The European Union criteria for a European Capital of Culture

Flag of the European Union

At the same time a catalogue of criteria was adopted which formulated the aim of a European Capital of Culture, its potentials and impulses. The following will give you a preliminary impression of what constitutes a Capital of Culture.

Amongst the demands included in the catalogue of criteria are, that…

• the projects must deal with artistic currents and styles where the European Capital of Culture in question has played a particular role in their development. 
• cultural promotion, culture management and the mediation of culture must be improved.
• the general public in Europe must be made aware of personalities and events from the history and culture of the region.
• projects must attempt to introduce artistic innovations and new forms of cultural dialogue and cultural action.
• the cultural heritage and regional cultural creative activities must be made accessible to everyone, and everyone must be made more aware of this
• projects for and with children and young people must be included in order to acquaint them more closely with art and cultural activities and give them space to express themselves in an artistic manner.
• projects must be created to strengthen social cohesion (e.g. suburban projects with grass-roots participation, intercultural projects).
• people both within and outside the region must be informed of the events taking place in the Capital of Culture in several languages and via different forms of media. This also applies to other European countries.
• the Capital of Culture must contribute to promoting economic activities, especially in the area of employment and tourism.
• the Capital of Culture must promote a challenging and innovative cultural tourism, with the additional aim of preserving the cultural achievements of the region on a long-term basis. In doing so, consideration should be taken not only of the wishes of visitors but also of the local inhabitants.
• projects must promote architectural heritage and be integrated into new urban development strategies.
• mutual initiatives to promote the dialogue between European cultures and cultures in other parts of the world should be implemented. 

RUHR.2010 feels duty-bound to comply with these basic principles and demands in full. They are being taken into consideration in all areas of the programme planning and make clear that be European Capital of Culture not only has an international dimension but simultaneously a mandate to communicate this. The selection and structure of the programme aims to makethe cultural diversity more comprehensible and visible, not only in the region, but in Germany and Europe as a whole. 

The EU jury selected “Essen for the Ruhr” as its Capital of Culture because of the “innovative and outstanding character of the project and its significance for the region until 2010 and beyond. In the final analysis the committee had the impression that transforming what was once the largest industrial and mining region in Europe into a vibrant metropolis of the future, can act as a symbol for the role culture should play in every European metropolitan region. And here the Ruhr area could become a symbol for other urban European conurbations faced with similar changes.”