Latvian capital Riga to be European capital of culture

Sep 15, 2009, 16:58 GMT

Riga - The capital of Latvia on Tuesday was named one of two European capitals of culture for the year 2014, joining the Swedish city of Umea, whose nomination was confirmed last week.

Riga won the approval of a European selection jury, beating out competition from two smaller Latvian cities, Cesis and Liepaja. The jury includes representatives from various European Union institutions, including the European Parliament and the European Commission.

Riga's mayor, Nils Usakovs, said he was delighted with the result and emphasized the economic benefits the cultural title would bring.

'The fact that we have this opportunity is important not only culturally but also economically. We will start work tomorrow, and with this status Riga will gain five years to advertise Riga in the east and in the west,' he said.

Usakovs said he was talking to private companies, including national airline airBaltic, to promote Riga.

'One should not be scared of spending lots of money, but one should be scared of not making money,' he said.

After revealing the decision, selection jury chairman Robert Scott told the German News Agency dpa he hoped the problems experienced by neighbouring Lithuania's 2009 capital of culture city, Vilnius, would not be repeated.

Vilnius' ongoing year as a capital of culture has been hit by funding cuts and the bankruptcy of the national airline, turning it into a low-key affair.

'Vilnius was not a happy example. The possibility of capital cities becoming capitals of culture and then not doing their work was something that haunted our discussions, but Riga's presentation was very impressive, so we are giving Riga a real opportunity,' Scott said.