Today something from the current news about Poland.
Wrocław was awarded the European Capital of Culture in 2016. The capital of Lower Silesia defeated Katowice, Lublin, Warsaw and Gdańsk in the final round of the competition. The Commission awarding the title praised all the Polish candidates, but stressed that decision was taken unanimously. Wrocław will receive a half million euro reward.
The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension.
Preparing a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for the city to generate considerable cultural, social and economic benefits and it can help foster urban regeneration, change the city’s image and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale.
In 1985, former actress Melina Mercouri, then Greece’s Minister of Culture, and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual Capital of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values.
More than 40 cities have been designated so far and the first title of the European Capital of Culture went to Athens in 1985.
According to the current rules two European Capitals of Culture are selected each year. In 2016, Wrocław will share the title with one of the Spanish towns, which will be designated in July.
The city is awarded for the programme of cultural events that it intends to realise during the designated year. The cultural events should be centered around the idea reflecting the specifics of the city.
The European Capital of Culture programme was initially called the European City of Culture and was conceived in 1983 by Melina Mercouri, then serving as Greek Minister of Culture. Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued. The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder. During the German Presidency of 1999, the European City of Culture programme was renamed the European Capital of Culture.
In the history of the competition only one Polish town was awarded the European Capital of Culture – it was Kraków in 2000.
Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)
Comments:
Polglish:
Good blog,like it a lot.