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The ECoC evidence base

The Archive

Forty years of European Capitals of Culture in their own words: what cities promised, what they did, and what the evaluations found.

documents
472

documents

cities
190

cities

evaluations
53

evaluations

bid books
182

bid books

1985–2031

title years covered

All shelvesEvaluations 53Monitoring and progress reports 1Bid books 182Selection and monitoring reports 111EU framework and official documents 27Strategies and action plans 5Research, guides and frameworks 33Shared by cities 1Sent in by members 59Published by cities 12
TypeBid book (pre-selection) 12Bid book (final selection) 15Monitoring panel report 4Ex-post evaluation 5Research 2Other 1
What the document types mean
Bid book (pre-selection)
A city's first application for the title, judged by the selection panel to make the shortlist.
Evidence of intent: what a city promised, not what it delivered.
Bid book (final selection)
A shortlisted city's full, final application for the title, with its programme, budget and plans.
Evidence of intent: what a city promised, not what it delivered.
Selection panel report
The EU expert panel's assessment of the bids in one competition, with its reasons and its recommendation.
Context: useful background, not a city's own evidence of what happened.
Monitoring panel report
The EU expert panel's report on a designated city's preparations before its title year, with its advice.
Context: useful background, not a city's own evidence of what happened.
Ex-post evaluation
An assessment, written after the title year or a programme, of what it actually achieved, usually by independent evaluators.
Evidence of outcome: what actually happened.
Monitoring or progress report
A city's own report on how its programme is going, written while it runs, with the figures it has tracked.
Evidence of outcome: what actually happened.
Strategy
A city's long-term plan or policy for culture, including legacy strategies and council decisions.
A plan: how a city meant to deliver and keep going.
Action plan
A concrete plan of what a city or organisation will do, by when and with what resources.
A plan: how a city meant to deliver and keep going.
Guide or toolkit
Practical how-to material that others can reuse: guides, toolkits, handbooks and templates.
Context: useful background, not a city's own evidence of what happened.
Research
Studies, frameworks and papers across one or more cities, written by researchers rather than by a city.
Context: useful background, not a city's own evidence of what happened.
Other
Anything else: news, memos, programme brochures and documents that fit no type above.
Context: useful background, not a city's own evidence of what happened.

39 documents for “Crisis response”

Clear
Ask Encore: “Crisis response”An answer from across the Archive, every claim cited to its document.

Found inside the documents

  • CultureNext_Culture-as-Care_AdvocacyThemeReport_June2026_FINAL.pdf
London. Contributed by London and published to everyone.

…2.3 Key thematic discussions Culture as preventive care A central theme was the idea of culture as preventive care , rather than merely a response to crisis.

  • Kaunas 2022 — 2nd monitoring report
    Kaunas · 2022

    The “Culture to the Courtyards” project is a good example of such a creative and timely response to the crisis, with a strong involvement of both artists and local people.

  • Ljubljana 2025 — Final selection
    Ljubljana · 2025

    Preparedness and capability for a quick response to unforeseeable circumstances and just as important for the success of LJ 2025 as long-term strategy, a thoughtful programme and an effective organizational structure.

  • Bielsko-Biała 2029
    Bielsko-Biała · 2029

    TO RESPOND TO POLYCRISIS: by addressing chal- lenges such as climate change, global conflicts, migration crises, mental health conditions, disin- formation and rapid digital transformation and in- viting audiences to participate in finding…

  • the_missing_pillar.pdf

    UNESCO, October 2016. 113 “UN Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to the COVID 19 crisis”. Website accessed on 8 July 2020.

  • Siena 2019 — Final selection
    Siena · 2019

    …Siena is that, after a long period of negative attention from the me- dia at the national level, the Sienese community would judge a negative response on the bid as a further sign of distrust in the city’s capacity to stand back up, and…

  • Kranj 2025 — Pre-selection
    Kranj · 2025

    …Slovenia, elementary and secondary schools of Gorenjska, museums of the region, Kovačnica, Open Lab 38 THE PIONEER AWARD - The Pajer Award for Crisis Zone Photography Our development of a program for documenting crisis zones turns…

  • Lublin 2029
    Lublin · 2029
  • Kalamata 2021 — Final selection
    Kalamata · 2021

    We aim to turn the crisis of a centralised Greece (over 40% of the population resides in Attica) into a chance to transform a small peripheral city into a new vibrant cultural hotspot with a high quality of life.

  • Kortrijk 2030 — Pre-selection
    Kortrijk · 2030

    More importantly, we want to focus on preventive measures rather than just curative responses. We believe culture can provide the collective oxygen – not by chance this is the title of our Cultural Strategy – that everyone needs.

  • Timișoara 2023 — 3rd monitoring report
    Timișoara · 2023

    …culture and the ECoC project, given the difficult times Europe is going through, post pandemic, with an ongoing economic / cost of living crisis and the war in Ukraine.

  • Esch-sur-Alzette 2022 — 2nd monitoring report
    Esch-sur-Alzette · 2022

    …communication, the Panel questioned how the new challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic were addressed, in particular the impact the crisis might have on the tourism industry in 2022.

  • Three Sisters 2020 — Pre-selection
    Three Sisters · 2020

    …Royal and Wexford Arts Centre, in collaboration with the German art collective ‘Centre for Political Beauty’, which is pioneering the creative response to Europe’s migrant crisis and the existential crisis that foregrounds it.

  • Skopje 2028 — Final selection
    Skopje · 2028
  • Évora 2027 — Pre-selection
    Évora · 2027

    But today there are also new issues that have come to anchor the bid's approach – issues generated and amplified by the pandemic crisis, as well as by collective responses being developed at the European level, where new challenges are…

  • Galway 2020 — Evaluation Report
    Galway · 2020

    Galway Web Mirror Pavilion Mirror Pavilion by John Gerrard is a response to the escalating climate crisis and pushes the boundaries of digital art using simulation.

  • Riga 2014
    Riga · 2014

    Potential threats and crisis communication The project Management group must be prepared for several po- tential sources of risk: 1. The potential change of political power on local and national level, and a potentially poor interest in…

  • Eindhoven 2018 — Final selection
    Eindhoven · 2018

    …35.50 Figures in millions of euros NB: The reduction in the total annual budget is the result of local and central government cutbacks in response to the financial crisis.

  • Nürnberg 2025 — Pre-selection
    Nürnberg · 2025

    The aim was formulated in response to the expe- rience of war and displacement that Europe had undergone – a history which the city of Nürnberg had played a pivotal role in shaping, with disastrous conse- quences.

  • Bad Ischl 2024 — 1st monitoring report
    Bad Ischl · 2024

    The region feels it has to counter the crisis; the ECOC is considered an essential element of their recovery plan. The two most affected sectors (i.e. tourism and culture) are at the core of the ECOC bid.

  • Plovdiv 2019
    Plovdiv · 2019

    …especially in the field of education and social innovation such as the projects The Мobile Educational Centres in Stolipinovo and is a complex response to the complexity of challenges in urban, social and cultural contexts.

  • Bourges 2028 — Final selection
    Bourges · 2028

    Find a response to the crisis of representation in France and in Europe by integrating local and European citizens into the governance of Bourges 2028 and exploring cultural rights.

  • EC Ex-Post Evaluation — Guimarães, Maribor
    Guimarães & Maribor · 2012

    (Each respondent could choose only ONE of the following responses.) Response Total % of responses 1 Much better image 18 2 Slightly better image 8 3 About the same 1 4 Worse image 0 5 Don't know 5 Total respondents: 32 0% 20% 40% 60% 80%…

  • Linz 2009 — Evaluation Report
    Linz · 2009

    The ECOC also had the misfortune to be struck by a major external problem: the 2008 financial crisis which caused problems in government budgets and the collapse of the country's main airline.

  • Namur 2030 — Final selection
    Namur · 2030

    …of ‘Namur Safe and Secure’ (integrated safety management for a safer province), the measures to reduce risks, be ready to offer an appropriate response to incidents and increase resilience are involving five steps: — monitoring events…

  • Gent 2030 — Pre-selection
    Gent · 2030

    …coordination platform for bigger events Poor accessibility of venues Possible Critical - Conduct accessibility analyses and remedy problems Crisis in data infrastructure, climate, health, mobility, etc.

  • Delphi 2021 — Pre-selection
    Delphi · 2021

    The Memorandum is subject to change, without compromise to its clarity and usability. (http://del- phi2021.eu/emergency-response) The aim is to obtain specific and detailed answers to the questions: WHO, WHAT, WHERE, WHEN, WHY.

  • Rijeka 2020 — Evaluation Report
    Rijeka · 2020

    The very next day, the Mayor, following the instructions of the Civil Protection Headquarters, a national crisis management body, informed the public about the postponement of all public events, and the company RIJEKA 2020 did the same for…

  • Nürnberg 2025 — Final selection
    Nürnberg · 2025

    …have already es- tablished can actually be main- tained remains to be seen, and depends heavily on how the econ- omy fares in the wake of the crisis.

  • Siena 2019 — Pre-selection
    Siena · 2019

    The city must be further solidified, to make the bid even more credible as a concrete, widely agreed response to the city’s main urgencies; • Finally, the same tendency to individual- istic isolation that exists at the people level also…

  • Hildesheim 2025 — Final selection
    Hildesheim · 2025

    Despite the pandemic crisis city, district and district municipalities remain fully committed to the project and their budgetary decisions. The Federal State of Lower Saxony as well as a number of sponsors already confirmed their…

  • Cagliari 2019 — Final selection
    Cagliari · 2019

    …has given the institutions and citizens a common objective that has led to the singling out of new models for socioeconomic development in response to the structural crisis of the old paradigms.

  • City marketing (Sibiu 2007)
    Sibiu · 2007

    …find themselves forced to redefine their identity, due to the decrease of other types of industries under the impact of the global economic crisis and the economic reset.

  • Molenbeek 2030 — Final selection
    Molenbeek · 2030

    …partners, as well as goodwill and consultation between the stakeholder (Port of Brussels, police, Bruxelles Mobilité, STIB-MIVB) and emergency response disciplines. Medical services, food safety experts and fire assistance.

  • Larissa 2021 — Pre-selection
    Larissa · 2021

    Crisis (from the Greek word krisis) as the turning point, the selection, the judgment, opening up opportunities, for talent (inclination, desire, will) to emerge and be integrated, to bring into being, produce, production, leading to…

  • Utrecht 2018 — Pre-selection
    Utrecht · 2018

    Wise words, which take on even greater significance in times of crisis. On its way to 2018, Utrecht will throw all its windows and doors wide open.

  • Zadar 2020 — Pre-selection
    Zadar · 2020

    DEPRESSED ECONOMY CREATES DEPRESSED PEOPLE3 Nowhere does the economic crisis last as long as in Croatia! Even the majority of European countries are officially out of recession a few years ago, the situation in this part of Europe is…

  • Galway 2020 — Monitoring Report
    Galway · 2020

    An increasing recognition of the nature of the pandemic made it clear that it was not a short-term crisis. A proposal was put to the Department by the Galway 2020 Board and Senior Management as to how Galway 2020 could continue.

  • Tampere 2026 — Pre-selection
    Tampere · 2026

    …more important – and we’ve started to think how to use our toolkit (of which cultural sustainability is an integral part) to recover from the crisis.