On 15th of June, Katowice was visited by the Selection Committee of the European Capital of Culture event in 2016. The main purpose of the visit was to learn more about the City’s candidature before the final decision on 21st of June saying which city will get the title.
In October last year, the City was qualified to the second stage of the competition together with Gdańsk, Lublin, Warsaw and Wrocław. From then on, the cities were expected to complete their applications further on the basis of the criteria and objectives required for the event, and in particular to consider the Committee recommendations suggested in October. This week, the Committee members – nominated by various European institutions and the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of Poland – visit all the five cities. During one day visits they get the feel of a real image of the cities and see presentations of the main events planned for the year 2016.
In Katowice, the Committee was represented by seven members including representatives of the European Commission and the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage. They met with the City and Voivodeship authorities, visited the Nikiszowiec and Giszowiec disricts as well as the modernist part of the downtown, listened about plans of developing the cultural district near “Spodek”, visited Mariacka St. and met with cultural events’ organizers, NGOs and citizens.
The final step of the competition is the cities presentations which will take place next week in Warsaw. The chosen city will receive the Melina Mercouri Award of EUR 1,5 million from the European Union and a prestigious name of the European Capital of Culture.