Not what survived, but what became stronger: new research reframes the legacy of European Capitals of Culture

What is left of a European Capital of Culture once the title year ends? A new ECOC Echo report, based on research with 18 European Capitals of Culture, finds that it is time to ask a different question: not what survived, but what became stronger. 

The report Legacy Exchange: Planning for Impact through European Capital of Culture, created by the European Capitals of Culture legacy initiative ECOC Echo in collaboration with TFCC Europe, brings together insights and experiences from 18 cities across Europe. Drawing on a survey of former, current and future European Capitals of Culture, international focus group discussions and a study visit to Leeuwarden (Capital of Culture in 2018 with a strong legacy programme), the report examines how cities approach the concept of legacy, integrate it into their planning processes and develop strategies to ensure its long-term impact. 

According to the survey results, despite differences in political systems, organisational structures and stages of development, cities share a common insight: lasting impact starts long before the title year and extends far beyond it. Legacy is increasingly understood as the ability of cultural ecosystems to collaborate, adapt and create long-term public value. Strong relationships, trust and shared ownership are often more important than individual projects or infrastructure. 

Whether through new forms of collaboration, investment in local capacity or opportunities for communities to develop their own cultural initiatives, the lasting value of a European Capital of Culture often lies in what people and organisations are able to achieve together afterwards. The report structures these insights around the five legacy pillars agreed by the ECoC Echo partners at the start of the project: institutional, infrastructure, emotional, programme and financial legacy. 

The central message is clear: the success of a European Capital of Culture should not only be judged by what remains after the title year, but by what has become possible because of it.

Four patterns emerge based on this research:

• Legacy starts before the title year. It needs to be part of the strategy from the bidding phase onwards, rather than something addressed after the title year. 
• How an organisation works matters more than its form. Adaptability, collaboration and trust are key to the process. 
• People come before infrastructure. People and connections are more important than infrastructure alone; buildings can provide opportunities, but lasting cultural change depends on the people and communities who bring them to life. 
• Success is about more than numbers. Success goes beyond visitor numbers and economic impact. Stronger partnerships, greater participation, improved governance and increased confidence are equally important signs of lasting change.

Also governance appeared throughout the survey as a key enabling factor. Participants repeatedly referred to cross-sector partnerships, political commitment and collaboration between municipalities, cultural organisations and communities. Although governance structures differed between cities, maintaining relationships beyond the title year was widely regarded as important to sustaining legacy.

“The report shows what cities have learned. Our next step is to turn that into practical help for the decisions a city has to take, so that future capitals plan their legacy before the title year, not after it,” says Sille Talvet-Unt, Lead Coordinator of ECOC Echo, Foundation Tartu 2024. The report provides an important input to ECoC Echo’s knowledge platform for future European Capitals of Culture, which will bring together the most effective approaches for using ECoC legacy for long-term regional development. 

“It is good to see that the outcomes of this survey align with European Commission’s proposal to update the legal framework governing the European Capital of Culture initiative for the period 2034–2047, as key priority of the proposed framework is to strengthen the long-term legacy of the initiative, shifting the emphasis beyond a single year of cultural events and festivals towards lasting impact,” says Sille Talvet-Unt, Lead Coordinator of ECOC Echo, Foundation Tartu 2024. 

ECOC Echo is an Interreg Europe initiative lead by European Capital of Culture Tartu 2024 that unites former, current and future European Capitals of Culture (ECOCs), regional and local authorities, and cultural organisations to strengthen and support the long-term cultural‚ social and economic impact of the ECoC programme through interregional learning‚ policy development and knowledge. The ECOC Echo partnership consists of Arcadia (Leeuwarden-Friesland 2018), Novi Sad 2022, Veszprém-Balaton 2023, Tartu 2024, Chemnitz 2025, Oulu 2026, Liepāja 2027, Évora 2027 and Bourges 2028, and regional partners.

More information about ECOC Echo can be found here.

Link to the research.