Press release
Pilsen – European Capital of Culture 2015
A decision on completing the reconstruction of Světovar is being postponed; the programme for the year 2015 is not in danger
A decision on the project of the transformation of the former brewery in Světovar into a cultural centre will be made only after the conclusion of the open call for the sanitation works provider in November 2014. This will become the foundation for the ensuing decision on the funding of 114 million CZK.
The City of Pilsen Assembly voted to top up the costs necessary due to the presence of harmful substances on the premises. It is a highly carcinogenic pine tar that the City has allocated 38 million CZK to dispose of. Due to the delay it will not be possible to finish the project before September 2015, however the deadline for drawing a 100 million CZK grant from European funding is the 30th of June 2015.
The Municipality of the City of Pilsen applied to the Council of the Regional Operational Programme South West for an exception and extension of the deadline until September 2015. The Council has not made its decision yet, as it would like to await the results of the new open call for environmental burden disposal.
“At this moment the future of Světovar is in the stars and it is very unpleasant for us to wait for further months for another decision. Fortunately, we have the alternative of the former Pilsen City Transport depot in Cukrovarská Street, where we are focusing a great deal of our energy,” the Director of the Pilsen 2015 project Jiří Suchánek says.
Most of the activities Pilsen 2015 had planned for Světovar are moving to the depot. “We will be taking over two halls at the Cukrovarská premises on the 1st of October 2014 based on a loan from the Municipality of the City of Pilsen,” the Programme Director Jiří Sulženko adds. “As far as the space goes, the premises at the depot are suitable and we shall use them for two profile exhibitions of design and photography. At the same time the space at the depot will also serve as a venue for live arts and as a harbour for our partner projects. So far the loan has been approved until the end of the year 2017.”
“If the Culture Factory does not come into being at Světovar in the year 2015, it will pose a complication for us, yet it is definitely no direct threat for the European Capital of Culture Pilsen 2015 project,” Jiří Suchánek concludes.
Representatives of the City and the management of the Pilsen 2015 organisation held talks about Světovar in Brussels as early as mid-August 2014. “We tried to reassure EU representatives of the preparedness of the Pilsen European Capital of Culture project for the year 2015. We assured them that if the ROP Council does not grant our application, we have an alternative solution in the form of the Cukrovarská depot. We take it that this explanation was accepted with satisfaction. I believe that we have eliminated the reasonable concerns for the Světovar project and its contents and that we will be granted the Melina Mercouri Prize,” Martin Baxa, the Mayor of Pilsen, stated to the Czech News Agency after the meeting in Brussels.
More information on Pilsen 2015 can be found at: www.plzen2015.eu
Print-quality photographs are available for download at: http://bit.ly/plzen-ehmk2015
Story of Pilsen – European Capital of Culture 2015
In 2008, Pilsen decided to join the competition for the right to use the title of the European Capital of Culture for the year 2015. In the very close final round in 2010, when only two candidates were left in play, Pilsen beat Ostrava by a single vote. In October 2010, the Pilsen 2015 public benefit organisation was founded by the City of Pilsen to prepare the programme for the year 2015. The project is still open to corporate partners, both as main partners and being involved in individual events.
10 reasons to visit Pilsen and the region in the year 2015:
· a year-round season of Le cirque nouveau with top international ensembles
· exhibitions of international and prominent Czech artists at the West Bohemian Gallery
· apartment interiors by Adolf Loos in Pilsen newly open to the public
· the unique cultural venue Světovar, converted from the premises of a former brewery
· the new building of the J. K. Tyl Theatre, planned to become the most modern theatre space in the Czech Republic
· a collection of Maori portraits by Pilsen native Bohumír Lindauer, on display for the first time in Europe
· contemporary design on the grounds of the Pilsner Urquell Brewery
· unconventional discovery of Baroque monuments in the Pilsen Region
· a cutting-edge 3D planetarium at the Techmania Science Center, the first of its kind in the Czech Republic
· a friendly city with excellent services, guides and… the best beer direct from the source
Themes of the Pilsen 2015 project:
Arts and Technology
- The legacy of Adolf Loos: apartment interiors design
- Creative incubator at Světovar
- Season of le cirque Nouveau and dance
Relationships and Emotions
- The legacy of Jiří Trnka
- From a puppet to virtual reality
Stories and Sources
- 9 weeks of Baroque: pilgrimages, roads, paths, endangered and vanished churches
- Světovar and industrial heritage
- Liberation Festival – 70 years after the end of the Second World War
- Pilsen guide and memory projects (“Hidden City”)
Transit and Minorities
- Projects in collaboration with Bavarian partners
- Historical and pilgrimage routes in the region
- Bus Line 2015
- Gottfried Lindauer – exhibition of Maori portraits for the first time in Europe
Facts and history of the European Capital of Culture project
On the 8th of September 2010, Pilsen was chosen by an international jury as the candidate for the title of the European Capital of Culture 2015 for the Czech Republic after beating Ostrava in the final round of the competition. Officially, Pilsen was designated the ECoC 2015 by the EU Council of Ministers in Brussels on the 19th of May 2011. State participation in the project’s financing was approved by the Czech government on the 10th of August 2011. The Pilsen 2015 public benefit organisation was founded early in the year 2011 with the purpose of coordinating and preparing the ECoC 2015 project.
The European Capital of Culture project is considered to be one of the most successful projects of the European Union. Though intended for cities, it has an impact on the whole region. The city becoming the European cultural metropolis for the given year also becomes a much sought out destination for many tourists.
The idea of this prestigious competition and awarding of the title of European Capital of Culture was provided by the Greek Minister of Culture, Melina Mercouri, in 1985 – the same year the Greek city of Athens became the first European Capital of Culture.
So far, the cities which have benefited greatly from the ECoC title were those that did not underestimate the preparation process or neglect the objective of sustainable development of the city and region based on creativity. The economic benefits of the project are considerable. The European Capital of Culture title has had a positive long-term impact on all participating cities in the areas of economic and social development, an increase in tourism, renovation of cultural facilities and infrastructure, and the development of creative industries bringing with it job opportunities.
For instance, the City of Liverpool attracted 9.7 million more tourists in the year 2008 than in the years previous and earned a net profit of 800 million pounds, while the project costs themselves amounted to 117 million pounds. In Graz, Austria, the ECoC project generated additional yields of many hundreds of millions of Euros and brought long-term economic gains to the local GDP (the expenses of overnight tourists amounted to approximately 21 million Euros). The Ruhr-Essen area attracted more than 6.5 million tourists (a rise of 13.4%) thanks to the ECoC 2010 project, which generated an additional gross income of approximately 90 million Euros thanks to overnight stays in hotels.
For more information visit http://ec.europa.eu/culture/tools/actions/capitals-culture_en.htm