European Capitals of Culture 1985-2019

The original initiative for the European City of Culture (ECOC) was launched in 1985 by the former Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri together with the French politician Jack Lang. The program was launched as an intergovernmental initiative between European countries. In 1992 the concept was extended to include a new event: European Cultural Month.

In 1999, the European Parliament and the EU agreed that the program should be granted status as a European Community program. It was decided which EU Member States would be responsible for nominating the European Capitals of Culture for the years 2005-2019. In the individual countries more cities now participate in competition for the title.

Capitals of Culture in the years 2017-2021:

2017: Aarhus, Pafos (Cyprus)
2018: Leeuwarden (Holland), Valletta (Malta)
2019: Matera (Italy), Plovdiv (Bulgaria)
2020: Galway (Ireland), Rijeka (Croatia)
2021: Novi Sad (Serbia), Eleusis (Greece), Timisoara (Romania)

Former Capitals of Culture:

2016: San Sebastian (Spain); Wroclaw (Poland)
2015: Mons (Belgium); Pilsen (Czech Republic)
2014: Umeå (Sweden); Riga (Latvia)
2013: Marseille (France); Košice (Slovakia)
2012: Guimarães (Portugal); Maribor (Slovenia)
2011: Turku (Finland); Tallinn (Estonia)
2010: Essen (Germany); Pécs (Hungary); Istanbul (Turkey)
2009: Linz (Austria); Vilnius (Lithuania)
2008: Liverpool (England); Stavanger (Norway)
2007: Luxemburg (Luxemburg); Sibiu (Romania)
2006: Patras (Greece)
2005: Cork (Ireland)
2004: Genoa (Italy); Lille (France)
2003: Graz (Austria)
2002: Bruges (Belgium); Salamanca (Spain)
2001: Rotterdam (Holland); Porto (Portugal)
2000: Avignon (France); Bergen (Norway); Bologna (Italy); Brussels (Belgium); Krakow (Poland); Helsinki (Finland); Prague (Czech Republic); Reykjavik (Iceland); Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
1999: Weimar (Germany)
1998: Stockholm (Sweden)
1997: Thessaloniki (Greece)
1996: Copenhagen (Denmark)
1995: Luxemburg (Luxemburg)
1994: Lissabon (Portugal)
1993: Antwerp (Belgium)
1992: Madrid (Spain)
1991: Dublin (Ireland)
1990: Glasgow (UK)
1989: Paris (France)
1988: Berlin (Germany)
1987: Amsterdam (Holland)
1986: Florence (Italy)
1985: Athens (Greece)