As 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the ECoC, the European Commission is reviewing the process in order to ensure that the EU’s flagship cultural initiative remains relevant, inclusive and impactful.
The public consultation on the European Capitals of Culture (ECoC) action will remain open until the 31st of December of 2025.
This is your chance to influence the process and help the EU shape the initiative’s future after 2033, by sharing your thoughts on how to:
- ensure the initiative remains accessible and aligned with today’s global challenges,
- strengthen cooperation among those involved in past, present or future capitals of culture
- improve the initiative’s visibility and long-term legacy
The ECoC brings Visitors, Investments and Long-term Benefits and your contribution will help keep the European Capitals of Culture a meaningful and impactful initiative in every aspect.
“It is estimated that each €1 spent on the Melina Mercouri Prize was matched by an additional €30 of other funding from either national, regional or local public purse or private sources” according to the European Commission’s “First Interim Evaluation of the European Capitals of Culture action 2020-2033”.
Providing evidence that €3-5 million annual EU support on ECoC leveraged about €900 million in cultural investment, the report cofirms that at its 40th anniversary, the ECoC “remains an impactful, cost-efficient and highly relevant driver of cultural and social transformation across Europe”.
Find more and have your say here
Image (c) European Union, 2025 - Courtesy of the European Commission
