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Capitals of Culture in 2026 around the world: innovations and expansion

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Welcome to my tenth annual preview of Capitals of Culture around the world. This year brings the usual fascinating variety, some innovations as well as some new (and newly discovered) titles.

To start with a reminder. Not all “Capitals of Culture” are the same. That sounds obvious but I am amazed at how many articles/reports/tweets assume some sort of similarity. Most recently in a mostly interesting OECD report on “The role of culture-led regeneration in place transformation the authors equated wildly different CoCs. Let´s look at some 2025 and 2026 budgets, as an indicator of size of programme, complexity and probable objectives. The European and UK titles lead the way (Oulu €50m, Trenčín €33m, Chemnitz and Bradford both at €58m down to Nova Gorica at €25m). I have the impression some of the Cultural Cities of East Asia may also be in this top category. Most national CoCs come in between €4m to €8m (Serbia, Italy, Portugal for example), The next category is around €500k to €1m. The final category is those where the owning authority bestows the title but no funding, often a protocol award or based on a city´s heritage and current cultural offer. A wide range indeed which reflects the size and scope of the title and what can be expected from them.

This year I´ll start with one of the smallest. Hancock is a small town of 4,500 in Michigan USA. Now that´s rare as the Capitals of Culture idea has not taken off in the USA. (Some years back the privately run American title was awarded to two cities but both pulled out when they realised the financial arrangements). Hancock is the 2026 Finno-Ugric Capital of Culture, the first time the title has left Europe. The town is known for its Finnish connections since the 19th century. “It’s about deepening our understanding of our roots, building connections that benefit our community, and inspiring a renewed commitment to Finnish-American culture here in Hancock and beyond.”

Let´s move on to the European Capitals of Culture. Oulu starts on 16 January: ” Early 2026 is at its best in the brave hinterland, in the heart of the exotic northern winter.
We invite you to a unique opening ceremony, to experience Sámi culture in the opera and dance on the the ice of the Bothnian Bay to the beat of electronic music“.

Trenčín opens on 13-15 February. A novel project is the appointment of Stefanie Bose as the chronicler of the ECOC. She will focus on  “exploring the German-Jewish-Slovak-Hungarian history of the city , creating literary bridges between Slovakia and Germany, and also trying to convey the stories of Trenčín to a German-speaking audience”

Italy, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, Lithuania and Belarus continue with their national titles. Slovakia and France have paused their titles in deference to Trenčín and Bourges 2028 as ECOCs.

L’Aquila assumes the Italian title for 2026. Agrigento, the 2025 title holder, had a rocky year. All 44 projects were completed but “Delays, accusations, and controversies—often heated, just as often exploitative—have overshadowed and undermined any results achieved.”.  L’Aquila forecasts a €7m budget promising a dynamic programme. The city, and region, has made great steps since the devastating earthquake of 2009.

Bielsko-Biała is the first Polish Capital of Culture, the first of the three unsuccessful shortlisted candidates for the ECOC in 2029 (awarded to Lublin). The grant from the Culture Ministry is around €250,000, with funding from the Norwegian EEA funds. The website shows a relatively small programme.

Portugal is also rewarding the unsuccessful shortlisted candidates for the ECOC, awarded to Évora for 2027. The Portuguese Capital of Culture in 2026 is Ponta Delgarda in the Azores. A healthy budget of €5.3m will give a boost to its cultural programme:  we want to make Ponta Delgada a stage of excellence for culturally relevant artists to enrich the community by bringing their work.

Lithuania was the first country, in 2009, to create a national title in the wake of hosting an ECOC. The 2026 title holder is Kėdainiai. The Culture Ministry allocates up to €150,000 to the programme (although previous Lithuanian CoCs have significantly increased their grant).The history of the city, intertwined with different confessions, has determined the identity of a multicultural city and a unique cultural identity. Therefore, strong religious, cultural, objects and events created by different nations distinguish the Kėdainiai region from other regions of Lithuania. It also has a cucumber festival. Once again Lithuania supports smaller cities with its Small Capitals of Culture. This year sees Kurkliai, Semeliškės, Agluonės, Skriaudžiai and Tirkšliai awarded the title in a competition with 11 candidates. The winners represent each ethnographic region. The deputy culture minister: This is a great example of how community initiative and partnership can create lasting value.

Leskovac is the Serbian Capital of Culture after winning a competition over three other candidates. Over 300 events are planned, to coincide with major cultural infrastructure projects over a two year period. The programme has a budget in the region of €4.5m. Five cities vied for the Belarus Capital of Culture: ” The goal of the campaign is to popularize the achievements of national culture, present the originality of cities and regions, and their tourist attractiveness. The “national” is doing the heavy lifting in this repressive authoritarian country. The status of the cultural capital is given to the one who was able to prove that he has the greatest potential for further development in the field of culture.  Five cities prepared bids, illustrated report here. Postavy the winner. No information available on their programme.

As usual, I find I have overlooked a title which has been running for several years. This year it is Norway where the Norwegian Cultural Forum has run the “Norway´s Cultural Municipality” competition every two years since 1992. The title holder holds the title for two years so the 2025 winner Kristiansund keeps the title in 2026.

Regional titles this year include Veneto ( no announcement yet, the 2025 announcement was in March). Valencia (two, Torrevieja for over 5,000 population and Macastre for under 5,000). Both were appointed in September 2025 so are technically 2025 holders but they keep the title until the next selection. The Catalan title has not yet been announced, Salou run their 2025 programme to the end of January. In Poland the closing date for selection for the Masovian Capital of Culture was late November; no news yet.

Matera has not rested on its laurels since the ECOC in 2019. In 2026 it shares the title of Mediterranean Capital of Culture and Dialogue with Tetouan in Morocco. Matera has a budget of €9m from regional and city budget and releases the programme in February with a start in March. “we have already identified several joint projects, from archaeology to music. Special attention will also be given to sports and cinema.” The two cities had a formal meeting in December (over a year since their selection) 

Meghri in Armenia hosts the Commonwealth of Independent States title and Andijan in Kazakhstan takes over the Turkic World title in April after Aktau.

Before we leave Europe a note to point out there are three Capitals of Culture in war mongering Russia. Omsk holds the national title; Kuraginsky District has the regional title in Krasnoyarsk and Kazan is one of the Capitals of Islamic Culture.

The Cultural Cities of East Asia for 2026 ran into a political brick wall. The three countries had, as usual, made their selections: Suzhou (China), Andong City (S Korea) and Matsumoto (Japan). All were due to be formally ratified at the annual Trilateral Meeting of Culture Ministers in China in December. The meeting did not take place. China´s Foreign Ministry was blunt: Japanese leaders have openly made extremely erroneous remarks regarding Taiwan, hurt the feelings of the Chinese people, challenged the post-war international order, and damaged the foundation and atmosphere for cooperation among the three countries. As a result, the conditions are not in place to hold a China-Japan-Korea meeting. Will the three cities continue with their programmes, normally due to open in late Spring?

Multi-lateral organisations awarded their titles again. Melaka continues to hold the ASEAN title (a two year award) and the Union of Ibero-American Capital Cities (UCCI) awarded Lima as their 2026 Capital of Culture. The 53 member Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) appointed Baghdad and Hebron/Al-Khalil as Capitals of Islamic Culture (as well as Kazan). A strong objective comes from the Hebron mayor: “We have a great responsibility to present what is happening in Hebron to the Islamic world to tell them a clear message that preserving the holy places requires effort from all of us and strong interventions in order to preserve the Palestinian identity in this city.’” No news yet on the Capital of Arab Culture organised by the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO). Puebla is the American Capital of Culture. This title almost needs renaming as the Mexican: seven of the last ten holders have been from Mexico.

Another new title comes to my attention. Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, is the Cultural Capital of Asia. The title is owned by the Asian Mayor´s Forum, created by Tehran in 2008 and now has members from over 40 countries. There does not appear to be a competition. The 2025 decision was based on extensive research and studies conducted by the AMF Secretariat, which highlighted the city’s rich intellectual and cultural heritage.

Egypt appears to have a Capital of Culture designation. The North Sinai region being the 2026 title holder with Arish the main city. The intention seems laudable. The initiative forms part of the Ministry’s wider strategy to expand cultural and artistic activities nationwide. By hosting major events in North Sinai, the plan aims to revitalize the local cultural scene, create opportunities for creative expression, and strengthen connections between national cultural programmes and local communities. For North Sinai in particular: Every place is distinguished by Bedouin heritage crafts, in addition to Bedouin poetry, Samer arts and the special foods of the place, which provides an opportunity for writers to learn about Sinai, its culture, customs and traditions.

I´m not sure if this will be a permanent programme or a once off. Let´s see if there is one in 2027 (and more information on the selection process which I suspect is buried deep in the Culture Ministry).

In the UK, Bradford completed its ambitious 2025 programme and and issued an impressive listing of statistics. A short tv clip with the usual caveats on legacy with an important comment on longevity. The competition for 2029 is now open. An innovation is the new Town of Culture for 2028. “the competition will be targeted at small and medium sized towns, enabling them to tell their unique story and shining a spotlight on the important role that towns play in our national life”. Just three selection criteria (Your story: the town’s distinctive story or narrative; “Culture for everyone” – the town’s inclusive programme design and “Making it happen” – the programme’s deliverability and operational plans). Towns under 70,000 are likely to bid. A grant of £3.5m is available for a summer programme (not a full year). Three runners-up will receive £125,000 each.

I gave AI a run for its money is drafting this preview. I gave up! Most AI reports managed to mangle the various titles and omit most, showing the unreliability of AI. Just today Gemini of Google managed to call Barcelona in 2026 both the European Capital of Culture and the Catalan Capital of Culture in the same response. In fact Barcelona is the UNESCO appointed World Capital of Architecture, celebrates the centenary of the death of Gaudi and the 150th anniversary of the birth of Pablo Casals and to end the year, it is the European Capital of Christmas.

So probably 38 title holders this year. Several titles are in their “off-year”: London (although Wandsworth continues its 2025 programme until March), Eixo Atlântico, UK (both City and Town) and African, as well as the pauses in France and Slovakia. Next year will also finally see the first Swiss Capital of Culture (La Chaux-de-Fonds). If anyone comes across another title, let me know!

Capitals and Cities of Culture in 2021

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Welcome to my annual survey of the Capitals and Cities of Culture. 2020 was, for an obvious reason, one of considerable anxiety for the organisers of Capitals of Culture. The global coronavirus pandemic meant many programmes were cancelled, deferred, reorganised or delayed. In the grand scheme of things, with 88,000,000 cases and approaching 2,000,000 deaths, Capital of Culture programmes are well down the list of priorities. Culture and the arts have a role to play in societies, when it is safe and when they can be delivered safely. At the moment, January 2021, it is still not certain how the 2021 titles will pan out. Lockdowns, movement restrictions, a near total collapse of tourist travel will all seriously limit even the best plans. The safety of performers, technicians and spectators will come first. As Norman Foster wrote, crises bring forward changes which would have happened; in the new normality let’s hope cultural programmes also change. For many we can expect to see a greater and more imaginative use of digital. Will they pay more attention to the climate emergency for example?

Rijeka and Galway, the European Capitals of Culture both opened in wet conditions and almost at once had to stop. The EU’s institutions have (laboriously and slowly) allowed both to run limited programmes until March 2021. The planned 2021 cities have been deferred: Timisoara and Elefsina move to 2023 (sharing with Veszprem); Novi Sad to 2022 sharing with Kaunas and Esch).

In Italy Parma will also run into 2021, now renamed Parma 2020+21. The Italian government fast tracked Bergamo and Brescia to be joint title holders in 2023, the two cities with the worse COVID19 outbreaks in early 2020. The 2022 competition is well under way with 28 candidates.

Coventry, the UK City of Culture, sensibly delayed its opening until May when its full programme starts and now runs until May 2022. Chenine Bhathena, Creative Director writes “This will be one extraordinary year of joyful celebration with a strong social conscience, as we create a new history for our city.”  Several cities are bidding for the 2025 title: Southampton, Bradford, Lancashire and Medway. Selection expected at the end of the year.

Trakai in Lithuania managed a reasonable programme in 2020 and hands over to Neringa. The Deputy Director of Trakai Municipality looked back:

“Although the year was really difficult and full of surprises due to the situation of the pandemic, we are happy to have successfully overcome all the difficulties. I believe that the Capital of Culture project in Trakai really left an indelible mark with its events, concerts, art installations and bold decisions.

Slovakia has nominated the small town of Stará Ľubovňa as its Capital of Culture for 2021. Several cities in Slovakia have recently submitted their bid books for the ECOC title in 2026.

In Portugal, Braga, the Eixo Atlântico title holder in 2020 has deferred its programme to 2021. It, along with other cities, is preparing its bid for the ECOC title in 2027.

Mishkan, the Finno-Ugric Capital in 2020 in a sign of the times held its closing conference on Zoom. Abja-Paluoja, (Mulgimaa region, Estonia) takes over the baton for 2021.

In the year of uplifting anti Lukashenko demonstrations it is weird to report on the Capital of Culture in Belarus. The title, where holders reinforce heritage and folk arts, goes to Borisov in 2021. Many cultural workers were arrested and tortured by the regime.

The Cultural Capital of Krasnoyarsk 2020 in Russia runs from April to March and the current holder is the Karatuz District.

The East Asia programme is developing strongly. The three countries , China, Korea and Japan have, for the first time nominated four cities for 2021. Two, Kitakyushu (Japan) and Suncheon (Korea) are carried over from 2020; neither started their programmes last year. China has nominated two cities Shaoxing and Dunhuang. Gyeongju in Korea was initially selected for 2021 but will be held over to 2022.

The Ibero-American title goes to Mexico City, following on from Buenos Aires. As is common with this title 2021 marks several anniversaries in Mexico’s history.

The Cultural Capital of the Turkic World for 2021 does not yet appear to have been announced; the title holders normally start their programmes in the Spring. Sakarya and Trabzon have both indicated their candidatures.

The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) nominated Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, as the title holder in 2021.

The Capital of Arab Culture title goes to Irbid in Jordan . The three Capitals of Islamic Culture are Doha, Islamabad and Banjul. These two programmes have varying success. Some title holders do little, others have a reasonable programme. There is little news about their 2021 intentions although there was a promising meeting in Doha in December to outline their programme.

The Angkor temples in Cambodia need little introduction. the nearby city of Siem Reap is the ASEAN City of Culture for 2021-22.

There has been little news about the SAARC Capital of Culture. The title was awarded to India for 2020 and nothing further was heard. The Maldives are next in line. In previous years the title has gone to a major archaeological/heritage site; the country is chosen in alphabetical order.

The Community of Portuguese Language Countries nominates as its Capital of Culture a city in the country hosting its two-yearly ministerial meetings. In 2021-23 this is Angola but no information yet about a programme.

The United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLGA) as organisers of the Capital of African Culture had hoped to launch their new title in 2020. Marrakesh was chosen but a week or so before its opening Rabat was given the designation. A mystery with conspiracy theories abounding. In May UCLGA postponed the Rabat programme. no news yet on its resumption.

The two independent titles organised from Barcelona continue, Catalan (in 2021 Tortosa) and Americas (in 2021 Zacatecas State in Mexico).

The London Borough of Culture has re-scheduled. Brent, 2020 title, ran a revised programme. Lewisham has moved from 2021 to 2022 with Croydon in 2023. Liverpool’s Regional Borough of Culture goes to Halton in 2021 with a Bryan Adams concert as a highlight.

And for the first time, the Ukrainian Capital of Culture. In 2021 Mariupol and Slavutych hold the title. Will be very interesting to see the direction the competition will take: the balance between folk arts/heritage to contemporary.

On an optimistic note there will soon be a new Capital of Culture: France has joined the increasing number of countries with a national title. As several cities prepare their bids for the European Capital of Culture in 2028 the new French title follows a format pioneered by Canada and is aimed at smaller municipalities (or groups) of between 20,000 to 200,000. The selection process is under way, the closing date was 31 December 2020. Final selection is in March and the first title runs in 2022.

The global pandemic has disrupted the world in 2020 and into 2021. The progressive roll out of the vaccines may ameliorate the worst but in the meantime mask, socially distance and wash hands and follow your local official advice.

Capitals of Culture in 2019: the idea keeps on growing, two new titles this year

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Welcome to my annual preview of Capitals, and Cities, of Culture around the world. It’s becoming as regular as Lonely Planets’ Places to Visit!

The concept of a designated City or Capital of Culture has come a long way from its initial offering in Athens in 1985. I exclude those cities which use the phrase as a marketing promotion. A designation means someone else has made the call, through open competition or more frequently in closed-door ministerial meetings.

There is a wide variation. Some are merely token: a few events organised by the government or official bodies, a form of diplomatic showcasing; in others nothing appears to happen, an honorary title. Many have a larger than usual arts programme with little focus. At the other extreme some titles seek to transform a city (eg European and UK). Some are contemporary arts minded, others resolutely fix on heritage and folk arts; most aim to increase tourism.  The United Kingdom title stands out not just with its 4 yearly cycle but as the most focused on broader economic rather than cultural benefits.

As usual there is a shortage of reviews and evaluations of programmes outside of the European and UK titles. This is not surprising; many of the titles are in countries with severe press restrictions and secretive officialdom. Information simply does not come out. But there are some where an enterprising researcher could mine for an article or even a thesis: Lithuania, Italy, Ibero-American and even the private American titles all offer possible research interests.  Makes a change from the seemingly endless articles rehashing the same academic “experts” with little critical understanding on the European title.

More titles come on board each year. 2019 sees two newcomers.  Waltham Forest becomes the first holder of the London Borough of Culture title. I’ve a soft spot for this one as I lived in the borough for over 25 years.  Banská Štiavnica is the first national title holder in Slovakia.

The two European Capitals of Culture are  Matera and Plovdiv. Another soft spot as these two were the first I announced as chair of the selection panel. I’ve followed their ups and downs since then and look forward to their comprehensive programmes.

In the Americas the flagship is Panama, the Ibero-American title holder. It merges this title with its celebration of its 500 years anniversary. Its build up programme has been impressive including listening to experiences from international cultural experts. The privately run American title goes (as usual with no competition or openness) to San Miguel de Allende in Mexico. The title had a poor 2018 as a casualty of the Venezuelan collapse but San Miguel, a UNESCO World Heritage city , together with its region, could put the title back on track after an interesting Mérida in 2016.

There are fewer titles in Europe this year. The United Kingdom now waits as Coventry prepares for 2021 (and a debate starts about a smaller “Towns of Culture” title). The next stage of the Hull 2017 evaluation should come out; it will start to evaluate the programme and its possible legacy and follows the extensive preliminary review report issued  by Hull University in March 2018.  The Italian title sits out the year (not to compete with Matera) until Parma in 2020. In Portugal and Spain the Eixo Atlántico title has its fallow year before a 2020 title holder.  Spain does host the Catalan title of Cervera.

Lithuania has 11 title holders. yes, I’ll repeat that, 11 title holders. Rokiškis is the national title holder. There are 10 holders of the “Small Capitals of Culture” title, one from each county. Lessons there for the UK Towns proposal?

Belarus has two titles, both in the south-west of the country. Pinsk holds the national title and Brest that of the Commonwealth of Independent States. Both titles are low-key, more conservative and folk orientated. The government still persecutes members and supporters of the exiled Free Theatre of Belarus which is increasing its programme around the world as well as in Belarus.

Russia also hosts two titles.The regional title in Krasnoyarsk goes to Achinsk and the Finno-Ugric holder is Shorunzha. The latter title makes a welcome return (now for three more years). Run by youth organisations it is a purely cultural title. The Turkic World title goes to Osh in Kyrgyzstan. Let’s hope it continues the pattern of considerable regional cultural partnerships and performances.

The Arab title year runs from April to March.  Oujda in Morocco will finish their programme of over 600 events and hand over to Port-Sudan in Sudan. The Islamic title has four holders this year, one in each of its three regions and one in the host city of its annual Culture Ministers meeting. The latter title goes to Tunis. Hopes are not high after the underwhelming impact of Sfax as the Capital of Arab Culture two years ago. Expectations are only for a few more events at the official cultural institutions level.  ISESCO who run the Islamic title have decreed 2019 as the Year of Islamic Cultural Heritage. It follows on from the European Year of Cultural Heritage last year; I wonder if there are any joint projects in the pipeline? They are also calling on the three Islamic capitals to twin with the fourth title holder, Al-Quds, also known as Jerusalem. The other two title holders are Bandar Seri Begawan (who did little as an ASEAN holder two years ago) and Bissau.

Yogyakarta holds the ASEAN title, having canvassed for it two years ago. A centre of Javan culture it remains to be seen how a programme develops. So far the ASEAN titles have been disappointing.

The three remaining titles are the East Asia Cities of Culture. This trilateral programme is gaining in strength with competitions in two countries (not Japan) and programmes moving beyond a showcase of traditional arts. Xi’an, the archaeological home of the warriors, is the Chinese representative; Incheon in Korea and Toshima in Japan are the three cities for 2019.

Several titles have not yet released their 2019 title holders.  SAARC in South Asia (probably a heritage site in India as they follow an alphabetical rota of member states); Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries, CPLP, (probably somewhere in Cape Verde as the host of the biennial meeting of culture ministers) and Victoria in Australia.  I’m not sure the latter is an annual event, any news welcome as they don’t answer emails.

Will France  join the national titles list, with its first edition in 2021?   The previous culture minister indicated “oui” in the summer of 2018 but little has been heard from his successor.

So the year starts with 22 declared title holders, plus the 10 Small Capitals in Lithuania and possibly 2 or 3 more. The Capitals of Culture concept develops every year; let’s hope more of the titles start to evolve and leave a lasting change in the city.