Nicosia announces candidacy for 2030 European capital of culture

Nicosia announced its candidacy to become the European capital of culture in 2030 on Monday.

The city’s mayor Constantinos Yiorkadjis said that the decision to bid for the title had won the unanimous support of the city’s council. He also announced that the company “Nicosia for Art” and the former Deputy Minister for Culture Yiannis Toumazis have been appointed to prepare and coordinate the bid.

“The last divided capital in Europe, the capital of Cyprus for more than a thousand years, stakes its claim to the title of European capital of culture,” Yiorkadjis said.

“After all, this is placed upon it by the main characteristics of its unique identity: its timeless pluralistic character, the harmonic coexistence of its rich cultural heritage with its strong achievements in modern culture, as well as its dedication to research, to innovation, and to sustainable development.”

Nicosia for Art’s chairman Giorgos Pamboridis appealed to Nicosians directly.

“In this attempt we are looking for the cooperation of all Nicosia residents. It is not enough for them to be supporters of the municipality or of Nicosia for Art, we want every Nicosia resident to actually contribute, we want every Nicosia resident to feel like this is their own project,” he said.

“Up to now, European capitals of culture have repeatedly shown what a city and the area around it can achieve in its development, its societal cohesion, and the inclusion of everyone, as well as the creation of new jobs, while incorporating culture and art in their long-term development planning,” Toumazis said.

“Multicultural Nicosia has all those characteristics, which make it ideal for the title.”

Nicosia is the second city in Cyprus to formally announce its candidacy to be the European capital of culture in 2023, after Larnaca announced its candidacy in April.

2030 will be the second time since accession to the European Union that the European capital of culture will be in Cyprus. The first time was in 2017, when Paphos won the right to the title.