Aalborg and Helsingør have formally entered the race for European Capital of Culture 2032, after becoming the only Danish cities to submit applications before the 5 October deadline. The selected city will share the title in 2032 with a European Capital of Culture from Bulgaria.
The two applications were delivered to Denmark’s Ministry of Culture on Monday. Earlier in the process, other Danish cities had considered joining the competition, but Aalborg and Helsingør were the only two to submit bids by the final deadline, as also reported by TV2 Kosmopol and TV2. Only one of them can receive Denmark’s title.
Two different visions for European Capital of Culture 2032
The two bids approach the competition from different geographical and cultural perspectives.
Aalborg’s AA32 project is built around the theme From Here to Where? Grounded in Transition. The bid presents Aalborg’s transformation from an industrial city into a centre for knowledge and culture as part of a wider discussion about how communities across Europe are adapting to social and economic change. It is also explicitly conceived as a regional project involving the rest of North Jutland.
According to Aalborg Municipality, more than 3,000 people contributed ideas during the preparation of the application, while an open call produced 116 proposals for cultural projects. The city says the programme is intended to use culture as a tool for community-building, regional development and international cooperation.
Helsingør’s bid, developed under the English-language name Elsinore 2032, is titled To Be …, a deliberate reference to the city’s association with Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Kronborg Castle. Its programme uses the question of what it means “to be” as a starting point for themes including identity, technological and social change, participation and democracy.
The Helsingør project also places particular emphasis on its position on the Øresund. Its organisers describe a cultural network extending beyond the municipality towards North Zealand, Skåne in southern Sweden, the wider Nordic and Baltic regions and the rest of Europe.
How the Danish city will be chosen
The European Capital of Culture programme is an EU initiative that gives selected cities a year to develop a cultural programme with a strong European dimension. The project was launched in 1985 and is intended both to highlight Europe’s cultural diversity and to use culture as part of longer-term urban development.
For the Danish competition, applications are assessed across six areas: long-term strategy, European dimension, cultural and artistic content, capacity to deliver, outreach and management. The selection is overseen by a 12-member independent panel, including two experts appointed in Denmark and ten selected by EU institutions.
The current applications are only the first stage. Aalborg and Helsingør will present their proposals to the panel during the pre-selection process later this year. The jury will then recommend which candidates should move to the final round, with no predetermined number of cities required to qualify.
Those that advance will have around eight months to develop a more detailed application. Jury members will then visit the remaining candidate cities before a final presentation. The panel will recommend a winner, with the Danish Ministry of Culture expected to formally designate the city by the end of 2027.
Denmark will host the title for the third time
Denmark has previously had two European Capitals of Culture. Copenhagen held the title in 1996, while Aarhus was selected for 2017, when it shared the European programme with Pafos in Cyprus.
In 2032, one Danish city and one Bulgarian city will hold the title through separate national competitions. The choice between Aalborg and Helsingør will therefore determine Denmark’s third European Capital of Culture and its first in 15 years.
