European Capitals of Culture: Success Strategies and Long-Term Effects
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4.
DELIVERY APPROACHES AND SUCCESS STRATEGIES KEY FINDINGS
Visions for the purpose of the ECoC have changed over time, from being a celebration of a city to being an opportunity to transform a city (at least in terms of its image). This notion of transformation has become prevalent in the language of visions, but can sometimes be quite separate from practical themes used for developing cultural programmes.
A variety of approaches are taken in different cities to provide a balance of activity throughout the year, a balance of input from local and international artists and companies, and a balance of high profile and more community-focused work. Programmes are, on the whole, broad and diverse, in terms of artform, size and scale of individual projects, and types of activity. Programming processes also vary, with open calls sometimes being used as a way of ensuring significant opportunity for local artists, and direct flagship commissions as a way of gaining input from international artists. Collaboration that supports interaction between the local cultural sector and artists or organisations from Europe and beyond has become an area of emphasis.
Physical developments continue to be a key element of many ECoC plans, although the direct relationship between ECoC investment/strategic activity and many physical developments (of both cultural buildings and other kinds of infrastructure like hotels, transport routes and the public realm) is often complex, and not clearly articulated.
Increasingly ECoCs are planning for the extension of activity and benefits beyond the ECoC year itself. Since 2006, with the inclusion of a specific request for ECoC hosts to strive towards long-term benefits as part of the Programme Selection Criteria, this commonly emerges at the bid stage.
Formal branding, communication and marketing strategies – both for programme activity and, more broadly, for hosting cities themselves – are now part and parcel of the ECoC process for all cities, and spending on this area has increased as a proportion of the overall budgets. Many cities work with specialist resource or external agencies, buying in expert experience in order to undertake these processes.
Approaches used to support social engagement include dedicated programmes focusing on particular groups (e.g. young people), programmes focusing on specific impact areas (e.g. health) and those working with specific sectors (e.g. education). On the whole, these appear to have become more substantial and formalised over the period of the ECoC initiative.
Volunteer programmes are a significant element of the public engagement approach of several ECoCs, and are increasingly sizeable and sophisticated, often including specific job descriptions and training. There are particular examples of volunteers supporting ‘city welcome’ activities, and in encouraging audience development from local residents.
The size and scale of investment in ECoCs varies significantly, and the range of core sources also varies according to national funding models and experiences.
Different models of governance are apparent across different ECoCs, but a common element considered important is a dedicated vehicle for undertaking delivery of the ECoC that can be kept free of issues such as political interference.
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