Vilnius is just one of a very select few countries to have been crowned The European Capital of Culture. The programme was initially conceived in the early 1980s’ and originally named the European City of Culture . The then Greek Culture minister felt that Culture was being forgotten during this time of economic growth and hit on the idea to help promote different European cultures across the member states. The programme was launched just 18 months latter in the summer of 1985 with Athens being chosen to be its number one title-holder for the first year.
Renamed to The European Capital of Culture in 1999 its annual prize is one of the most contested between cities across Europe as it’s a massive opportunity to sell yourself and generate many social , economic and cultural benefits . Ironically introduced to combat the growing dependence on finance the prize is now worth many millions of Euro in tourism related revenue alone. Regular visitors to Florence will no doubt agree that following its win prices for quality villa rental Tuscany and beyond became a more sought after as people came to see what all the fuss was about.
A study conducted almost ten years ago for the European Commission clearly showed that being awarded the European Capital of Culture acted as a massive catalyst for city wide regeneration and the cultural development . Now the 40 member international judging panel looks at not only what the city has to offer now but how the effects of winning the prize with further impact on the city cultural Heritage..
Vilnius became the European Capital of Culture for 2009 and was filled with over 250 culture, art and social events during the festivities and was seen by many as the best choice in the last ten years. It still today reaps the rewards of id victory and today the 3.2 million people of Republic of Lithuania are quite rightly proud of their fine capital city.
