Ostrava submitted an application for European Capital of Culture 2015

Vítkovice

Ostrava - Ostrava submitted an application to the Ministry of Culture for the title of European Capital of Culture (EHMK) 2015. The application, approved by the Ostrava City Council, was worked on by the Ostrava 2015 team since April this year. It consists of 320 pages and the broadest circle of collaborators included 93 individuals, said Kateřina Ondřejková, spokesperson for the Ostrava 2015 project, to ČTK today. Plzeň also submitted an application.
    "Among the people who collaborated on the application were professionals from the fields of art, culture, education, architecture, marketing, public relations, sociology, and many other areas intertwined in the prepared project," Ondřejková stated. She added that the application was prepared in ten English and ten Czech copies.
    "The application will now be assessed by 13 commissioners. Six of them were appointed by the Ministry of Culture and seven by European institutions. A presentation of the project in front of these commissioners will take place in Prague on December 7," Ondřejková mentioned.
    According to the rules, the presentation is allocated 30 minutes, and the same duration is allowed for the commissioners' questions. By the end, it should be clear which of the Czech candidate cities made it to the so-called short list, that is, to the second round. A decision on the winner must be made by the end of 2010.
    Part of the Ostrava application is also an optional appendix, which is the White Book of Ostravian Culture. More than 40 authors contributed to the book, providing a comprehensive overview of the history of culture in the city of Ostrava across 17 chapters.
    "The image of the city is presented here on two levels - the objective, factual level, usually narrated through the sequence of historical events; the second level is purely personal, in which personalities, to whom Ostrava has deeply resonated, testify about the city," Ondřejková explained.
    According to Jan Cieslar from the press department of the Ministry of Culture, only Ostrava and Plzeň submitted applications by the deadline. However, it is not excluded that another application with a valid date could arrive by post. Previously, there was also talk about interest from Hradec Králové.
    The international project of the European City of Culture was established in 1985 at the initiative of Greek Minister of Culture Melina Mercouri. The title of EHMK allows two selected cities to present their unique and diverse culture to Europe for one year. In 2015, this title will go to Belgium and the Czech Republic.