No capital city dwellers in Europe are as unhappy as Valletta ones when it comes to rating satisfaction with cultural facilities, a new EU survey has shown. 

Fewer than half of all respondents surveyed in a Eurostat survey said they were satisfied with Valletta's cultural facilities, making it the only EU capital to fail to please at least half the surveyed population.

To add insult to injury, Valletta's 34 per cent satisfaction rating is 24 percentage points lower than the second worst-placed capital, Cyprus' Nicosia. 

Respondents were asked how satisfied they were with the availability of facilities such as concert halls, theatres, museums and libraries in their city. 

The Eurostat survey suggests Mediterranean nations find it especially difficult to live up to residents' expectations of cultural facilities, with Lisbon, Athens, Madrid and Rome all doing poorly. 

In contrast, Vienna, Helskinki, Prague and Stockholm were all praised for their cultural facilities, with more than 9 in every 10 residents there saying they were happy with their city's cultural facilities. 

Graph: EurostastGraph: Eurostast

When Eurostat asked capital dwellers the same question four years ago, Valletta also came last on the list, with a 37 per cent satisfaction rating. 

Valletta residents are on average less pleased with cultural facilities than they were four years ago, when 37 per cent of respondents said they were pleased. 

Valletta is due to be European Capital of Culture in 2018. 

 

Residents are happiest with the cultural facilities of: 

1. Vienna (97 per cent satisfied)

2. Helsinki (94 per cent)

3. Prague (90 per cent)

4. Stockholm (90 per cent) 

5. Copenhagen (89 per cent) 


Residents are most unhappy with the cultural facilities in: 

1. Valletta (34 per cent satisfied) 

2. Nicosia (58 per cent) 

3. Lisbon (59 per cent) 

4. Athens (62 per cent)

5. Madrid (64 per cent)

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