The European Capital of Culture will also be Trenčín, collaborating with Zlín

Bratislava – The European Capital of Culture in 2026 will be Slovakia's Trenčín alongside Finland's Oulu. This regional city, located near the border with the Czech Republic, will collaborate on the project with partners from the Zlín Region. Lucia Dubačová, the project manager in Trenčín, stated this today to ČTK.

The title of European Capital of Culture is awarded for one year by the European Union to two to three European cities, which then have the opportunity to present their cultural life and development to Europe for an entire year. After Košice, Trenčín will be the second Slovak city to hold this title. Among Czech cities, Prague held it in 2000 and Plzeň in 2015.

Trenčín will collaborate on the project with the Zlín Creative Cluster, Tomas Bata University in Zlín, and the Zlín Region. "Cooperation will gradually develop, and projects will be at various levels starting in 2022, particularly in the area of the creative industry," Dubačová indicated. Zlín is one of Trenčín's partner cities.

The organizers of the European Capital of Culture program in Trenčín plan to host events in places that are not currently used for cultural projects. This includes some small squares or areas by the Váh River, which flows through the city. They do not anticipate building new cultural venues.

In 2028, the mentioned title will be awarded to one of the Czech cities, which will share it with a successful candidate from France. So far, four Czech cities have announced their candidacy for 2028: Brno, Broumov, České Budějovice, and Liberec. The winning city will have to meet a number of requirements across six categories of criteria, including the contribution to a long-term strategy, European dimension, cultural and artistic reach, and the ability to implement the program.