Nova Gorica in Slovenia named European Capital of Culture 2025

The city beat out the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana in the final selection round

Nova Gorica has been named European Capital of Culture 2025 in Slovenia by the independent European Capitals of Culture Expert panel, successfully beating the fierce competition presented by several other Slovenian cities, including the country’s capital of Ljubljana.

Nova Gorica will thus be joining Germany’s Chemnitz in hosting the title of European Capital of Culture 2025, with the latter being recommended by the aforementioned panel earlier in October.

Striving for excellence

A total of 6 Slovenian cities put forward their applications for the title, including Kranj, Lendava, Ljubljana, Nova Gorica, Piran and Ptuj. Kranj and Lendava were eliminated in the first round of the competition leaving the other 4 to battle it out in the final selection meetings that were held earlier this week.

Upon declaring Nova Gorica the victor, European Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth, Mariya Gabriel, stated that “After Maribor in 2012, Nova Gorica will be the second city in Slovenia to host the European Capital of Culture title in 2025.

Hosting a European Capital of Culture is a wonderful opportunity for a city and its surrounding area to bring culture right to the heart of their various communities and for their citizens to discover the rich diversity of cultural expressions in the European Union and beyond.

COVID 19 has greatly impacted our lives and affected various sectors, in particular the Cultural and Creative Sector. I am convinced that the European Capitals of Culture title can contribute to a restart of this sector, and I hope that Nova Gorica will reap the long-term cultural, economic and social potential that lies therein. Furthermore, I hope that the title will represent a light in the tunnel and that it will raise the spirit of citizens to overcome this challenging time.”