By Tim Harkins

The European Capital of Culture for 2020 will be hosted by Ireland and Croatia, with a panel of judges arriving here in October to announce the shortlist of the cities in the running.

Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Kilkenny/Waterford/Wexford are the four Irish urban areas bidding for the accolade created to promote different cultures in Europe, previously held by Dublin in 1991 and Cork in 2005. Each city must make a detailed submission by 17 October.  

“There is a whole team of people putting together a programme with a full spectrum of events,” says Ken Germaine of the Dublin 2020 campaign. 

If the Irish capital makes it through to the next phase, a company will be established to host the initiative with its own board of directors, executive committee and CEO. There will also be an artistic director who will identify the priorities of the year’s events.

“We want culture to be defined in it’s widest possible definition,” adds Germaine. “We are talking about music and sport, business and entrepreneurship culture.” 

The Dublin 2020 campaign has an emphasis on young people’s vision for a diverse thriving city, while also encouraging Dublin 2020 to be a “whole city bid.”