Xavier Tudela presents the Athens Documentation Centre on Capitals of Culture in Liverpool 2008

Last week-end, a meeting on cultural capitals took place within the framework of the Liverpool European Capital of Culture 2008; it gathered almost one hundred of specialists on this subject matter coming from many countries of Europe.

Liverpool presented the preliminary result of its capital of culture of this year 2008. They are very positive because there has been a significant increase in the number of visitors, many of whom were attracted by the European Capital of Culture.

The European capitals of culture to be, such as Linz 2009, Vilnius 2009, Maribor 2012 and Košice 2013, have presented their programs to many representatives from candidate cities at this meeting organized by Euclid, a body providing European and international information on the cultural sector.

On the other hand, Xavier Tudela, President of the International Bureau of Cultural Capitals, has presented to the audience the cultural capitals that the Bureau is developing as well as the Documentation Centre on Capitals of Culture in Athens, the city that was the first Cultural Capital of the history being named the European Capital of Culture in 1985.

In his presentation, the President of the Bureau explained that “the initial idea by Melina Mercouri has spread throughout the world because it allows the cities assigned as a cultural reference for a continent, country or linguistic area to get internal cohesion, to raise self-esteem, to show their cultural vitality and to have a positive worldwide exposure”.

Among this Athens Centre’s objectives, of whose International Steering Committee Xavier Tudela is a member, are the cooperation of the cities who have been in the past, in the present or are developing in the future a cultural capital as well as between the persons involved in such a developing; the cooperation with European and international cultural bodies; international cultural networks, etc. Up to date, some 40 cities have provided information on their cultural capitals to the Athens Centre, on whose premises there also is a space reserved for the cultural capitals promoted by the Bureau.

The International Bureau of Cultural Capitals is an umbrella body constituted by the American Capital of Culture (www.cac-acc.org), the Brazilian Capital of Culture (www.capitalbrasileiradacultura.org), the US Capital of Culture (www.culturalcapital.us), and the Capital of the Catalan Culture (www.ccc.cat), being consolidated initiatives, and other projects on creation of cultural capitals in development.