ECOC2030BE

With the launch of the website and the publication of the Call for candidate cities in the Belgian Official Journal, the competition for the next European Capital of Culture has officially begun.

In the Call for submission you will find the common application form and more information on the objectives and criteria of ECOC 2030 Belgium. The rules and procedure of the competition are explained in the Rules of procedure. 

Is your city a candidate? Find more information on the Candidacy page.

On December 1st, the first Information Meeting took place at the Royal Library in Brussels.

In the morning, the European Commission gave a presentation on ECOC's objectives, criteria and procedures. In the afternoon, cities had the opportunity to meet two previous European Capitals of Culture and learn more about European funding with VLEVA.

The following cities have expressed their intent to compete for the Belgian title: 

• Bruges
• Ghent
• Kortrijk
• Leuven
• Molenbeek
• Namur

The following six cities have submitted their candidacies:

• Bruges
• Ghent
• Kortrijk
• Leuven
• Molenbeek
• Namur

The cities' bidbooks will be published on this website after the selection phase.

On October 21st, 22nd and 23rd the cities were invited to present their candidacies to a panel of international experts at the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. 

The shortlisted cities were announced by the chairperson of the panel during a press conference in the auditorium of the Royal Library of Belgium on October 24th, followed by a reception.

Leuven, Molenbeek, and Namur: these cities were on the shortlist to become the European Capital of Culture in 2030. 

From September 17th to September 19th the three candidate cities organized a city visit attended by a small delegation of the Panel’s ECOC 2030 (inter)national experts. 

The visit schedule was follows:

• Wednesday, September 17th Leuven
• Thursday, September 18th Molenbeek
• Friday, September 19th Namur

The ECOC 2030 final hearings took place from September 22nd to September 23rd in the Royal Library of Belgium in Brussels. After the competing cities delivered their final presentations, the panel made its decision and announced Leuven as the titleholder.

The decision on which city will represent Belgium and become the next European Capital of Culture in 2030 was announced at the press conference that took place on September 24th in the Royal Library of Belgium.