinus, with the idea of reviving medieval liturgy from Santiago de Compostela born in Krakow. Nor must we forget the whole series of events organised for Krakow within the Krakow 2000 Hungarian Programme, another event confirming the city’s openness to the world and the world’s perpetual presence here.

Absolute forte of the Festival were the exhibitions in their multitude, importance, and diversity. Thanks to them, Krakow unquestionably became Poland’s, or maybe even Europe’s, most important exhibition centre of the year 2000. Monographic (Wyspianski, Kantor, Michalowski,) and theme (Wawel 1000-2000, Images of Death) presentations side by side with exhibitions of icons, applied (Ordinary Things, Find,) and contemporary (the exhibition of Ryszard Horowitz, International Print Triennial) art, countless documentary exhibitions (including the one devoted to the Polish Solidarity movement,) and a demonstration of state-of-the-art technologies in telecommunications (Communication), all combined to form a distinctive panorama of visual achievements of the second millennium of European civilisation, reinforced further through the publications, including multimedia presentations such as the virtual reconstruction of Romanesque Krakow.

The programme of the event did not lack events intended for the mass consumer. The most popular of these were the traditional Wianki or, Floating of the Wreaths, the two New Year’s Eve events closing the year 2000 in the Main Market Square, and the display of the Provansal and Venetian Nativity Scenes gathering nearly 100,000 spectators each. Similarly, great interest was shown in the festivals and concerts organised in Krakow’s streets and public spaces in summer: the Street Theatre Festival, concerts of Masters of Jazz (1st-2nd July,) Jewish Culture Festival, and the Festival of Court Dances. Their crowning was the September

performance given by Lluis Llach, a legendary Catalonian singer, in the gardens of the Museum of Archaeology.

8. HELSINKI: KNOWLEDGE, TECHNOLOGY AND THE FUTURE

8.1. The city of culture

Helsinki, the northernmost capital within the EU and centre of the new economic zone of Northern Europe, is a city of contrasts and paradoxes.

Relatively modest in size, with only 550 000 inhabitants in the city and one million in the metropolitan area, Helsinki at present is the fastest growing capital within the EU. It is not the size, but centuries of interaction with the cultures of both East and West that have made the city a metropolis. Helsinki was founded by the Swedish King Gustavus Vasa in 1550 and made capital of the country by the Russian Tsar Alexander I in 1812. The latter built the monumental city centre in Empire style, dominated by the Cathedral, while the foremost structure remaining from the period of Swedish reign is the maritime fortress of Suomenlinna, built in the 18th century on the islands of Helsinki, which is included in the UNESCO list of World Cultural Heritage Sites. Today, Finland still has two official languages, Finnish and Swedish. In Helsinki, 6 % of the inhabitants speak Swedish as their mother tongue. Immigration from all over the world has created new cultural minorities the biggest one being the Russian community. Among the population in Helsinki closeness to

nature and care for the environment are highly valued. On the other hand, the inhabitants are world leaders in reading newspapers, using mobile phones and visiting the Internet.

8.2. The culture of the city

In the past years Helsinki has invested in a creative infrastructure, which extends from children’s art education to providing opportunities for experimental groups of artists. The cultural profile of the city has been further reinforced by the opening of several new or renovated cultural facilities. The new, ultra-modern Opera House was completed in 1993 and the Museum of Contemporary Art Kiasma in 1998. The theatrical life is vibrant with 14 professional theatres as well as a large number of amateur theatres. The Finnish classical music scene features many highly respected names. For example in this home-land of Jean

Sibelius there is an exceptional number of internationally recognised conductors, well-known contemporary composers and well-established singers and pianists. There are more than 60 museums in Helsinki, of which 13 are art museums. The most important annual cultural festival is the Helsinki Festival in August and September.

8.3. Programme and Theme

Two main targets were set for Helsinki’s year as City of Culture: 1) to bring permanent improvements to the quality of life of city residents by developing Helsinki and its surroundings in a multi-sided manner; 2) to raise international awareness about Helsinki and all of Finland as a lively, multifaceted stronghold of culture and know how.

In order to achieve these goals the year 2000 programme offered about 500 events chosen from 3000 project proposals. In choosing the events four criteria were used to evaluate the proposals: how innovative the project was did it include an international dimension; could it be considered as an investment in the future; and/or did it involve some kind of active participation by the inhabitants. The programme was arranged in four different content categories. The Children’s Year offered many new events for children and families as well as opportunities for art education with the aim of growing through and into art. Everybody’s

Year spread out into the suburbs, inviting every-one to participate and offering plenty of events that were open to all. The Year of Art opened the way for new things as well as both small and subtle and large-scale experiences. The International Year featured art and culture especially from the Baltic rim and from Europe’s eight other Cities of Culture.

Among the many high-lights of the year, one of the most popular events was a modern sports opera performed at the Olympic Stadium. The Töölönlahti Bay Art Gardens, that combined horticulture, art and gastronomy in a former waste-land area in the heart of the city, was a success in the summer. The Sauna of the Month project, presenting the richness of Finnish sauna culture, got an enthusiastic reception from both domestic and foreign visitors.

Since the beginning of the co-operation with the nine cultural cities, it was almost a given that the theme for Helsinki would be Knowledge, Technology and the Future. Media art, exhibitions on future communication technology and university seminars high-lighted this theme from different angles. In the Autumn 1999 Helsinki sent as a greeting to all the other cities a huge sound-and-light work of art called Kide (crystal). Through a monitor adjacent to each Kide, the citizens of the nine cities could see the other sculptures and some of the surrounding urban milieu in each city. Thus Kide accentuated the underlying idea of the Cultural Capital institution and the philosophy of Helsinki’s cultural year: dialogue between individuals and cultures. By the end of the year 2000, the attendance figures for the events in the programme of Helsinki 2000 were 5.2 million visitors.

About 100 000 people were actively involved in creating the events. According to a survey among the population in Helsinki, 83 % of those interviewed were very or quite satisfied with the Year of Culture events they had attended.

9. PRAHA: HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL HERITAGE

9.1. The city of culture

Prague, the capital of today's Czech Republic and the former Czech Crown Land lies in the Bohemian lowlands. It has some 1.250.000 inhabitants.

The city's medieval development was culminated in the magnificent 14th century. Charles Bridge, and the Gothic St Vitus Cathedral were built in the inner court of the castle. The Renaissance and Baroque periods further enriched the city's architecture and strengthened Prague´s role as the Central European City of

Culture.

Prague´s historic centre, featuring all the architectural styles of our millennium, is included in

the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites.

9.2. The culture of the city

Along with significant museums and galleries, Prague offers numerous symphonic orchestras and theatres, as well as technical, economic and art colleges.

If any areas of activities are dominant for Prague and its cultural heritage, then they are architecture and music. Museum and monument conservation throughout architectural work constitutes a legitimate instrument for the preservation of Prague Historic Heritage. Almost nothing is as typical of cultural life in Prague as its rich tradition of music. In addition to the multi-ethnic population, which from time immemorably jointly created the cultural past of the city and its unique genius loci, the geographical location of the city in the very heart of Europe has made a place of visits and sojourns by many great figures past and present in

music.

9.3. Programme and theme

The cultural year started in Prague on December the 14th 1999 and finished on February the 2nd 2001. Prague 2000 received about 1000 proposals. Project selection board, after nearly one year’s work, has chosen 379 projects.

The backbone of the Prague 2000 programme was made up of 100 projects relating to the cultural heritage, including intellectual and artistic material. The overall design of the Prague 2000 project was based on a triad of major themes: The Story of the City, City of Open Gates and City to Live In. These were all themes that reflected contemporary trends in the cultural development of Prague.

The Story of the City: is a view on the cultural past, but it is not simply a retrospective look at the tradition. It has an urgent and contemporary relevance in the healing process after a fifty year period in which the Czech culture was not spiritually free and historical connections and contexts were deliberately distorted or passed over.

City of Open Gates: Prague is also considered as a historical crossroad of cultural movements and influences, the place of encounters and collisions between many cultures and the unique location where the diversity of individual achievements combine and recast into an unusual cultural whole.

City to Live In: It is typical of contemporary cultural projects that they often go beyond the narrow framework of old art and culture and make inroads into other spheres such as education, the environment, information systems and lifestyle. The thematic programme, ‘City to live in’, brings together projects that express all these tendencies in Prague cultural life.

10. REYKJAVIK: CULTURE AND NATURE

10.1. The city of culture

Reykjavík, the world's northernmost capital, is located at the south- western tip of Iceland. Reykjavík, including neighbouring communities, has a population of around 170,000 and is characterised by an

interesting mix of cosmopolitan culture and traditional village roots. Old accounts say it was the ancient gods themselves who led Iceland’s first settler, the Viking Ingólfur Arnarson, to make his home in Reykjavík in the 9th century. He named the place Reykjavík (“Smoky Bay”) after the geothermal steam which today heats homes and year round outdoor swimming pools throughout the city. Iceland's Althingi, founded in 930, is the world's oldest surviving democratic and legislative representative assembly. Reykjavík is on the one hand a very modern city with young architecture and a young population that is one of the most technologically minded in the world. On the other hand, it is characterised by its natural flair and green spaces. One of Iceland’s many salmon rivers runs through the city and on the outskirts one can enjoy a variety of winter sports, fishing, horse trekking, hiking or golf.

10.2. The culture of the city

Reykjavik is the centre of Icelandic culture. The capital has several professional theatres, a symphony orchestra, Opera House, a modern Ballet Company, a prestigious biannual Reykjavík Art Festival and an extremely lively music scene. The visual arts are well represented in the various larger art museums, as well as in the numerous smaller galleries and more unusual exhibition spaces around the city. But at the heart of Icelandic culture is a unique literary tradition. The priceless literary works of Northern Europe, the Edda and the Sagas were written in Iceland in the 12th and 13th centuries and today Icelanders lead the world interest in reading and the number of writers proportional to the population. During the year 2000 many new and improved facilities were opened for the arts and culture and a number of major cultural institutions in Iceland also celebrated important milestones. Among them were the National Broadcasting service (70 years old); the Iceland Symphony Orchestra and National Theatre who celebrated their half-centenaries and the Reykjavik Arts Festival’s 30th anniversary.

10.3. Programme and theme

As capital of a country where culture is uniquely close to the forces of nature, Reykjavík cultural year 2000 could hardly have found a more “natural” theme than "Culture and Nature" to head the programme. The cultural year started in Iceland on January the 28th and was symbolically closed on December 30th with the singing of 700 voices in the city centre.

The main objective of Reykjavik 2000 was not to increase the quantity of events, but rather to increase the quality and diversity, and open the doors even wider to look into a new and open landscape of, “Culture and nature” in the new millennium. All in all, the programme included around 300 projects. Rather than using the traditional method of categorising artistic and cultural activities, low-key curiosities as well as large-scale spectaculars were divided into what the ancient philosophers called the archetypal elements (fire, water, earth and air).

Each and every event represented in some form, the energy found at the heart of nature. This included festivals where the natural elements of fire and wind were celebrated and exhibitions and events took place in surprising and unusual outdoor settings. Schools, groups and organisations working with young people were also central to the Reykjavik ECC2000 programme as it focused on new participants and new ways of discovering a deeper, broader interpretation of culture.

The Cultural Year in Reykjavik really belonged to the whole country, as local authorities all around Iceland took part by introducing projects relating to the theme “culture and nature”. The programme of Reykjavík 2000 also celebrated the pan- European and international aspect of the EEC project. This was achieved by introducing and heading some of the main co-operation projects of ECC2000; the choir, Voices of Europe, that joined together young people and music form all nine cities and the choreographed the music drama of Baldur, which was the largest joint project of the three Nordic cities. Reykjavik also welcomed numerous other projects and artists from the other eight cities, enriching the Cultural Year in Reykjavik even further.

11. SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA: EUROPE AND THE WORLD

11.1. The city of culture

Santiago de Compostela is the political and administrative capital of Galicia in Northwestern Spain. It was founded around 830 A.D., and since then thousands of pilgrims who follow the Way of Saint James culminate their journey there, in Santiago. The city was built after the discovery of the remains of the Apostle Saint James which now rest in the Cathedral. Because of its monumental and historical character the city has been declared Historic-Artistic City by the Spanish Government, World Heritage City by UNESCO, Europe Prize and Flag given by the Council of Europe, Firenze Prize from the Commune de Firenze, Real Fundación de Toledo Prize, Europa Nostra Prize from the Foundation of the same name, and Gubbio Prize of the Association of Artistical Centres of Italy, among many other distinctions. The historical centre of Compostela is one of the best preserved in the world. Wholy inhabited and mostly reserved for pedestrians, it forms an entity of great beauty while at the same time it palpitates with vitality. The modern city has known how to assume the weight of tradition and, without renouncing to modern building techniques, it has created an habitat in harmony with the demands of this end of the millennium enriched with important models of contemporary architecture.

11.2.The culture of the city

Today, the city has close to 120.000 inhabitants. Due to the city's monumental and historical character, Spain has nominated Compostela as a City of History and Art, UNESCO has included it in its List of World Heritage Sites and the Council of Europe has given it an award. The city has received numerous other awards and honours as well. Compostela offers visitors a rich cultural programme throughout the year.

11.3. Programme

Santiago de Compostela’s programme goes under the general theme, “Europe and the World”. This project tries to connect the reality of European cultures with the rest of the world through reflection, exhibitions, publications, and also through a large variety of cultural activities. This theme has inspired programmes with universal or international content such as The Faces of Earth, the Faces of God, Self -portrait of Compostela , etc. The cultural year officially started in Santiago on January the 20, 2000 and ran until December 2000. The main objective of this well-known pilgrim city was to take the opportunity of the cultural year 2000 for presenting its own image as a historical city and as a modern city. Under the general motto, “Europe and the World”, Santiago has elaborated a rich programme of activities marked in a great part by its interest in themes of universal projection and international co-operation. From the Programme 2000 that counts a great number of events we can point out the following projects: Europa Mundi, Faces of the Earth, Nine self portraits, Compostela virtual city, the European City as a model.

Chapter II

The structures behind the cultural year

INTRODUCTION

After Avignon, Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Krakow, Helsinki, Prague, Reykjavik and Santiago de Compostela

were named European Cities of Culture for the year 2000, discussions began in each city on the suitable formal structure for pursuing this task. Comparisons were made with the past Cultural Capitals and with the Winter Olympic games (Bergen, Helsinki).

The result was that the nine European Cities of Culture arranged their cultural year by means of two alternative models: either direct administration within existing government and council structures (Avignon, Krakow, Santiago de Compostela), or independent organisations (Bergen, Bologna, Brussels, Helsinki, Prague, Reykjavik).

Broad responsibilities were much the same whatever model was adopted, namely to plan the programme and co-ordinate and promote the event.

Size of offices required was most affected by the programming method adopted, especially the degree to which the direct promotion and management of projects was undertaken, “in house”. Numbers of staff engaged to manage and coordinate the cultural year 2000 ranged from 6 in Reykjavik to 45 in Bologna.

2. THE ‘ IN HOUSE’ MODEL

2.1. AVIGNON

The Legal status of the organisation

In 1998, the city of Avignon set up an organisation named “Mission Avignon 2000”. This organisation functioned as a structure within the municipal office20. The Mission of Avignon as such didn’t have a board of directors.

As integral part of the city’s cultural action service, the mission relied on the city for all administrative decisions. Concerning vital axes such as the programming of projects and events, the Mission was placed directly under the Mayor’s authority.

From 1998 until 2000 the following people assured the implementation of the cultural year in Avignon:

· Mr. Yves Michel-Béchet (Director)

· Mr. Jacques Montignac, (Deputy Head of the Cultural Service)

· Mrs. Anne-Marie Roubaud, (Administrative Director)

· Mr. Fabien Strack (Mayor’s adviser responsible for the political issues and contacts with

the other ECC2000 Offices)

· Mrs. Luis Armengol (Communication manager)

· Mrs. Marie-Louise Laguilhomie and Mrs. Cecile Savelli (Project managers)

The Office

Since the beginning, 6 full-time employers implemented the year 2000 cultural programme.

2.2. KRAKOW

The Legal status of the organisation

Festival Krakow 2000 was an independent cultural organisation, which was appointed by the City Council and functioned under the supervision of the Municipality.

The organisational decisions were taken by the director of the office, who was also the director of the Festival Krakow 2000, with due consultation of the Municipality.

The Programme Board was responsible for the shape of the Festival programme. It consisted of the well-known artists and people involved around culture from all over the country.

Additionally there was the Honorary Committee Krakow 2000, which supported the whole Festival through its level of authority and uplifts the Festival to a high national level. It consisted of the most distinguished people from the artistic and political world including:

Prime Minister; Marshal of the Senate; Marshal of the Sejm; Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Culture and Art; Head of Voivodship of Kraków; Rector of the Jagiellonian University.

The Office:

As in the other ECC, the Krakow 2000 Festival Bureau appointed a team of about 15 people. Personnel included full-time staff, part-time staff, free-lance staff. The Krakow 2000 Office consisted of a few departments, like: production, promotion and financial department.

The Krakow 2000 Festival Bureau Director was Bugoslaw Sonic.

2.3. SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

The Legal status of the organisation

Santiago de Compostela 2000 was a legal administrative instrument. The office was under the political direction of the City Council, and was dedicated to the Compostela 2000 programme. Compostela 2000 was integrated in the public Consortium of the City of Santiago, where three administrations intervened:

- the national government

- the autonomous government

- the municipality

The president of the above-mentioned ‘Consortium’ was the Mayor of Santiago.

Furthermore, it was also composed of the following members:

- Representatives from the Ministries of Economy, Education and Culture

- Representatives from the Cultural Advisory of the Autonomous Government of Galicia;

- Delegate Advisor for the cultural project Compostela 2000.

In order to insure the daily management of the cultural year, an Executive Committee composed of the City’s Mayor (or his representative) and the culture Advisor of the Autonomous Government of Galicia (or his representative) was created in 1998.

The Office

Located in the historical centre of Santiago, the Compostela 2000 office employed about 5 people. This full time group of staff led by Mr. Pablo Martinez Saiz, was responsible for the co-ordination of the cultural year.

Unlike in the other cities, the Deputy Mayor responsible for Culture, Mrs. Teresa Garcia Sabell, was directly and broadly involved in the selection of the projects and in the whole conception of the cultural programme.

The promotion and communication of the European City of Cultural year 2000 was under the direct control of the Municipal enterprise INCOLSA, in charge of the promotion and communication of the City of Santiago de Compostela.

3.THE ‘INDIPENDENT’ APPROACH

3.1. BERGEN

The Legal status of the organisation

Kulturby Bergen 2000 is a foundation registered in the Official Norwegian Central Register for foundations and limited companies and as such is a legal body subject to Norwegian law.

The Municipality of Bergen is one of the founders of the foundation. Kulturby Bergen 2000

has about 80 co-founders in the Foundation.

The board of directors constituted:

- 5 representatives from the local political level

- 1 representative from the regional political level

- 1 representative from both the private sector and the To urist Board of Bergen

- 2 representatives nominated from the foundation’s members (cultural and popular organisations)

- 1 representative nominated by the directors of the cultural institutions in Bergen

- The head of the artistic advisory committee (as a non-voting member of the board)

Additionally there was an artistic advisory committee with:

- 2 members appointed by the directors of the cultural institutions in Bergen

- 2 members appointed by the committee for independent artists in Bergen (“Kunstnernes Veiplan”)

- 1 member appointed on behalf of the popular organisations in Bergen

The Office

The Bergen 2000 office was broadly responsible for the artistic programme and its promotion. Specialist artistic programming teams were established and during its peak, the company employed some 20 people. The Artistic Director of Bergen 2000 was Terje Gloppen

3.2. BOLOGNA

The Legal status of the organisation

Bologna 2000 was founded as a Committee on the basis of the Italian Civic Code regulations. This Committee was regulated by private law and acted as a private company.

“Il Comitato Bologna 2000” was placed under the direct control of a Guiding Committee

comprised of the following:

- Municipality of Bologna;

- Province of Bologna;

- Region Emilia-Romagna;

- University of Bologna;

- Chamber of Commerce ;

- National Government (Ministry of Culture).

The Guiding Committee members were the following:

- Marina Deserti, Alderwoman for Culture of the City of Bologna

- Marco Macciantelli, Alderman for Culture of the Provincia of Bologna

- Angelo Varni, University of Bologna

- Loretta Ghelfi, Roberto Calari, CCIAA Delegates

This Guiding Committee had broad responsibilities and decided on resources, programme of events, and organisation of Bologna 2000. In addition the Committee defined the complete staff for Bologna 2000. Moreover, Bologna 2000 had three Directors:

1. Marco Zanzi, Marketing and Communication Department

2. Giordano Gasparini, Cultural Programming Department

3. Paolo Trevisan, Tourist Promotion Department

In order to advise Bologna 2000 a special group of advisers was appointed in 1998:

- Umberto Eco, Communication Adviser

- Enzo Biagi, Media Relations Adviser

- Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, Business Relations Adviser

The Office

Il Comitato di Bologna 2000 consisted of a team of 45 people appointed by the Guiding Commitee. Personnel included full-time staff, part-time staff, free-lance staff and student placements. Planning and Programme administration, public relations and fund-raising were all supported by this team in close cooperation with the Guiding Committee and the Municipality Cultural Division.

The Director of the Cultural Division was Giordano Gasparini and Michelangelo Martorello assured the coordination between Bologna 2000 and the AEC.

3.3. BRUSSELS

The Legal status of the organisation

The organisation of Brussels 2000, known officially as Bruxelles/Brussel 2000, constituted a legal non-profit association under Belgian law (asbl/vzw) with a General Assembly and a Board. The Board comprised official representatives of each of the Belgian national, regional, local and community authorities:

- The mayor of Brussels: president

- 2 other members from the City of Brussels administration

- 3 members from the Flemish-speaking Community

- 3 members from the French-speaking Community

- 2 members from the German-speaking Community

- 1 member from the Commission of the Flemish Community of the Brussels-Capital Region

- 2 members from the Commission of the French Community of the Brussels-Capital Region

- 2 members from the Brussels-Capital Region

- 2 members from the Federal Authorities

In addition, 9 official observers were members of the Board. These included 6 representatives from the private sector, 1 representative from the King Baudouin Foundadtion, and the Intendant (Artistic Director) and Manager of the Brussels 2000 office.

The Office

The Brussels 2000 Office developed in different phases. Personnel included full-time staff, part-time staff, free-lance staff, and detachments from other organisations and student placements. Certain staff were directly engaged as part of the core management/administration/artistic team of Brussels 2000, while others focused only on the management of particular projects, including the Brussels 2000 information centre and bar.

The permanent core staff of Brussels 2000 numbered approximately. 30 people, divided between the departments of management, finance and administration, artistic coordination, communication and sponsoring. The Intendant of Brussels 2000 was Robert Palmer.

3.4. HELSINKI

The Legal status of the organisation

The Helsinki City Council set up a foundation – Helsinki City of Culture Foundation – to manage the European City of Culture programme.

The foundation’s steering body was a 15-member board of directors comprised of a Chairperson (Mr. Ilkka-Christian Bjorklund chosen by the City Board) and:

- 2 members nominated by the Chamber of Commerce

- 6 members chosen by the City Board

- 1 member chosen by the Ministry of Education

- 1 member chosen by the Ministry of Trade and Industry

- 1 member chosen by the Ministry of Finance

- 1 member chosen by the City of Espoo

- 1 member chosen by the City of Vantaa

- 1 member chosen by the University of Helsinki

No additional committees existed.

The Office

In order to ensure the planning and the implementation of the cultural year the Foundation employed about 40 people during the year 2000 (less during the preparatory stages). The Helsinki 2000 staff was divided into the departments of administration (finances), communication (information, marketing, sponsoring) and programme management (five programme teams). The director of Helsinki 2000 was Georg Dolivo.

3.5. PRAGUE

The Legal status of the organisation

Praha 2000 was an independent society with the legal status of a public-benefit organisation. Its founder was the office of the Municipal Assembly.

The Praha 2000 board had the following members:

- Vice-Minister for Culture

- Chairman of the Committee for Culture of the Parliament

- Chairman of the International Committee of the Senate

- Catholic Bishop

- Artists

- Private sector

Additionally there was a Project selection board with 8 Artistic Councils that included Theatre, Opera and Dance; Music; Film and Audiovision; Architecture and Urban Planning; Literature; Museum projects and Heritage; Exhibitions and Fine Art; Multimedia.

The Office

Personnel included full-time staff, part-time staff, free-lance staff. Certain staff were directly engaged as part of the core management/administration/artistic team of Praha 2000, while others focused only on the management of particular projects. The permanent core staff of Praha 2000 numbered 16 people in the year 1999 and 24 people in the year 2000. Staff were divided between the departments of management, finance and administration, artistic coordination, communication and sponsoring. The Director of Praha 2000 was Michal Prokop.

3.6. REYKJAVIK

The Legal status of the organisation

Reykjavik 2000 was an independent office, set up by the City Council of Reykjavik.

The office’s steering body is a 7-member board of directors:

- 1 Chairman of the Board, appointed by the City Council: President of the University of Iceland

- 2 members are from the City Council

- 1 member is from the Ministry of Culture and Education

- 1 member is from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

- 1 member is from the Association of Icelandic Artists

- 1 member is from the Trade and Industry sector

The financial and sponsorship committee consisted of the following six members:

- The Chairman: President of a Holding Company

- 1 member was the Chairman of the board of Reykjavik 2000

- 2 were Bank Directors

- 1 member was from the board of Reykjavik 2000 and Director of a Freezing Plant Factory

- 1 member was the Director of a soft drink Company

A Programme Committee comprised the following three members of the Board:

- representative from the Artists Union

- two representatives from the City Council

An Honorary Council consisted of: President: the Mayor of Reykjavik; the Prime Minister of Iceland; the Former President of Iceland; the Minister of Culture and Education; musicians; painters; ballet dancers and

artistic directors.

The Office

Six people were appointed in 1999 to implement the programme for the cultural year. This very small group of staff managed the whole programme until the end of the cultural year.

The Director of Reykjavik 2000 was Thorunn Sigurdadottir

Chapter III

Resources

1. INTRODUCTION

The expenditure made by the ECC2000 for the realisation of the cultural year was generally covered by the following four resources:

- Public Authorities (local, regional and national authorities)

- Co-operation agreements with business, funds and foundations

- EU support

- Box office and merchandising

As for all the other past Cultural Cities in all the nine ECC2000, the main contributions came from the Public sector . In particular , the Municipal authorities were the main source (25.27% in Avignon, 50,9% in Prague, 45% in Reykjavik, about 40% in Santiago de Compostela). In the cities of Brussels (43%) and Bologna (40.9%) this same role was played by the Regional Authorities , which supported approximately 40% of the cultural year. The National Authorities also played a major role in financing this European initiative: 49% in Avignon, 35,43% In Bergen, 32% In Bologna, 55.6% in

Krakow, 38% in Reykjavik, 31.9% in Prague, 33% in Helsinki.

Co-operation agreements with business, funds and foundations, together with sales revenues covered the remaining part of the ECC2000 Budget. Similar to the past Cultural City the sponsors - Institutional sponsors (sponsors which invested in the whole cultural year) and project sponsors (sponsors which ‘adopted’ one or more events) were particularly generous in the Nordic countries: 23.04% in Bergen, 16% in Helsinki and 13% in Reykjavik.

The European Union support represented in general 1 or 3% of the total year 2000 budget. This support was, in one hand, granted directly to the C ity of Culture (Culture 2000 programme, Action III) and, in the other, to some co -operation projects between the ECC2000.

Finally, as in all the other past ECCs, the title “European City of Culture provided the opportunity for launching a major and ambitious programme for improving the local cultural infrastructure (In Helsinki a new Museum of modern art was completed in 1997 as well as a new City art museum was completed in 1999; in Bologna the salt warehouse was converted in a multimedia library etc.). The public and private sectors were involved in this challenge and the budget was very important and higher compared to the budget put aside by the same authorities for financing the cultural event itself. Nevertheless, these infrastructure costs were not included in the financial structures mentioned in this report.

2. THE ECC FINANCIAL STRUCTURES

2.1. AVIGNON

In order to reach a national and international visibility Avignon 2000 was able to raise a total budget of some 21.084.068 EURO.

Public expenditure during the cultural year totalled 15.847.075 EURO (75.16% of the total budget).

The European Union contributed to the cultural programme with about 513.891 EURO (1.39% of the total budget).

According to the city of Avignon, private and institutional sponsorship was raised to a value of 4.421.020 EURO.

Population 88.000

Overall budget 21.084.068

% in contribution 100%

Municipal Authority 25,27%

National Authority 35,43%

Regional Council 6,51%

General Council 7,95%

EU Support (Culture 2000, Action III) 1,04%

EU support (projects) 0,35%

Sponsors (projects) 10,48%

Sponsors (private) 8,46%

Sponsors (institutional) 2,02%

Merchandising 0,16%

Box office 12,80%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

2.2. BERGEN

In order to implement the cultural year, the resources made available by Bergen 2000 totalled some 13.536.600 EURO.

The main contributions came from the City 3.316.467 EURO and from the National Authorities 4.670.127 EURO. The corporate sponsors22 played a major role in financing the cultural year. In particular, the company DnB, Gilde og Vestlandske Salslag, Radisson SAS and Norsk Hydro who injected 4.429.175 EURO into the total budget. The Nordic Cultural fund funded several projects with a direct contribution to the value of 147.560 EURO.

The Box-office and merchandising sectors were particularly implemented in this city. As far as concerns the Box -office, Bergen 2000 set up a clever system making all the tickets for the cultural events available directly from the Bergen 2000 web -site. This was a first experience of ‘online’ box office, at this scale, for a Cultural Capital. As regards the merchandising some co-operation agreements were signed with food and fashion/design companies. A special restored house in the centre of the City was set up for selling these products. The Box office and the merchandising

contributed to the value of 599.671 EURO of the total budget.

Population 220.000

Overall budget 13.536.600

% in contribution 100%

Municipal Authorities 24,5%

Regional Authorities 5%

National Authorities 34,5%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 2,27%

EU support projects 0

Other 2,65%

Corporate sponsors

(Structural)

28,72%

Corporate sponsors (projects) 4%

Private donations Box office and merchandising 1,36%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

2.3 BOLOGNA

The city of Bologna, with a population of about 400.000 inhabitants made about 33.897.000 EURO available for the event.

The main contributions came from the Public Authorities (27.795.540 EURO) and from the Municipal Authorities (6.403.143 EURO). The Institutional sponsors were represented by the main Italian telecommunication firms and by the city’s banking institutions and their cultural foundations: Telecom Italia, Cassa di Risparmio di Bologna, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio, Rolobanca, Fondazione del monte di Bologna e Ravenna. Moreover, all the sponsors linked to the

events were from the economic and company sector. In order to sell the different merchandising products the Bologna 2000 Office set up an “Emporio della cultura 2000” in the very central Piazza Maggiore. The box office and merchandising income totalled 9287.778 EURO.

Population 400.000

Overall budget 33.897.000

% in contribution 100%

Municipal Authorities 18.89%

Regional Authorities 30,46%

National Authorities 32.60%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 0,64%

EU support projects

Other * 14,67

Private donations Box office and merchandising and sponsors 2,74%**

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

*University, Camera di Commercio and Provincia

2.4. BRUSSELS

The cultural year 2000 in Brussels was mainly (72% of the total budget) financed by the Public Authorities (Regional Authorities, 13.039.750 EURO, National Authorities, 6.065.000 EURO and Municipal Authorities, 2.729.250 EURO). A major role was also played by the Brussels 2000 corporate sponsors, who contributed to the total budget, in cash and in kind, with a total sum of 4.245.500 EURO. In 1999, a special Information point was established in the town-centre. This

information point sold merchandising products for a total of 3.942.250 EURO . The grant from the European Union accounted for roughly 1%.

Population 1.000.000

Overall budget 30.325.000

% in contribution 100%

Municipal Authorities 9%

Regional Authorities 43%

National Authorities 20%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 1%

EU support projects

Other

Corporate sponsors (Structural) 14%

Corporate sponsors (projects)

Private donations Box office and merchandising 13%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

2.5. PRAGUE

In order to finance the celebration of Prague European City of Culture for the year 2000 the Public authorities earmarked a total budget of 15.566400 EURO (82.8%).

The remaining 17.2% of the total budget was financed, cash and in kind, by the corporate sponsors (2.669.600 EURO) and by the European Union (282.000 EURO).

Population 1.250.000

Overall budget 18.800.000

% in contribution 100%

Municipal Authorities 50.9%

Regional Authorities National Authorities 31.9%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 1%

EU support projects 0.5%

Other Corporate sponsors (Structural) 7.2%

Corporate sponsors (projects) 7%

Private donations Box office and merchandising 1.5%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

2.6. KRAKOW

Unlike all the other European Cities of Culture of the year 2000, the City of Krakow started the festivities in the year 1995. The main idea was not to limit the cultural events to only one year , but rather to spread this cultural festival over five years (From 1996 till 2000). Adding up all figures for 1996 – 2000 the overall budget equalled 12.290.710 EURO. The National Authorities contributed the biggest part in the Krakow 2000 Festival costs during the 5-year period, the city of Krakow came second. The Krakow 2000 sponsoring department was able to raise from the main sponsors,

(Telekomunikacja Polska and LOT Polish Airlines) a total sum of 1.554.458 EURO for the whole five year period.

YEAR 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000

Overall budget in EURO 849.200

1.011.410 1.959.26

3.255.545 5.697.519

% contributions 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

Municipal authorities

65% 67% 41% 27,64% 24,3%

Regional authorities - - - - -

National authorities 30% 29% 47% 57,26% 53,7%

EU subsidies general- - - 1,28% 3,5

EU subsidies projects - - 2% - 2%

Other international subsidies

- - - - -

Corp. Sponsors (structural)

5% 4% 10% 13,82% 18,5%

*Corp. Sponsors (projects)

- - - -

*Private sponsors and donations

- - - - -

*Box office and Merchandising

- - - - -

January 2001, EURO

*this position has been included in the Corp. Sponsors (structural)

2.7 HELSINKI

In Helsinki, financ e was organised as follows: The City of Helsinki and neighbouring municipalities of Espoo, Vantaa and Kauniainen (34.2%); The Finnish government (28.6%); Co-operation agreements with business (14.3%); Funds and foundations (6.6%); EU (2%); Box office and merchandising (14.3%). Sponsorship negotiations started in the beginning of 1998. The target was to get 4-5 main sponsors, 7-10 official partners and 6,6 million Euro for the project. At the end of the event the official sponsor’s support was altogether 5,3 million Euro. On top of that figure individual event

organisers gathered 3 million Euro from other companies. Regarding the products marked with the cultural year ‘star’, Helsinki 2000 granted a licence for 12 companies to use the official Year 2000 symbol in certain products of theirs. The total sale (December 2000) was about 1.000.000 EURO.

The wine sales covered 64% of this amount.

Population 500.000

Overall budget 58.000.000

% in contribution 100

Municipal Authorities 34.2%

Regional Authorities -

National Authorities 28.6%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 1%

EU support projects 1%

Other 2%

Corporate sponsors (Structural) 9.1%

Corporate sponsors (projects) 5.2%

Private donations 4.6%

Box office and merchandising 14.3%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

Note. The licence products include wines, pins, textiles, postcards, paying cards, ceramic and glassware, jewellery,

games, classical CD, mascots.

2.8. REYKJAVIK

To create a credible identity as a cultural city and to set up a strong cultural programme the European City of Culture had to find resources for a total sum of 7.900.000 EURO. Like for all the other cities the Public authorities were the main “sponsors” of the year (85%). In particular, the City of Reykjavik contributed with a sum of 3.476.000 EURO. The National Authorities granted a total sum of 2.923.000 EURO . Thanks to a wise and clear sponsorship campaign (aiming to make agreements about co-operation between Reykjavik 2000 and the companies, and not just to ask for

money) the Reykjavik 2000 Office was able to raise a total sum of 553.000 EURO. With regards to the Box office issue, Reykjavik 2000 made an agreement with a ticket sale company. They took care of all arrangements concerning ticket sales for the three events that Reykjavik 2000 produced directly (Baldur, Futurice, Voices of Europe). Their commission fee was 2% and the free of charge tickets were about 35%. Thus resulting in about 158.000 EURO. Concerning the products marked the cultural city (merchandising) the office made an agreement with two companies concerning

licence products. They produced postcards, textiles and ceramic marked with the ECC2000 logo that they were responsible for selling. The Office received these products free of charge or at a low price.

This choice was due to the fact that the local market in Iceland is very rich with regards to offers of marked material or products.

Population 150.000

Overall budget 7.900.000

% in contribution 100

Municipal Authorities 44%

National Authorities 37%

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 3%

EU support projects 3%

Other

Consortium of the city 4%

Corporate sponsors (Structural) 6%

Corporate sponsors (projects) 1%

Private donations

Box office 2%

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

2.9. SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA

Total funding for the City of Santiago de Compostela was some 34.863.094 EURO. Public expenditure during the cultural year equalled 16.490.243 EURO (47.3% of the total budget).

The Consortium o f the City mostly contributed 34% the total budget.

In order to invite the Spanish companies to sponsor the Cultural year 2000, Compostela 2000 set up a special sponsorship mechanism25under the Spanish law. This mechanism contemplated the singularity of the consecutive celebration during the year 1999 (Holy year) and 2000 (Cultural year). The Companies that signed the sponsorship agreement with “Compostela 2000” had the benefit of tax of 15%. In order to receive this discount the Official sponsors had to commit themselves to promote the logotype of “Compostela 2000” in their publicity and communication campaigns. In particular, 19% of the Compostela 2000 sponsors were from big Galician companies, 38% from big transnational corporations and 43% from big Spanish companies.

Population 130.000

Overall budget 34.863.094

% in contribution 100 %

Consortium of the City

(Municipal authorities, Regional authorities, National authorities) 34 %

EU support (Culture 2000 – Action III) 1 %

Corporate sponsors (Projects) 63 %

Private donations Box office and merchandising 2 %

Financial structure, 1996-2000, January 2001 - EURO

Note. According to Administrative and fiscal measures law of December 30th 1997 and royal Decree April 20 th 1998.

3. THE FINANCIAL SUPPORT FROM THE COMMISSION

3.1 EU Financial support for the cultural year

In 1999, the European City of Culture was renamed Cultural Capital of Europe and is now financed through the Culture 2000 programme (Decision 508/2000/CE of the European Parliament and Council, (JO/L63 – 10.3.2000). This new European programme presented three possibilities for cultural support corresponding to three main actions:

· Action 1:specific and short-term activities

· Action 2: long term co-operation activities involving cultural operators

· Action 3: European City of Culture and Cultural Months, cultural prize and major events. According to this new decision, Culture 2000 was the legal basis of financial support for the nine cities. (“Under this Action 3 the European commission will, in the year 2000, support events of substancial scale and scope making people of Europe more aware of belonging to the same community and increasing their awareness of the cultural diversity of the Members States and of intercultural dialogue”. JO C101/20 – 08/04/2000.)

The first call for proposal for Community financial support for cultural projects and events was published in April 2000. In this document the European Commission mentioned for the first time the total amount earmarked for the nine cities: “Exceptionally, the overall budget earmarked for the year 2000 for the European Capital of culture for the year 2000 totals approximately 2 million EURO”. In this context, Community support provided for cooperation projects amounted a total of 220.000 EURO per city”.

3.2. EU Financial support for supporting feasibility studies and joint projects

In addition to the support granted to the ECC2000 directly, separate applications were also submitted by the ECC2000 Office for the realisation of feasibility studies as well as for specific projects within the framework of the EU’s general grant programme.

In particular, in the year 1997 a Community support of 220.000 Euro was provided for the realisation of feasibility studies. This amount was equally divided between Brussels, Santiago, Krakow,

Bologna and Avignon.

In 1998, the European Commission granted the Association of the nine cities a total amount of 250.000 EURO . This amount supported the following activities:

a) Feasibility studies:

· Helsinki feasibility study: 40.000 EURO

· Reykjavik feasibility study: 32.295 EURO

· Prague feasibility study: 9.133 EURO

· Bergen feasibility study 39.949 EURO

b) Web Office (common information tool between the nine cities offices)

In 1999, the nine cities decided to develop their networking and consequently to ask a European financial support of 350.000 EURO for the following activities:

· Implementation of the AECC joint projects,

· development of o ther co-operation projects,

· organisation of joint meetings,

· development of a communication tool,

· development and realisation of several joint promotional initiatives

Finally, in the year 2000, the following AECC joint projects received European financial support:

Name of the project EU Programme EURO

Voices of Europe Connect 284. 000

Café9.net YFE 200.000

Café9.net Netdays 40.000

Walk about Stalk Culture 2000 200 000

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Part II The European Cities of Culture for the Year 2000