From Year 1985 onward at least one European city receives the title »European Capital of Culture«
The initiative came from the then Ministers of Culture Melina Mercouri from Greece and Jack Lang from France. Additional bonuses of the title »Capital of Culture« for the selected cities are growth of tourism, improvement of image among local population and strengthening of loyalty to the EU. The title should also support the chearing up of regional culture and traditions. However also a possibility exists to obtain Melina Mercouri’s Prize in the value of 1,5 million Euros.
Every year 2 EU member states – the selection has already been made till Year 2033 – are nominated as hosts, up till now more that 60 cities were nominated for »European Capital of Culture «. The confirmed selection for next year is city Chemnitz (Saxony, Germany) and for the first time pair Nova Gorica (Slovenia) / Gorizia (Italy). A part of the programme in Nova Gorica will be the »Carinthian Ambassador« Project – mirrored and accessible dome Ingeborg Bachmann, work of Austrian visual artist Armin Guerino, which will invite for an interactive event starting on April 25th, lasting 2 months and enriched by the cooperation of Carinthian artists.