Launched in 1985 under the joint initiative of France and Greece, the «European Capital of Culture» initiative is preparing its 43rd edition to be held in France in 2028. It is organized by the Ministry of Culture in conjunction with the European Commission. Nine French cities have submitted their applications: Amiens, Bastia, Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier, Nice, Reims, Rouen and Saint-Denis.
Heard by an independent jury, composed of 12 European members, including two French, from 28 February to 3 March 2023, the delegations of the cities were evaluated according to the criteria established by the European institutions and in particular: the contribution of the European Capital of Culture project to the long-term development of the city, its cultural and artistic content, its European dimension, the ability of the candidates to fulfil their commitments, the involvement of local people and civil society in the definition and preparation of the project or the budget and management plan.
Thus, at the end of the deliberations, the jury pre-selected the candidates of:
- Bourges
- Clermont-Ferrand
- Montpellier
- Rouen
The winning city 2028 will be announced by the jury at the end of 2023 after a new phase of hearing and maintenance of the four pre-selected, who by then will have to refine their projects.
The jury would like to salute the candidate cities that were not selected for the second stage - Amiens, Bastia, Nice, Reims and Saint-Denis - who presented bold cultural projects.
The enthusiasm of the participating cities reflects both a confidence in the strength of the European project and in the capacity of cultural policies to revitalize the territories. In France, the initiative previously concerned the cities of Paris in 1989, Avignon in 1999, Lille in 2004 and Marseille in 2013.