European Capitals of Culture and the limits of the urban effects in Luxembourg and Sibiu 2007

A mega-event is a replicant: local copy of a global model. The European Capitals of Culture (ECC) is an annual mega-event, currently usually held in two European cities. This paper argues it has three particular dimensions, recognisable from the European Union’s policy. First designed to articulate a European identity, it has been a mover for local urban transformation and city-branding, and later participation. The policy projects Europe as “family of cultures”, which suggests attention for a particular ECC year, when the old Saxon fortress town of Luxembourg hosted the title together with th... Mehr ...