The Olympics of culture

From live music gigs at the National Library to the regeneration of some of Valletta’s most desperate areas, clinching the title of European Capital Culture could mean a lot to Malta. Valletta 2018 Foundation communications director Edward Bonello tells Jo Caruana how everyone can be part of the project.

Debatably the biggest continent-wide cultural event to take place every year, the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) event has quite a history behind it.

No idea is too wild or wacky, and we hope to hear them all

The original idea for it was sparked back in 1983, when the then-Greek and French ministers for culture were complaining that not enough was being done to unite and promote cultural efforts across EU member states.

So, in 1985, the European City of Culture programme was launched and Athens became the first titleholder. This event later evolved to the present title in 1999, and the ECoC has been developing ever since as an official EU event.

Subsequently, capitals across the union have played host to it, including well-known destinations like Paris, Brussels and Rome, as well as lesser-known areas like Stavanger in Norway, Vilnius in Lithuania and Weimar in Germany.

“It developed into a way of celebrating what a city has to offer,” explains Edward Bonello, the communications director for the Valletta 2018 Foundation. “It became a huge opportunity, with cities taking the title on as a challenge and rising to the opportunity by addressing what they could do better across art, culture and society in general.

“Liverpool, which held the title in 2008, is a great example of this. The city really made the most of what could be done and saw far-reaching benefits to society by regenerating whole areas of the city. Of course, ECoC is mainly about art and culture, but it also goes a lot deeper than that.”

Now, with 2018 in sight, it’s time for Malta – and, specifically, Valletta – to step up to the plate.

“Essentially we are still in the bidding process,” Bonello explains. “The European Commission simply decides which countries will host the event – in 2018 it will be Malta and Holland – and it is then up to those countries to submit bids from interested cities. In Malta, Valletta was really the only contender based on our geographical reality, whereas there are currently five cities competing in Holland.”

Nevertheless, Valletta is still going through the bidding process . Managed by the Valletta 2018 Foundation, the city (in collaboration with Valletta local council and councils across the islands) presented its bid for the title in October last year.

This was then unanimously approved by the international evaluation panel at the pre-selection meeting held in January.

Now, the foundation will present its final bid for the title in August, in preparation for the concluding selection meeting in October. At this point, Valletta will know whether it has been successful or not.

“Nothing is guaranteed and we cannot assume that we have made it,” continues Bonello.

“Even though we are racing on our own, standards have to be extremely high to meet and exceed the international panel’s expectations for this prestigious event.

“After all, the ECoC is often thought to be the Olympic Games of culture around the EU. But we have high hopes and haven’t left a stone unturned.”

So with the wheels already in motion for what will hopefully become a celebrated project embraced by the whole nation, the foundation is already doing what it can to gain public support and encourage people to get involved.

In fact, the second edition of Imagine 18 – a two-day public conference and forum on the subject – was recently held at the Manoel Theatre. The aim of this was to further develop the sample cultural programme, and it brought together artists and cultural operators from across the various spheres.

“The foundation truly believes that the ECoC must be a reflection of the aspirations of the public. As much as possible we want to operate a bottom-up approach; we don’t feel we should organise events for the public, but instead that we should engage with them, see what they would like to happen, and to facilitate any required organisation.”

In line with this, Imagine 18 took place in order to inspire the artistic community and the public at large. Over the two days, different speakers – including an artist, a film-maker, a writer, an international expert on the ECoC and a composer – hosted discussions and engaged with those present.

“One of the things we did was light up the Manoel Theatre in a way never seen before, with bright lights in each of the boxes that created a striking, multicolour effect. It looked absolutely incredible and a photo of it immediately went viral, reaching 30,000 people on Facebook in no time at all.

“This is exactly the sort of thing we want to achieve, making people think in new ways and realising that anything is possible. It’s about reaching both ends of the spectrum – being avant garde and cutting-edge, while also celebrating tradition,” says Bonello.

Should the bid go through, Malta (and Valletta) will make history as the smallest ECoC ever. Funding will be high on the agenda to ensure that standards are met. This is expected to come from four main areas – a small portion from the EU, some from the government, some from self-funded events, and the rest from corporate sponsorship.

“A lot of funds already go into culture, so we will be working on directing some of them towards the betterment of Valletta 2018.

“Sponsorships will also be big news. This is such a prestigious event with an international reach... so many companies will want to be associated with it. It’s all about engaging public interest.”

And that plan to involve the public is already in full swing. People are encouraged to log onto the website www.valletta2018.org to find out more about what’s going on and how they can get involved.

“As you can see from our recent video – which is also available on the website and which was directed by local film-maker Rebecca Cremona – the sky is the limit.

“You’ll spot everything from heavy metal musicians playing in the historic National Library, to men playing bocci on the Manoel Theatre stage. No idea is too wild or wacky, and we hope to hear them all.”