EU broadens its horizons
The European Parliament has passed a motion allowing new member states to have their cities listed as the European Capital of Culture. It also decided that from 2009, two cities per year will share the honor, rather than one.
Although the program, which began in Athens in 1985, is designed to highlight the diversity of culture in Europe, it provides a much more tangible payoff by way of a boost to tourism that inevitably goes with the prestigious title.
This year's Capital of Culture is Cork city in Ireland. However, Poland will have to wait a while before being crowned the culture king. Its turn doesn't some around until 2016, when it will share the podium with Spain. It has not yet been decided which town will take the honors, but the safe money is on Kraków, which should re-ignite its rivalry with Warsaw. It appears that many of Kraków's citizens have never forgiven the city for stealing its title as Poland's capital in the Middle Ages, and it has long prided itself as being the country's cultural heart. Confirmation of this from the EU would no doubt go down very well with the locals.
Although the program, which began in Athens in 1985, is designed to highlight the diversity of culture in Europe, it provides a much more tangible payoff by way of a boost to tourism that inevitably goes with the prestigious title.
This year's Capital of Culture is Cork city in Ireland. However, Poland will have to wait a while before being crowned the culture king. Its turn doesn't some around until 2016, when it will share the podium with Spain. It has not yet been decided which town will take the honors, but the safe money is on Kraków, which should re-ignite its rivalry with Warsaw. It appears that many of Kraków's citizens have never forgiven the city for stealing its title as Poland's capital in the Middle Ages, and it has long prided itself as being the country's cultural heart. Confirmation of this from the EU would no doubt go down very well with the locals.
