Žilina Beskydy 2026 team is going to present at Culture Forum within the competition for a title the European Capital of Culture a 100-page bidbook – strategy and plan of cultural activities.

Žilina along with the cities Frýdek-Místek (Czech Republic) and Bielsko-Biała (Poland) stands as a candidate for a title of the European Capital of Culture 2026. Last year the project team successfully presented the application at the Municipal Conference 2020 in the City Theatre Žilina. A further stage of preparations of an application to the competition´s finals concludes on 9th September 2021 and will be presented in the premises of City Theatre in Žilina. The team Žilina Beskydy 2026 will introduce apart from the extended application (one-hundred-page bidbook), also a strategy and projects, which they were working on in the previous months at Culture Forum. The partners of the project Žilina Beskydy 2026 – cultural operators, artists, tourist organizations, representatives of the involved and engaged cities and partnership´s institutions will not be missing.

The part of Culture Forum will also be the performance of a new city cultural strategy – Creative Žilina 2035 and tourism strategy Žilina Beskydy. There are prepared for participants some presentations and discussions for expert round tables on the topics of cross-border cooperation and cultural tourism development, a support of community cultural participation and the art in thenature or environmental dimensions in the culture.

The Finnish Oulu, the city holding and bearing the title European Capital of Culture in the year 2026 will present an online presentation along with the most successful one among the Slovak candidates. Culture Forum Beskydy will reach its end with an informal networking and jazz concert.