The Nicosia Municipality has officially kicked off the local 2017 European cultural capital contest with a press conference during which Mayor Eleni Mavrou announced the support of Larnaca Municipality, besides those of greater Nicosia.
She suggested that the two other candidate cities of Paphos and Limasol follow Larnaca`s example so as to enable Nicosia to be selected as the only divided capital.
This provoked strong reaction from Paphos Mayor Savvas Vergas, who said that the criteria for choosing the cultural capital of Europe were not political, adding that his town fully qualified for the title.
The designation of a European Cultural Capital by the EU Council was launched in 1987 on the initiative of Greek Education and Culture Minister Melina Mercouri. Two EU countries are invited each year to host the cultural capital concurrently, with Cyprus and Denmark scheduled to do so for 2017.
The invitation for the submission of candidates was published in December 2010 and the candidate cities have to present their file by October this year.
The 13-member Selection Committee is composed of seven persons appointed by the involved EU institutions and the remaining six by the Education and Culture Ministry of the countries concerned. The selection process must be completed by the end of 2012 at the latest, with the European Council announcing the cultural capitals in May 2013.
Flanked by the seven Mayors of wider Nicosia municipalities and that of Larnaca, Mavrou at this week`s press conference said that their support gave new impetus to the candidacy of the capital.
She noted that this was a practice followed by older cultural capitals, since it widened the geographic boundaries of a city and enhanced its social, political and cultural assets,, rendering it more competitive.
Mavrou said that this was a two way process, strengthening the candidacy of the city on the one hand and enabling its partners to share in the positive results on the other.
She stressed that the initiative of the European Cultural Capitals had developed over the years and matured into a tool for the general transformation of the city.
“The conquest of the title takes on the form of a challenge, providing the city with the possibility, maybe the impetus as well, to make accomplishments and develop itself,” she said.
Explaining their decision to support Nicosia`s candidacy, Larnaca Deputy Mayor Alexis Michaelides said the two towns had enjoyed economic, social, commercial and cultural links throughout the centuries, which continue to date.
“The geographical position of Larnaca and today`s facilities of the airport, the port and the marina, not forgetting the hotels, make it an integral and most important partner of Nicosia in its bid for the European Cultural Capital,” he added.
The other Mayors present, namely those of Strovolos, Lakatamia, Engomi, Ayios Dometios, Aglandjia, Latsia and Dhali, each stated the reason for supporting Nicosia.
In this reaction after the press conference, Vergas argued that the bid for the cultural capital was a concern for individual cities nad not for countries or states and emphasised that Paphos would not withdraw.
There was no reaction from Limassol Municipality but they are understood to be continuing to work on the preparation of their file for the contest.
The Nicosia Mayor said that Nicosia would present the basic content of its file at the beginning of next month.
The current European Cultural Capitals are Turku in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia, with Portugal`s Guimaraes and Slovenia`s Maribor already chosen for 2012.
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Tags: 2017 european cultural capital, cities of Paphos and Limassol and Larnaca, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Larnaca Municipality, nicosia, Nicosia cyprus, Nicosia Municipality, Portugal, support of Larnaca Municipality, the european cultural capital