The city of Valletta, with the support of all localities

in Malta and Gozo, this week officially applied to be

a European Capital of Culture (ECoC) in 2018. The city’s

candidacy was presented this afternoon byValletta

Mayor Alexiei Dingli to the Parliamentary Secretariat for

Tourism, Culture and the Environment, acting as Managing

Authority, as appointed by the European Commission.

The ECoC is a high profile initiative which gives a

city the chance to bring together and generate novel

expressions of culture, creativity and innovation both

from within its home country and abroad. It provides

the catalyst for the development and flourishing of

high-quality artistic and cultural events and genres.

Most former European Capitals of Culture gained long-term

benefits from the year including economic activity related

to the arts and culture, tourism, and local businesses.

Alexiei Dingli said that ECoC provided an exceptional

opportunity for the long-term development of the Maltese

urban cores, not only in terms of culture but also in terms

of tourism and socio-economic development. Critical

to the success of any ECoC is its ability to provide not

only a vast cultural programme of exceptional events

but also to demonstrate it can drive sustainable, long-term

cultural and social development of the city.

Michael Cohen, President of the Local Councils Association

which co-founded the Foundation together with the

Valletta Local Council, noted that the candidature of

Vallettafor the title of European Capital of Culture is a

lifetime opportunity to promote our capital in the European

and international cultural scene and to create a better life

for its citizens, its businesses and its international visitors.

Valletta’s application, or ‘bid book’, as it is commonly

referred to among Capitals, is the first step in a near

year-long adjudication of the quality, scope and merits

ofValletta’s application. The bid must meet stringent

criteria and undergo the scrutiny of an evaluation

panel approved by the European Commission – once

in January 2012, and for a second time in September –

before the outcome of the application is made public.

The Valletta bid, known by its working title of V18, has

been two years in the making, driven behind the scenes

first by an Inter-ministerial Commission and more

recently by a new entity, the Valletta 2018 Foundation,

itself formally established today. Its founders, theValletta

Local Council and the Local Councils Association are

joined by four other governors on the board: these

are theUniversityofMalta; the Malta Council for

Culture and the Arts; theMaltaChamber of Commerce,

Enterpriseand Industry; and the Inter-Ministerial

Commission for the European Capital of Culture.

The Foundation’s remit is to champion V18 from bid to

a successful legacy of the year well beyond 2018 and to

provide sound organisational and governance structures

which are seen as a vital element of any successful ECoC.

“For the past two years we have worked on the

establishment of good governance – in the form of the

Valletta 2018 Foundation – to guarantee the delivery of an

excellent bid for the title of European Capital of Culture.

V18 is running a full year ahead of the schedule typically

followed by candidate cities and this is to our great

advantage,” said David Felice, Chair of the Foundation.

“We can now shift immediately into developing an

inclusive project through a creative, innovative and

dynamic cultural programme. This will emerge from a

vision that calls for the creation of An Environment of

Exchange, a theme that is constant throughout the history

ofVallettaand common to all Mediterranean cities, but

particularly ofValletta. It is also one that poses a new

cultural, social and economic challenge, since giving

Vallettaa present is to give it a future,” David Felice said.

The Foundation has been working hard engaging the

public and cultural stakeholders, creating awareness and

platforms for dialogue, including through its June ‘Imagine

18’ public workshops and conference which saw key input

into the now eight themes setting the scene of V18.

Karsten Xuereb, Project Coordinator, said the themes

represented the more tangible and visible aspects of the

bid: “They include, for example, Children of the Future,

which seeks to foster dialogue and participation with 2018’s

teenagers and young adults. Our aim is to allow V18 to leave

a lasting legacy that gives tomorrow’s children the right

tools to be able to flourish creatively and professionally.”

“Underpinning the themes, we have clear objectives such

as sustaining a creative economy and encouraging the

dynamic flourishing of diversity. The V18 objectives follow

very closely those of the National Cultural Policy that came

out in July. Through the bid we aim to act as a catalyst for

the implementation of the Cultural Policy. In this way,

V18 is doubly strong as it focuses resources and minds

on the same goals, and sees our submission bolstered by

a nationally-endorsed set of objectives,” Karsten Xuereb

explained.

“We see the bid document presented today as a

sound structure, one that will ensure the programmes, the

events of the year itself and leave us a legacy to work on.”