Debrecen bids for European Capital of Culture title

Budapest, March 1 (MTI) – The eastern Hungarian city of Debrecen has announced a bid to become Europe’s Capital of Culture in 2023, and the government wants to highlight the country’s central European values in the course of lobbying for the title, a government official has said.

A ministry of human resources will participate in conducting the bid together with a European Commission committee of experts, which will eventually decide on the outcome, state secretary for cultural affairs Péter Hoppál said in a statement on Wednesday. Earlier, when the city of Pécs won its bid for the title, the decision had been solely in the hands of the Hungarian authorities, he noted.

A good bid will have to incorporate European Union expectations and therefore highlight the cultural diversity of the continent, he said. A successful bid will also present the special cultural identity of the city, and that spanning the region, with a view to boosting local tourism, he added.

The deadline for submitting the bid is Dec. 20. After a second round of assessments in which bidders will have to give detailed accounts of their plans, the winner for the title of European Capital of Culture for 2023 will be announced at the end of 2018, Hoppál said.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI