3794) Nova Gorica and Gorizia, Slovenia: "European Capital of Culture - 2025": Pošta Slovenije (PS) (The Post of Slovenia) has issued Postage Stamps celebrating the designation of the two cities: Date/Year of Stamps issue: 27.02.2025:
- Nova Gorica and Gorizia, Slovenia - designated as the 2025 European Capital of Culture (ECOC): Date of Stamp issue: 27.02.2025:
A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for a city to generate considerable cultural, social, and economic benefits, and it can help foster urban regeneration, change the city's image, and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale. Multiple cities can be a European Capital of Culture simultaneously.
In 1985, Melina Mercouri, Greece's Minister of Culture, and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual City of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values.
The Commission of the European Union manages the title, and each year the Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European Capitals of Culture: more than 60 cities have been designated so far.
The current European Capitals of Culture for 2025 are Nova Gorica in Slovenia with Gorizia in Italy, and Chemnitz in Germany.
Selection process:
An international panel of cultural experts is in charge of assessing the proposals of cities for the title according to criteria specified by the European Union.
For two of the capitals each year, eligibility is open to cities in EU member states only. From 2021 and every three years thereafter, a third capital will be chosen from cities in countries that are candidates or potential candidates for membership, or in countries that are part of the European Economic Area (EEA) - an example of the latter being Stavanger, Norway, which was a European Capital of Culture in 2008.
A 2004 study conducted for the Commission, known as the "Palmer report", demonstrated that the choice of European Capital of Culture served as a catalyst for cultural development and the transformation of the city. Consequently, the beneficial socio-economic development and impact for the chosen city are now also considered in determining the chosen cities.
Bids from five United Kingdom cities to be the 2023 Capital of Culture were disqualified in November 2017, because the UK was planning to leave the EU before 2023.
History:
The European Capital of Culture programme was initially called the European City of Culture and was conceived in 1983, by Melina Mercouri, then serving as minister of culture in Greece. Mercouri believed that at the time, culture was not given the same attention as politics and economics and a project for promoting European cultures within the member states should be pursued.
The European City of Culture programme was launched in the summer of 1985 with Athens being the first title-holder.
In 1999, the European City of Culture program was renamed to European Capital of Culture.
The following cities have been identified to be the European Cities of Culture in the next five years:
Designated European Capitals of Culture:
European Capitals of Culture have already been designated until the year 2028.
They are as follows:
2024: Bad Ischl (Austria), Tartu (Estonia) and Bodø (Norway)
2025: Chemnitz (Germany) and Nova Gorica (Slovenia)
2026: Oulu (Finland) and Trenčín (Slovakia)
2027: Liepāja (Latvia) and Évora (Portugal)
2028: České Budějovice, Broumov, Brno, Liberec (Czech Republic), Skopje (North Macedonia) and Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier, Rouen, Saint-Denis (France)
2029: Kiruna, Uppsala (Sweden), Lublin, Bielsko-Biała, Katowice, Kołobrzeg (Poland).
About European Capital of Culture - Nova Gorica and Gorizia:
The cities of Nova Gorica and Gorizia, which together form a conurbation, are now connected as the first cross-border European Capital of Culture.
For the first time in history, cities in two countries are united in this project.
The centre point of the two cities and the focal point of the European City of Culture is Trg Evrope/ Piazza Transalpina, a square lying half in Slovenia and half in Italy.
The inauguration of the European Capital of Culture took place in this square on 8 February 2025, a date that coincides with Slovenia’s National Day of Culture.
Those involved in the project are working hard to ensure that community and the power of connection, knowledge and transcending borders are firmly in first place.
The realisation of this goal is a process full of challenges that requires great efforts, but together we will succeed.
Slovenia is looking forward to new opportunities for greater economic and cultural development and the growth of the tourism sector in both cities.
When the curtain comes down on this prestigious title in December 2025, the story will not end there. Instead, Slovenia aims to continue the cooperation into the future.
GO! 2025:
This is a project of people on both sides of the border and, as such, an excellent opportunity for everyone to go beyond everything that separates them.
That is why the common thread running through the project is borderlessness, the ability to live in the freedom that comes from transcending established frameworks and overcoming obstacles.
Nova Gorica and Gorizia are already seen as a model of cross- border cooperation in Europe and it is firmly believed that, through GO! 2025, will prove that life without borders and coexistence in friendship are possible, despite a sometimes bitter and tragic past.
The Stamps:
Issuer: Pošta Slovenije (PS).
Issue Date: 27.02.2025
Designer: M. Hermo, F. Gallina
Printer: Agencija za komercijalnu djelatnost d.o.o., Zagreb, Croatia
Process: Offset
Colours: 4 Colours (CMYK)
Size:
Stamp Size: 42.60 x 29.82 mm,
M/S Size: 130.00 x 85.00 mm
Links to Posts on Slovenia on this Blog:
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