Porto and Rotterdam as European Capitals of Culture: Toward the festivalization of urban cultural policy

Since 1985 a total of twenty-six cities have had the honor of being designated as European City or Capital of Culture. The event is becoming increasingly important for cities to celebrate their own unique cultural identity within the pluriform European Union. The designation as European Capital of Culture has become much sought-after. Rotterdam was, together with Porto, Cultural Capital of Europe in 2001. Like other port cities such as Glasgow and Antwerp, Rotterdam has tried to use the event as a means of repositioning itself as a cultural city. As Bianchini (1999) has pointed out, such “declining cities” have been using culture (and cultural events more specifically) increasingly as a means of city marketing in recent years. This means that the success of the event is often judged in terms of visitor numbers or spending, rather than in terms of the cultural content or longer-term image effects of the event. This interest marks the transition of the City/Capital of Culture from a low-key cultural festival into a major engine for urban redevelopment. This chapter argues that the cultural capital event has become a key factor in the festivalization of urban cultural policy in Europe.