Budva entered the final of the competition for the European Capital of Culture. This was confirmed to the News in the office of the President of the Municipality, Milo Božović.
- The entire Montenegrin public eagerly awaited the decision of the EU panel of independent cultural experts on which cities will enter the finals for the European Capital of Culture, and then the good news arrived from Brussels. This is a great success for the entire cultural and artistic scene of Montenegro, but also for the country as a whole, its image and prestige in the world. As stated in the announcement of the Directorate for Education and Culture of the European Commission: “The international panel composed of 10 respected independent cultural experts, after reading, analyzing and evaluating the application books of all the candidate cities, held a selection meeting and decided to select the cities that enter the the finals of the competition for the European Capital of Culture in the competition of EEA/EFTA countries, EU candidate countries and potential EU candidates. These are Budva (Montenegro) and Skopje (North Macedonia) – according to Božović’s cabinet
The press release points out that being shortlisted for the title can result in significant cultural, economic and social benefits for the selected cities, provided that their project is part of a long-term culture-led development strategy.
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- The finalist cities have until the summer of 2023 to complete their applications. The commission will meet in September 2023 to decide which of the finalist cities will become the third European Capital of Culture in 2028 (in competition with EEA/EFTA countries, EU candidate countries and potential EU candidates) after Novi Sad (Serbia) in 2022. And Bodo (Norway) in 2024 – concludes the Directorate for Culture of the European Commission.
Božović’s office says that this is a great success for Budva, its citizens, creators in culture, institutions and organizations, non-institutional scene and individuals who, in cooperation with partners and experts from Europe and the world, initiated the process of strategic transformation of the city through culture.
- This is also a great incentive to work even harder and more actively in the next year on the development of the Application Book and program of the “Budva-Boka 2028 European Capital of Culture” project with the involvement of the citizens and municipalities of Boka (Tivat, Herceg Novi and Kotor), but also the whole of Montenegro. We are convinced that together we will create a high-quality Culture Development Strategy and City Development Strategy and start working according to these system documents, preparing to become the European Capital of Culture – it is stated in the press release of the office of the President of the Municipality of Budva, local media reports.
