Press release
On August 17, several members of the European Capital of Culture (ECC) 2013 selection board arrived at Košice for a 3-hour official visit. The board chaired by Sir Bob Scott of Great Britain, also included Gottfried Wagner – a member from Austria, Martin Kováč – vice-chair for Slovakia, Katarína Kosová – a member for Slovakia, Jacqueline Pacaud – an observer for the European Union, and Linda Kapustová Helbichová of the Slovak Ministry of Culture.

“The visit was very short, so we tried to cover the agenda of highest significance in the course of three hours (16:00 – 19:00), and see all that is possible in Košice already. We have taken them to the heat exchange station, where we met with the representatives of non-governmental organizations, which are in charge of reviving this object. The delegation had an opportunity to meet with the representatives of independent culture scene and institutions at Barracks Kulturpark in an informal meeting. We took the board to the future Incubator of Arts and Independent Culture Centre,“ informed Marek Kolárčik, the head of the Košice candidacy team. The visit was concluded at the Historical City Hall, where it was accepted by František Knapík, the Mayor of Košice.

“We have succeeded in convincing the board that we can unite old impressive cultural heritage with modern innovative thinking and projects in a sustainable fashion. We have presented our plans, visions, and dreams, but also initiated projects and determined people behind them – from non-formal initiatives to formal representatives of big companies and cultural institutions,” concluded Kolárčik.

Košice’s  final presentation withing the ECC 2013 competition will take place on September 8 in Bratislava. The results will be made public on September 9, after the presentations of Martin, Nitra, and Prešov.

Zuzana Lehotská