Welcome to the webpage of the Caceres Cultural Capital Campaign!

Since 2003, Caceres has been hard at work competing for the honorable title of Europe’s Capital of the Culture. This project has all of as at Extremadura excited, and we hope it gets you excited too. Read on to learn more about our campaign, and how you can support us in our goal of elevating Caceres’ status in the eyes of the international community by helping us to be elected as the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

Supporters

This project has the full support of both the city council of Caceres and the Regional Government of Extremadura, but also all the city’s cultural institutions and business people. The citizens of Caceres have all come together to realize this dream. This is why our campaign is one of the strongest amonst all of the cities in the competition. Undeniable, everybody from Extremadura is extremely proud and honored that this city and its citizens are coming together to make this cause their own. We need all the support we can get, and we hope you will join us in our campaign.

Why Should Caceres be the Capital of Culture?

Why should Caceres be the European Capital of Culture in 2016? This list is a long one. It includes the UNESCO ranking of Caceres as a World Heritage Site, the ancient and beautiful Arab Wall that encloses the city, the many beautiful and wonderful palaces scattered around our city, and the one and only unique cuisine and exquisite wines produced right here in the region are just a couple of examples.

And still, there are so many things about our city that cannot be easily written down or explained in words, such as the wonderful feeling you get just wandering through our city streets, and the peacefulness that radiates through the citizens of Extremadura, and the delight visitors feels when they first discover the wonder of our city.

When Caceres began this campaign to become the Cultural Capital, the whole city began to propose, plan, and take part in the many art events, and sport events that take place all around the city, and the momentum has not stopped. We know this competition is hard, but through the motivation of our citizens and supporters we know that we are doing the right things.

Our city’s rich, history, our beautiful monuments, unique culture, and collective desire and dreams,   cooperation, and of course, our hard work, are some of our best attributes as we work towards this unanimous goal.  To reach this designation as the Capital of Culture in 2016 is our motivation as we create the change that is coming to our city.

We would like to profusely offer our thanks to the citizens of Extremadura and our other supporters as we work towards reaching our goal.

Our Working Group

The group working hard to achieve this goal is the Caceres 2016 Consortium. Our responsibilities include strategizing, planning and developing the future bid to Spain and to the entirety of Europe. The Consortium was inaugurated by the(Regional Government of Extremadura, City Council of Caceres and other local institutions and businesses in Caceres, such as the Caja de Extremadura, the University of Extremadura, and the Academic Foundation of Academia from Yuste.

The primary goal of the the Consortium is to ensure that Caceres is the city elected by the European Commission to become the European Capital of Culture in 2016.

The specific goals of the Caceres Consortium are as follows:

- Make our culture the center of both the social and the economic development of the city
- Promote the city through its cultural productions
- Energize the history of the city
- Promote Extremadura as the premier cultural locality
- Turn the city of Caceres into a cultural center that is inclusive of the international community, and return Caceres to its cultural status
The Consortium must design and implement an international cultural development that underscores  the common needs of European culture trends, promote the local European artists exchange group, and help grow the establishment of a long-standing cultural cooperation between Caceres and the international community. Every one of these projects must involve the citizens, and promote the participation of institutions, both private and public.

As a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the city of Caceres is already an established setting for many cultural events.  The rich history of the city is just one prime example of both Spanish and European history.

We hope you will join us in making our dream a reality. You can help us be selected in the upcoming election in a myriad of different ways. Come out and support our campaigns, join our Consortium, attending cultural events, suggest projects, or even visit our city. Whether you are a first time visitor or life-long citizen, we welcome your support.