Brussels, 8 January 2025
With the start of 2025, two cities take up the mantle of European Capitals of Culture (ECOC): Chemnitz (Germany) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia). Throughout the year, they will host cultural events, exhibitions, and performances, highlighting the richness of our shared European cultures. The celebrations this year have an extra dimension, as 2025 marks the 40th anniversary of the ECOC initiative.
The inauguration of Chemnitz as ECOC 2025 will take place on 18 January. With the motto “See the Unseen”, the city aims to reinforce the role of civic society through community-driven cultural projects and build a network of “European makers of democracy”.
Nova Gorica will start its ECOC run on 8 February. In this framework, the city intends to grow together with the bordering Italian city of Gorizia, becoming a “borderless European Capital of Culture”. It will also be an opportunity to explore, through cultural and artistic means, the concept of borders from multiple dimensions.
Commissioner for Intergenerational Fairness, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, said:
“Congratulations to our 2025 European Capitals of Culture, Chemnitz and Nova Gorica. I look forward to a whole year of celebrations showcasing the diversity, identities and values of European cultures while highlighting what brings European citizens together in celebration of our diversity, identities and values. It is also an opportunity to reflect on the impact of this prestigious initiative over the last 40 years.”
The title of European Capital of Culture allows cities to boost their local and regional development through culture. It also provides long-term cultural, economic, and social benefits for both the cities and their surrounding regions.
To be selected, the cities had to set up a cultural programme with a strong European dimension, promoting the active involvement of their city’s communities. The Commission has awarded the two 2025 European Capitals of Culture with the €1.5 million Melina Mercouri Prize, funded under the Creative Europe programme, in recognition of the quality of their preparations for the year. Commissioner Micallef will award the Mercouri prize as part of his attendance at the Chemnitz inauguration ceremony on 18 January, where he will also give a speech.
More information is available online.