On 20 October, Lviv presented its bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2030 in Brussels, and on 21 October it was announced that the city would not receive the title. Despite this outcome, we remain confident in the importance of the concept we have developed and continue to explore opportunities to implement the ideas and projects prepared over the past years.
Lviv became the first Ukrainian city to take part in this prestigious competition — the EU’s largest cultural initiative.
The concept of the bid — Responsibility to Be — is rooted in Ukraine’s experience of war, loss, disrupted connections, and solidarity. It opens a conversation about the role of culture in new realities — not only in Ukraine but across Europe. At the conceptual level, the city’s programme engages with ideas such as bearing witness, caring, and envisioning. The bid addresses themes of collective and individual trauma, practices of remembrance, diversity of experiences, cultural recovery, heritage, innovation, education, and inclusion.
Participation in the ECoC process has already been an important milestone for Lviv: the work on the bid strengthened the cultural sector, fostered new partnerships, and helped shape a shared vision of the city within the European context. The team is now focused on ensuring that the ideas developed throughout this journey continue to grow — in collaboration with Ukrainian and international institutions.
The full application is available at the link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/142lfXIpb0dax6hGdAuPvbimmv72gX0ru/view?usp=sharing
The process was coordinated by the Cultural Strategy Institute. The application process was made possible thanks to the support of the Ministry of Culture of Ukraine, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, the Ukrainian Institute, the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation, the Lviv Regional Military (State) Administration and the Lviv City Council, as well as the International Renaissance Foundation.
