2950) Veszprem-Balaton, Hungary: Magyar Posta (Hungarian Post) has issued a postage stamp of 1250 HUF commemorating the Hungarian City designated as the 2023 European Capital of Culture City - "VEB2023 ECoC": Date/Year of Stamp issue: 02.08.2023:
Magyar Posta is marking the events of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture by issuing a stamp. The black-numbered perforated edition and the red-numbered imperforated edition of the souvenir sheet as well as the miniature sheet designed by the graphic artist Luca Lakatos were produced by Pénzjegynyomda Zrt.
What is the European Capitals of Culture initiative?:
- It is an initiative putting culture at the heart of European cities with EU support for a yearlong celebration of art and culture.
The European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) initiative is designed to:
- Highlight the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe.
- Celebrate the cultural features Europeans share.
- Increase European citizens' sense of belonging to a common cultural area.
- Foster the contribution of culture to the development of cities.
In addition to this, experience has shown that the event is an excellent opportunity for:
- Regenerating cities
- Raising the international profile of cities
- Enhancing the image of cities in the eyes of their own inhabitants
- Breathing new life into a city's culture
- Boosting tourism
The initiative was developed in 1985 and has, to date, been awarded to more than 60 cities across the European Union (EU) and beyond.
Designation of European Capitals of Culture:
- Six years before the title year the selected host Member States publish a call for applications, usually through their Ministry for Culture. Cities interested in participating in the competition must submit a proposal for consideration.
- The submitted applications are reviewed against a set of established criteria at the end of a pre-selection phase by a panel of independent experts in the field of culture or culture-based city development. The panel agrees on a short-list of cities, which are then asked to submit more detailed applications.
- The panel then reconvenes to assess the final applications and recommends one city per host country for the title. The relevant authority in the Member State concerned then formally designates the recommended city as European Capital of Culture.
- The role of the European Commission is to ensure that the rules established at EU level are respected all along the way.
- Moreover, cities in EU candidate countries, potential candidates or members of the European Free Trade Association party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area (so-called EFTA/EEA countries) can also hold the title in 2022, 2024, 2028, 2030 and 2033. These cities are selected through an "open competition", meaning that cities from various countries may compete with each other.
In 2023, the following cities have been designated as the European Capitals of Culture:
Elefsina (Greece)
Veszprém (Hungary)
Timisoara (Romania)
Bergamo and Brescia (Italy)
The Hungarian City of Veszprém-Balaton - 2023-European Capital of Culture (VEB2023 ECoC):
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately 15 km (9 miles) north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative centre of the county of the same name.
The name of the city originates from a Slavic personal name Bezprem or Bezprym meaning "stubborn", "self-confident, not willing to retreat".
According to legend, Veszprém was founded on seven hills. The seven hills are Várhegy (Castle Hill), Benedek-hegy (St. Benedict Hill), Jeruzsálem-hegy (Jerusalem Hill), Temetőhegy (Cemetery Hill), Gulyadomb (Herd Hill), Kálvária-domb (Calvary Hill), and Cserhát.
Veszprem-Balaton is one of the cities chosen for the 2023 European Capitals of Culture.
The festivities of VEB2023 ECoC are divided into nine clusters:
Music/City, The busy world of Veszprem, Region alive, Fragile Balaton, Reflection, Bridges, Out-of-the Ordinary, Celebration and Beyond - all of which focus on giving the visitor a comprehensive/composite experience of Hungarian Culture and history.
Veszprém-Balaton will uniquely become a single experience region in 2023 as the European Capital of Culture. Visitors to the region will be able to bathe not only in Lake Balaton, but also in the rich cultural programme on offer.
The Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture program series began on the 21st of January 2023. Visitors/tourists both local and foreign are being treated to Veszprem-Balaton's rich cultural treasures and virtues which spans several millennia.
The Celebrations:
On 21.01.2023, the year of European Capital of Culture began with a spectacular celebration in Veszprém.
On the weekend of the opening ceremony visitors could take part in 50 fantastic cultural events in 13 locations.
Besides the grandiose show a big variety of accompanying programmes of many art forms awaited those who visited Veszprém throughout the week.
The Postage Stamp issued by Magyar Posta:
Magyar Posta is marking the events of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture by issuing a stamp.
The black-numbered perforated edition and the red-numbered imperforated edition of the souvenir sheet as well as the miniature sheet designed by the graphic artist Luca Lakatos were printed by Pénzjegynyomda Zrt.
The programme of the VEB2023 ECoC was devised based on a complex concept containing 9 clusters.
Of these 9 clusters "MUSIC/CITY" were chosen to appear on the stamp in view of the fact that Veszprém has previously won the UNESCO City of Music title.
The other 8 clusters feature in the stamp designs of the miniature sheet: BRIDGES; BEYOND; THE BUSY WORLD OF VESZPRÉM; REGION, ALIVE; REFLECTION; OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY; CELEBRATION, and FRAGILE BALATON.
The First Day Cover (FDC) and the imprint of the special postmark on the cover bear the "VEB2023 ECoC" logo.
Technical details:
Issue Date: 02.08.2023
Designer: Luca Lakatos
Printer: Pénzjegynyomda Zrt.
Souvenir Sheet, Miniature Sheet: Pátria Zrt. (FDC)
Process: Offset
Colours: 4 Colours (CMYK)
Size: 40.00 mm × 30.00 mm
Values: HUF 1,250
Stamp Theme: European Capital of Culture 2023
Links to other posts on European Capital of Culture:
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