Cork, Dublin and Galway have been named among the best cities in Europe for cultural vibrancy and cultural infrastructure in a special European Report launched in Brussels.
The first edition of the Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor considers how 168 cities across 30 European countries perform when it comes to Cultural Vibrancy, the Creative Economy and the Enabling Environment of a city.
This is the first significant report to be published by the European Commission mapping and measurement of the value of cultural and creative assets.
The report names Cork as the most culturally vibrant city ahead of Paris, Florence, Lisbon and Copenhagen and is fourth in the top five Cultural and Creative Cities within its population group (small to medium).
Dublin is listed as the fifth best city in the same category within its population group (XL cities) and Galway also scores highly, coming in fourth in the top five cities in the Enabling Environment category.
According to the Report, the Cultural Venues and Facilities of Cork make it one of only 8 cities in Europe to create the ‘ideal’ Cultural and Creative city, alongside Umea, Eindhoven, Paris, Leuven, Glasgow, Utrecht and Copenhagen.
Waterford and Limerick are also referenced in the report and perform well across a range of cultural indicators.
Welcoming the study today, Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys said, “The Report highlights the fact that successful European cities have found ways of using the potential of culture and creativity to drive development, innovation and job creation and improve the quality of life for citizens.”
She added, “Engagement in culture and creativity drives personal and societal wellbeing, and this report shows that Ireland has an extremely vibrant cultural ecosystem on which we will build through the delivery of the Creative Ireland programme.”
The commission report also highlights the importance of culture and creativity to the economy of cities, stating the GDP per capita of top ranking cities was €750 higher for each additional point on the Index in 2013 compared with 2009.
