Niksic (Montenegro) will be one of the three European Capitals of Culture in 2030. This was announced today by the chair of the European Commission's evaluation panel, Hrvoje Laurenta.

Iris Jugo, coordinator of the Caceres Capital of Culture 2031 Consortium, sent us this article which we are happy to publish in full.

After Antwerp (1993), Brussels (2000), Bruges (2002), and Mons (2015), Leuven will represent Belgium as European Capital of Culture in 2030. In 2030, a Cypriot city may call itself European Capital of Culture. In Cyprus, two cities are still competing for the title: Larnaca and Limassol. Two cities from candidate member states also submitted an application: Lviv from Ukraine and Niksic from Montenegro.

The city of Lviv has submitted its final application for the European Capital of Culture 2030 competition, becoming the first Ukrainian city to join the European Union's largest cultural program with a 40-year history. Lviv offers a view of culture as a force that can recover, witness, care for, and shape the future.

There will be three European capitals of culture in 2030. One will be designated by Cyprus, the other by Belgium, and the third will be chosen between Nikšić (Montenegro) and Lviv (Ukraine). For all three countries we have entered the shortlist phase and therefore the cities have been working around their cultural projects for some time.