The epicentre of not just Greek, but European culture. The opening of the very first Capital of Culture in 1985 was attended by ministers of cultures of all member states, a unique event in itself. Read more.
This L-shaped historic Florentine square was the site of the opening of the 1986 European Capital of Culture, with a unique performance of Verdi's Requiem. Read more.
The Royal Palace was one of several historic venues chosen as part of the Century '87 initiative of turning the entire city into a museum, as part of Amsterdam's year as Capital of Culture in 1987. Read more.
Newly renovated at the time, this railway station was the site of the State of Art Today exhibition gathering 32 artists from all over the world for the Berlin Capital of Culture celebration in 1988. Read more.
A world venue of dance and drama already before, the Théâtre du Châteletof naturally played centre stage in Paris' year as European Capital of Culture in 1988. Read more.
A bi-product of Glasgow's tenure as Capital of Culture, the concert hall was officially opened after a troublesome construction on October 5 in 1990 by Her Royal Highness the Princess herself. Read more.
The site of "Music City" during Dublin's year as EU Capital of Culture - at the time, the largest ever rock concert held in Ireland and the very first one arranged in Phoenix Park. Read more.
Together with the restoration of the Teatro Real de Madrid, this was one of the many cultural infrastructure measures undertaken when Madrid held the status of Capital of Culture in 1992. Read more.
The site of the now infamous fireworks display for the Capital of Culture opening in Antwerp 1993 - infamous, that is, in that very few go to see it, as it was aimed too low. Read more.
The then-newly refurbished Coliseum served as one of the main stages for the music section of Lisbon's ambitious programme as Capital of Culture in Europe in 1994. Read more.
This contemporary art gallery in the heart of Luxembourg was the venue of many art exhibitions, as the Grand-Duchy celebrated 1995 as European Capital of Culture. Read more.
When Copenhagen was Capital of Culture in 1996, 30 European artists worked together to create a sand sculpture on the beach below Arken. The finished result was over 10 meters tall. Read more.
One of two venues used for the 2-month festival “Theatrical scene of Thessaloniki” during the city’s run as Capital of Culture in 1997, this municipal theatre was redesigned to tie in with this event. Read more.
Located in the heart of Stockholm, this was also the cultural heart of the 1998 European capital of Culture - and the home of Stadsteatern, the city's other great art institution. Read more.
Coinciding with the 250th and 240th birthday of Goethe and Schiller respectively, this was one of the main venues as Weimar celebrated its year as European Capital of Culture in 1999. Read more.
The final site for the travelling exhibition Kide, itself the beating heart of the nine city joint Capitals of Culture year of 2000. Helsinki’s theme was “Knowledge, technology and the future”. Read more.
At 74.5 meters, you would have been able to see all the activities of Reykjavik's year as European Capital of Culture in 2000 from the tower of this church and sometime concert hall. Read more.
Taking over ten years to complete, already the name of this monument makes it clear that the city's status as European Capital of Culture in 2000 was not a one-year thing. Read more.
The home of the Czech Philharmonics, one of many landmarks that makes Prague a Capital of Culture not just in 2000, the year it shared this status with 8 other European cities. Read more.
The queues for autographs circled halfway across the square during the infamous Poet's Meeting events, a central part of the city's programme as EU Capital of Culture in 2000.
The hub of the now infamous Zinneke Parade, the biennial event founded in 2000 to coincide with the city's status as Capital of Culture, shared with 8 other European cities. Read more.
The Bologna Towers was also the name of British director Peter Greenaway show in image and sound, celebrating the history of the city during it's year as Capital of Culture in 2000. Read more.
Under the motto "Art, work and leisure", the birth city of composer Edvard Grieg celebrated the year 2000 as European Capital of Culture together with 8 other cities in Europe. Read more.
The natural focal point of the Avignon Capital of Culture festivities in 2001, as the stage for the Avignon theatre festival - and of Avignon reaffirming itself as the World Theatre Capital. Read more.
Construction of this grand project started in 2001, as part of Porto's year as Cultural Capital of Europe, but didn't finish until 2005.
During Rotterdam's Capital of Culture 2001, this museum housed special exhibitions on both Bosch and Brueghel. Read more.
This is famously one of the main stages for the ambitious theatre projects undertaken by Salamanca as Capital of Culture in 2002. Read more.
This concert hall, originally conceived in 1990, was finally realised specifically for the Bruges' Capital of Culture year of 2002. Read more.
This artificial island in the river Mur was designed and built specifically for the Graz Capital of Culture tenure in 2003. Read more.
The site of the now infamous Bal Blanc, attending by close to a million as the opening of Lille's year as Capital of Culture December 6 2003. Read more.
This scenic and historic site also hosted many events and exhibitions in 2004, when Genoa was European Capital of Culture. Read more.
This was the site of "Enlargement", showcasing art from the enlarged EU, the exhibition running throughout 2005 thus coinciding with Cork's tenure as Capital of Culture. Read more.
The beating heart of the Patras Carnival, the largest of its kind in Greece, this was also the natural centrepiece for the city's 2006 stint as European Capital of Culture. Read more.
The natural hub of Luxembourg and the greater region's aim to specifically target young people during their stint as Capital of Culture in 2007, to compensate for poor past efforts.
The opening of 2007 was a double celebration: Sibiu kicked off its one year stint as European Capital of Culture, as Romania entered the EU as a full member. Read more.
Declaring Liverpool EU Capital of Culture 2008 of course demands a Beatle in attendance. Ringo Starr not only showed up: he performed new song Liverpool 8, written specifically for the occasion! Read more.
His Majesty King Harald of Norway was himself in attendance in both Stavanger and Sandnes, declaring 2008 as their joint year as EU Capital of Culture officially opened. Read more.
Only 10 minutes into 2009, 500 singers announced Linz's year as Capital of Culture with specially commissioned Rocket Symphony. Total event attendance for the year that followed reached 3.5 million. Read more.
For the opening of Vilnius' 2009 as EU Capital of Culture, the historic cathedral was lit up in blue with high-resolution projector stars in the night sky - to symbolize the European project Read more.
Just one of several locations throughout the city used for the grand opening of the third joint 2010 Capital of Culture, both a balloon theatre and fireworks were broadcast live on the web from here. Read more.
Nearly a 1000 performers enacted almost every historical period in Pécs past for the opening, aided by a laser show and light-painting. The city calculated an extra 1 million extra tourists for 2010. Read more.
This location was chosen as the spectacular and symbolic setting for not just Essen's 2010 opening, but for the 25th anniversary of the honorary title of European Capital of Culture. Read more.
Tallinn's joint year as EU capital of Culture opened with a double celebration: as 2011 took off with big concerts and fireworks, Estonia also introduced the European joint currency, the Euro. Read more.
Over 50.000 people braved minus 26 degrees to attend the opening of the city's year as European Capital of Culture 2011. By the end of the year, their 5000+ events had attracted 2 million visitors. Read more.
The site of the kick-off of the Guimarães Capital of Culture year of 2012, the opening featured not just fireworks and a light show, but also a hovering giant horse and knight. Read more.
In this square, over 100 artists performed in the hour-long opening ceremony, as Maribor rang in 2012 as European Capital of Culture. Read more.
As Marseille kicked off 2013 as European Capital of Culture, the city-wide light parade started from here - just the first of many activities planned for this exciting year. Read more.
A much-needed restoration was started in 2012 ahead of the city's status as Capital of Culture in 2013. Once finished, this gothic cathedral will also house many events during the year. Read more.
On 18 January 2014, join the human chain transferring books hand-to-hand from the old Latvian National Library to the new one at the official opening ceremony of Riga as EU Capital of Culture! Read more.
As you attend the inauguration of Umeå as EU Capital of Culture 2014, be sure you make it here on 1 February. As the centrepiece of the 3-day ceremony, it promises to be a magical night of surprises! Read more.
