Budweis
European Capital of Culture 2028
News
Youth Dialogue Forum 2025 is in full swing! Join the discussion!
“Youth Dialogue Forum” is in full swing! Join the discussion on how misinformation affects your everyday life, share your perspective, and win a weekend stay in Krakow!
Léré Grand Angle 2026: French festival seeking photographers from České Budějovice or South Bohemia capturing the river
Léré Grand Angle is a photography festival that connects local history, ecological themes, and European collaboration. The village of Léré, located on the banks of the Loire River, transforms its streets, façades, and landmarks into open-air galleries. In 2026, the festival invites one photographer from České Budějovice (or the South Bohemian Region) and one from Skopje to create a project dedicated to the river flowing through their city – the Vltava or the Vardar.
CityDescribing as volunteering for Budweis 2028
Volunteer whenever you want and with whomever you like!
Monumentum DA – Dance that Speaks Without Words
Monumentum DA is a dance performance that combines movement and sign language. Cristina Kristal Rizzo and Diana Anselmo show that sign language is a living expression of emotions and thoughts.
Young Creators Academy
Young Creators Academy is a program that shows you just how diverse the world of culture can be — whether you want to explore what culture really means or you have an idea for your own event and are looking for guidance on how to make it happen.
CITY DIARY: Literary Workshop
What forms can a city diary take? Who speaks within it, what do houses whisper or statues murmur – and what kind of drama might be unfolding just a few steps away from us right now?
COMMUNITY (UN)CONFERENCE 2025
The second edition of this unique gathering of active communities, neighborhood leaders, informal groups, and representatives of the city and region builds on last year’s success. Come meet again, share experiences, celebrate your work, and gain new inspiration.
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Kul.turista
Who supports us
Why do I support the candidacy for ECoC 2028? To make culture work in our city. It should not be an ash heap, but it should be perceived as an integral part of the quality of our city and perhaps even as an engine of its development. And the candidacy for the ECoC 2028 is again such an engine for conceptual work on the development of culture across the public space, the city and the region. And this is a huge opportunity that we must seize.
Budweis has all the prerequisites to become a European Capital of Culture: a rich cultural heritage, a committed local government, a dynamic social and cultural structure and citizens open to the world and Europe. The Alliance Française South Bohemia and its Board of Directors fully support the candidacy of Budweis, especially since in 2028 the selected French city will also have this status of Capital of Culture, which will symbolise the Franco-Czech cooperation and friendship that we strive for on a daily basis at the local level.
Budweis lives! We are the southern gateway to Europe and a place where young people from all over the world meet to study, research, learn about the traditions and culture of our country, make friends and enjoy life.
Timeline
April 2021
Assignment of the Budějovice 2028 Association to the preparation of the candidacy
Budweis residents have always been the driving force of Budweis.
May 2021
Approval of candidacy by the City Council
The candidacy for ECoC 2028 as an opportunity for cultural transformation in the city is approved by the political representation and we get to work.
summer 2021 – summer 2022
Analytical, design and preparation phase
We involve key figures from the city and the region in the preparation of the bid. We distribute 1.5 million CZK in grants. We implement the main accompanying programme of the Kul.turista candidacy and get to know the different city districts, neighbourhoods and communities. We create space for new visions and functional cultural concepts for a 21st century city that reflect the needs of its residents.
September - October 2022
Submission of the application for Round 1 and its presentation
We're submitting the application! In the first round, we answer 26 questions on 60 pages, detailing the artistic concept of the application and demonstrating the city's capacity to host the title of European Capital of Culture 2028. The content of the application remains confidential to the public until mid-October, when all candidate cities present their candidacies to the international jury.
October 2022 - January 2023
2nd round of candidacy
On October 14, 2022, we will find out which of the candidate cities will advance to Round 2 and thus have the chance to further develop and defend their concept. In the second round, we already have something to build on. We can continue what we started and deepen our cooperation with partners in the city and region, implement concrete projects, but also travel across Europe and visit the cities that hold the title of ECoC. And we're bringing one of you with us!
June 2023
Announcement of the winners and awarding of the ECoC title
We believe that the journey to the title can also be the destination. Nevertheless, our goal is winning. Together with you.
The benefits of candidacy in numbers
These are the results the title of ECoC 2015 brought to Pilsen.
We can expect similar impact here.
580
organized events
1.2 million
million visitors
580 million
crowns spent by visitors
255.000
overnight stays
388
new jobs
1
shining city in Europe
Source: Tereza Raabová et al., Economic impacT v.o.s: European Capital of Culture
Pilsen 2015: impacts of visitor spending on the economy, 2016
Ideas and questions
Would you like to share your thoughts on how to take our culture a step further? Or are you struggling to find answers to your questions? This is the place to start.
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