Plzeň wants to be a European City of Culture, with only Ostrava as its competitor

Plzeň - Only Ostrava is a competitor of Plzeň among Czech cities for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015. This year, one city from the Czech Republic and one from Belgium will be selected by Brussels. Plzeň will submit its application by the middle of next year and will know the outcome within a year. If it wins, it will invest 2.6 billion crowns with partners in the region over the next five years. This was stated to ČTK by project manager Petr Pelcl from the Plzeň city hall.
    "Granting the title five years before 2015 would extremely increase the prestige and image of Plzeň. It's like the Olympics in culture," he added.
    Plzeň will argue its significance in terms of economy and finance, also noting that its citizens have the second highest average salary after Prague and have maintained a similar position in GDP for a long time. "The city also offers a unique and the widest range of music, theater, and film festivals, albeit not of the highest category, but definitely of the second category," said Pelcl.
    According to him, a disadvantage for Plzeň is the lower percentage of university graduates in knowledge fields, with the number of foreigners doubling in three years. In five to 15 years, Plzeň faces the risk of these workers moving further east, and Plzeň residents are also permanently fleeing to Prague. Furthermore, the city’s performance in science and research is unconvincing, along with the neglected technical condition and equipment of some cultural and leisure facilities.
    "Investments are needed to make life in the city, its visitation, and business more attractive, which is what large investors require," added Pelcl. For instance, new cultural and experiential products for tourism. These particularly include networks of sports and recreational trails along the Mže and Radbuza rivers. "Parks and sports facilities will be attached to them," said Pelcl.
    The city is about to sign a contract with the region to build a new regional gallery. A new theater will be established in Plzeň, and there are considerations for a design museum funded by state money, as well as a new city library. An alternative scene for minority genres is to be created in the former power plant of Plzeňský Prazdroj, which Prazdroj will help finance. In Štruncovy sady, along with sports facilities, an open gallery with creative workshops will be established.
    From the European program ROP, intended for Plzeň and South Bohemia, Plzeň can utilize 650 million crowns by 2013, although it initially anticipated five times that amount. Therefore, integrated plans must be funded from multiple sources according to Pelcl - from EU operational programs, from contributions from partners, and from the city and regional budget. The city hall intends to secure an additional 400 to 600 million crowns from the ROP program in the coming years. The city plans to request the first funds as early as this July.
    Both integrated plans, European Capital of Culture and Plzeň - University City 2015, will be approved by the city council on June 5 and by the representatives three weeks later.
    At today's presentation of Plzeň projects supported by the EU until 2013, it was stated that after three years of preparations, neither methodology nor form of applications from the Ministry of Regional Development is still clear.
    The first Czech city to become a European Capital of Culture was Prague in 2000. However, at that time, due to the celebrations of the millennium, six other cities in Europe also received the title. In other years, there will always only be two.