Romania will have a European Capital of Culture in 2034, the Ministry of Culture announced on Friday.

'The European Commission has officially announced the timetable: Romania will host the European Capital of Culture in 2034. Romania has considerable experience in this area: Sibiu held the title in 2007, alongside Luxembourg, while Timisoara took it forward in 2023, alongside Veszprem and Elefsina. Both experiences have shown what such a project can leave behind: cultural infrastructure, European networks, new projects and people who have learned to build cultural programmes on a European scale,' the Ministry conveyed in a release posted on its Facebook page.

According to the quoted source, for 2034, the stakes are even higher.

'The new framework proposed by the European Commission changes the perspective on the title. The European Capital of Culture will no longer be seen merely as a programme concentrated in a single year, but as a long-term commitment, with results that will also be assessed after the title year. Compliance with the commitments made will also determine the awarding of the Melina Mercouri Prize, named after the Greek Minister of Culture who proposed the programme in 1985. The application process will become simpler, the criteria will be reduced from six to four sets, and cities will be able to form joint bids more easily, including cross-border bids. Young people and civil society will also have a more important role,' the Culture Ministry mentioned.

The Ministry of Culture believes the proposed timetable to be a starting point for Romania, with the first bids to be submitted in the autumn of 2028, the finalists to be announced in 2029 and the designated city then having five years to prepare the programme for 2034.

'Cities that invest time, energy and ideas in a bid should be able to retain something from this work, even if they do not win the title. That is why, we are looking at a mechanism through which the programmes developed for the bid, at least by the finalist cities, could be partially implemented after the competition as well. The experience of Cluj-Napoca shows that this is possible. Projects developed as part of the bid for the 2021 title continued to come to life after the competition had ended,' the release said.

According to the Ministry, this logic of continuity is also reflected at national level.

'We are preparing the 2027-2034 National Culture Strategy, the period of the competition for the 2034 European Capital of Culture. The two must support each other: candidate cities need a coherent national framework and the strategy is the instrument through which concrete projects can be put into practice: cultural participation, local community spaces, intergenerational projects, more resilient communities. The future European Capital of Culture can thus gain added value, becoming a flagship project,' interim Minister of Culture Demeter Andras Istvan said, as quoted in the release.

Although 2034 may seem a long way off, the Ministry of Culture underlined that for the cities entering the competition, preparations begin now.

'Romania has the chance to turn the next European Capital of Culture into a project whose results extend beyond the title year and put into practice the directions of the 2027-2034 National Culture Strategy,' the Ministry of Culture underscored. AGERPRES (RO - writing by: Daniel Popescu; EN - writing by: Rodica State)