The Brussels municipality of Molenbeek-Saint-Jean has been chosen to represent the Belgian capital in its bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2030.
Organisers in charge of the Brussels 2030 candidacy announced the news on Wednesday in the Flemish magazine Knack.
“We think there are very good reasons to choose Molenbeek," one of the bid organisers Jan Goossens told Knack. "It is a municipality with, of course, major social problems, but also social mobility, a lot of potential and dynamic cultural life,” he explained.
The Brussels-Capital Region is not allowed to apply as the submission must come from a municipality. "The City of Brussels was a cultural capital in 2000," Goossens explained, this is one of the reasons Molenbeek has been chosen instead.
The municipality boasts of a rich cultural heritage and contemporary offer, with its many museums, art galleries and concert venues.
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Fatima Zibouh, head of the Brussels 2030 bid, agreed with Goossens.
She went one step further and argued that when the European Union first created the concept of cultural capital in 1985, its clear intention was to highlight diversity and urban transformation.
"In that sense, Molenbeek is a clear candidate,” Zibouh concluded.
