Culture-led regeneration through the European Capital of Culture process : a comparative analysis between three European Capitals of Culture : Liverpool, Valletta and Plovdiv

Abstract

The European Capital of Culture is a major cultural programme, encompassing in itself numerous elements. It is a complex process, which creates positive economic, politic and socio-cultural impacts for the city, which wins the award. This long essay focuses on the socio-cultural impacts created by the ECoC process, with specific focus on the culture-led regeneration spearheaded by it. It provides a detailed qualitative comparative research analysis between three ECoC – Liverpool (2008), Valletta (2018) and Plovdiv (2019), examining the impacts of how through culture-led regeneration the cities change before, during and after the year of the ECOC award. Studying the impacts of three cities, which have different destination characteristics, during three different periods, helps for understanding the entire ECoC process. This research was achieved by conducting interviews with diverse stakeholders, which are directly or indirectly involved in the ECoC process. With carrying out such research, the author aims to show the significance of culture, with particular the importance of the ECoC process as a soft power tool for changing cities and countries by celebrating the unique features of every destination. Furthermore, the long essay aims to portray the timeline of a city awarded the title ECoC, which could be beneficial for cities that are in preparation for their bid for the next ECoC awards.