European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016 was a success of the residents

Two thousand events of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016 attracted 5 200 000 participants. Apart from the successes in terms of attendance and image, in 2016 Wrocław saw many of the so-called “ECoC effects” – the residents actively participated in the events, becoming co-creators of the ECoC and showing that in Wrocław culture has become a social phenomenon, a giant stimulus for development and a way of living.

“Wrocław should remain the European Capital of Culture forever”, said the legendary director Wim Wenders a few days ago, after the European Film Award gala and a walk around the city. A similar wish was expressed by many wonderful artists from all over the world who had the opportunity to perform in Wrocław, as well as hundreds of thousands of viewers, active participants and co-creators of the European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016.

Multiperformances, microGrants and cultural records
The Awakening, which attracted over a hundred thousand Vratislavians and guests... A magical concert by Ennio Morricone, who had been awarded an Oscar just a few days after that event. The inauguration weekend of the UNESCO World Book Capital with thousands of literature lovers and Jo Nesbo, who was warmly welcomed in the city. Two editions of the European Literature Night, featuring many outstanding Polish artists. World Jazz Day, a new Guinness World Record in a number of guitarists playing Jimi Hendrix’s Hey Joe in the Main Market Square, the amazing concerts of David Gilmour in the Wolności Square and Rammstein. The Zarzuela Show at the Wrocław Stadium and Flow on the Odra River, as well as special editions of several festivals, great exhibitions and the most exceptional directors participating in the Theatre Olympics, which was the culmination of the cultural autumn in the ECoC. Over a hundred projects proposed and carried out by thousands of residents thanks to the ECoC microGRANTS, presentations of the Coalition of the Cities for Culture, artistic residencies and “Entrances from the Backyard”, all concluded with the European Film Awards Ceremony in December with the greatest cinema stars in the world, followed by over a hundred events of the Closing Weekend of the ECoC Programme.

These are only some examples of the events that transpired in Wrocław over the course of the past 12 months. The ECoC programme was very diverse and put equal emphasis on animation, social, as well as large international events with the goal of promoting the culture. “It is hard to name even a small part of what we saw in Wrocław in the past year; however, the greatest satisfaction comes from the fact that all the events attracted audiences of millions. Moreover, the residents of Wrocław accepted and loved the European Capital of Culture, which was hugely important, since we believe that participation in culture is all about awakening social empathy and a sense of responsibility for those we live with and for the surrounding world”, said Rafał Dutkiewicz, the mayor of Wrocław. “No single thing shapes our individual and collective lives better than participation in culture, creating and taking advantage of it. This was our goal, these are the habits we wanted to build in our residents. I strongly believe that the project was a great success for all of us, and I am convinced that Wrocław has been a beautiful European Capital of Culture. We are never going to truly relinquish that title, since the ECoC is not the end – it is the beginning of the road.”

Cultural millions, or ECoC by the numbers*
Among the many goals of the ECoC Wrocław 2016 programme, increasing the level of participation in culture among the residents of the city was one of the most important priorities, followed closely by attracting more tourists to Wrocław. We managed to achieve both of them. According to the preliminary data, collected from June 2015 (the announcement of the programme and The Bridges project), over 170 000 people, including 2000 volunteers took an active part in the activities of the ECoC Wrocław 2016. The spectacular success of the ECoC can be further confirmed by high attendance during concerts, plays, exhibitions, meetings, festivals and other events featured in the programme. Overall, the 2000 events organised as part of the European Capital of Culture event programme attracted 5.2 million participants (starting from the inauguration of the programme and The Bridges in June of 2015 until October 2016). The media published over 100 000 publications, broadcasts and TV programmes. The ECoC was also present abroad – in fact, a hundred times – in all corners of the world, starting from Japan and South Korea, through Kazakhstan, Ukraine and Spain. The ECoC has also published 70 books and albums, with dozens of new publications underway.

The ECoC Effects: culture as a way of living and development
One of the goals of the ECoC Wrocław 2016 was to encourage residents of Wrocław to experience culture, take advantage of it without any limitations, to discuss identity and openness to the world. The programme managed to achieve that. “We are really happy that Vratislavians decided to get active and became co-creators of the programme. During the year, we celebrated culture, which slowly started to invade and enter all various aspects of our everyday lives. What we saw in Wrocław was the process of understanding culture as a way of living, not as a celebration”, said Krzysztof Maj, general director of the ECoC and Dominika Kawalerowicz, head of ECoC programming. In 2016 we could observe the “ECoC Effect”, since culture became a topic of public debate, the pride in being the European Capital of Culture strengthened the ties among the residents who became more active, while participation in cultural events became a positive community experience and had a social character. Sociological surveys and data gathered from audience research confirm that 70% of the residents considered Wrocław to do well or very well as the European Capital of Culture. The ECoC title and various events of the programme also had a positive impact on the image and recognition of Wrocław in Poland and around the world. The city also proposed and carried out the idea of inviting its former rivals in the ECoC competition – Lublin, Gdańsk, Łódź, Katowice, Szczecin and Poznań – to collaborate as the Coalition of the Cities for Culture, becoming a guest stage for presentations of Polish culture, which was an unprecedented event in the history of the European Capitals of Culture.

For Europe and for Wrocław
“Wrocław can be proud of the programme of cultural events prepared for the city. Thanks to the hundreds of concerts, plays, performances, shows and exhibitions, millions of visitors could discover this outstanding city. What is even more important, those events were open for the residents to participate, and very often even co-organise them”, emphasised Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for education, culture, youth and sports. “In a time when the European Union is struggling to cope with unprecedented challenges, Wrocław has managed to uncover and show all the characteristics which make this part of the world unique. The measure of success for every single European Capital of Culture is the heritage left after the celebrations are concluded, and by that I mean not only infrastructure, but also energy unleashed by culture, new partnerships in Europe, greater international recognition and stronger position on the map of European culture. I am quite certain that Wrocław will be able to translate the positive experiences from the organisation of the European Capital of Culture celebratory year into a long-term success”, he added.
* All provided figures are estimates, current as of 31.10.2016. The final data will be made available until March of 2017.