In 2025, Slovenia was one of two European countries to host a European Capital of Culture, alongside Germany’s Chemnitz. Nova Gorica was awarded the title, which it shared with the Italian city of Gorizia: a symbolic and powerful choice, as the entire cultural programme was built around the idea of overcoming the border that had divided the two cities for decades. An urban, physical and mental border, transformed into fertile ground for projects capable of fostering dialogue between artists, communities and creatives from both countries.

Nova Gorica and Gorizia are still all dressed up, as elegant as ever, but in a shade somewhere between green and turquoise that is still clearly visible on the branded buses, in shop windows and on information pillars.

To mark the opening day of the European Capital of Culture Trenčín 2026, an evening event open to all will take place on 20 June, starting at 6 pm, celebrating friendship, culture and the ties between the two European Capitals of Culture: Trenčín and Nova Gorica / Gorizia.

An institutional delegation comprising representatives of the 2025 European Capitals of Culture – including the Mayor of Gorizia, Rodolfo Ziberna; the Mayor of Nova Gorica, Samo Turel; the director of ECoC projects in Chemnitz, Josephine Hage – took part in a day of meetings and institutional activities in Skopje in recent days, with the aim of sharing the results achieved and making expertise and experience available to support Skopje’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028.

 Two European Capitals of Culture, Nova Gorica 2025 and Bad Ischl Salzkammergut 2024, will host an artistic residency to regenerate a series of monuments. The project is called DECORATOR artistic residencies 2025 and involves several regions of the Danube in Europe, with a focus on Slovenia, Croatia, Austria, and Germany. Deadline: 31 October 2025.