Brabant Hops on the Road to Capital of Culture in 2018

BRABANT, The Netherlands - The five major cities Breda, Tilburg, ’s-Hertogenbosch, Eindhoven and Helmond in the Dutch province of Brabant candidate themselves as European Capital of Culture for the year 2018. Awaiting this designation the cities will show that Brabant is not only the second economy of the Netherlands, but plays an important part in national and international culture as well.

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The southern province has generated many famous artists and inventions over the past centuries. Painters like Hieronymus Bosch and Vincent van Gogh, international designers like Victor & Rolf or Marlies Dekkers or the bulb, the CD and the blue-tooth technology of Philips. The Efteling is the biggest amusement park, Tilburg has the largest fair of Europe and the Breda Jazz Festival is well known around the world. It’s just a small selection of the cultural heritage of Brabant. Its strength is to make connections between people, cities, fields of expertise and organizations.

Between now and the election, the five cities together will show in what areas they already are a European capital, for instance in the design or textile. Smaller cultural events, festivals and cultural facilities will be expanded and bigger festivals will be developed on an international level, in order tot attract the European visitor.

The program for the bidbook in 2012 will be developed in cooperation with cultural institutions, artists and other people in the cultural sector. “We will show what our combined forces are able to do: gathering together, designing together, entertaining together and undertaking any action to be the Capital of Culture together,” quartermaster Peter Rijntjes states. “Brabant already is a mosaic of metropolitan cities. With our nomination we want to ensure that people look beyond the borders of their city. The people of Brabant seem to be ordinary people who can do extraordinary things together.”

The campaign 2018Brabant starts Friday, October 23 in Eindhoven. There the new website www.2018brabant.eu. will be launched.

To candidate as a region is not new, as cultural capital Marseille includes the region of Aix en Provence in 2013 en Essen caries the title in 2011 with the German Ruhrgebied.

Source: 2018Brabant European Capital of Culture/candidate

Note for the press: Fort further information please contact: Ellen Altenburg, communications manager, 2018Brabant European Capital of Culture-candidate, Tilburg, The Netherlands, tel: +31-13-4656788, mob: +31-6-30005298. e-mail: ealtenburg at brabant.nl