Winning the coveted European Capital of Culture title can help create a better city for future generations according to the woman who helped Aarhus land this year’s title.
Theresa Blegvad, played a key role in helping the Danish city become European Capital of Culture 2017 and said securing the title has put her city and its people on a “magical journey”.
Dundee officially launched its bid to become European Capital of Culture 2023 this week.
People from across Scotland are being asked to contribute ideas for events that could happen in the city if it wins the title while The Courier helped launch the bid by publishing vox-pops from 500 readers explaining what Europe means to them.
Each year two cities in Europe are named Capitals of Culture. In 2023 it will be one British city and one in Hungary.
Six British cities – Dundee, Leeds, Milton Keynes, Belfast, Truro and Nottingham – have all said they will submit bids.
As one of this year’s capitals, along with Paphos in Cyprus, Aarhus is hosting an ambitious year-long programme of events including a number of large scale events.
Ms Blegvad, who is Aarhus culture convener and leads the Nordic office of Dundee-based learning and development company Insights said winning the title can transform the fortunes of a city.
She said: “Being European Capital of Culture is one of the largest demonstrations of the ways in which culture can be used to create change society and businesses.
“We are looking to our past and acknowledging our history to become more proud of our city and also becoming more international and better known in the world
“We are creating a magical journey and lots of exciting experiences both for children and adults.”
Ms Blegvad added: “We want to become a better, bigger and more beautiful city for future generations and visitors to our city.
“We are hoping that this atmosphere and changes will make us all more happy and successful in life, families and businesses.”
On a visit to Dundee earlier this year, Ms Blegvad said Aarhus had been going through a similar transformation to the one Dundee is currently undergoing when it applied for the title.
