The use of cultural events in city promotion: Rotterdam cultural capital of Europe 2001

This paper examines the use of a cultural event to generate new sources of income and employment and to improve the image of the city of Rotterdam. As part of its event-led regeneration strategy, the city bid for and was awarded the title of 'Cultural Capital of Europe' for 2001. The Cultural Capital event was supposed not just to attract visitors to the city, but also to stimulate cultural consumption among residents and to position Rotterdam as a major cultural destination. An evaluation of the success of the event in achieving its aims was undertaking by surveying over 2000 visitors to the event. This research allowed a detailed analysis of aspects of image formation among visitors and residents. Using these data an assessment of the image effects of the Cultural Capital event is made. The preliminary results indicate that there is a positive image effect among both visitors and non-visitors to Rotterdam as a result of staging the Cultural Capital event. Rotterdam is shown to be relatively successful in using the event to position itself as a cultural destination in Europe.