IGCAT congratulates Plovdiv after the independent selection panel responsible for assessing the Bulgarian cities competing to be European Capital of Culture in 2019 has recommended that Plovdiv should be awarded the title.\u00a0IGCAT experts Greg Richards, Diane Dodd, Mary Millor, Robert Palmer, Ernst Houdkamp and Danuta Glondys provided Plovdiv with training and facilitated their passage to victory.\u00a0Plovdiv won the title from the Bulgarian capital Sofia, largely because of the hard work of the Plovdiv team in putting together an innovative and distinctive ECOC bid.\u00a0The training offered by IGCAT was centered on not doing the work for the city but helping the city understand the potential of the title to change the city as part of a long-term strategy.\u00a0Robert Palmer, a lead expert with remarkable experience of 20 years in the field of European Capital of Culture, returned to Plovdiv twice to support the Municipal Foundation Plovdiv 2019.<\/p>\n
Androulla Vassiliou, the European Commissioner responsible for Education, Culture, Multilingualism and Youth, stated: \u201cI congratulate Plovdiv both on its successful bid and also on being the first ever European Capital of Culture in Bulgaria. The competition was tough, with eight initial contenders narrowed down to four finalists. I am confident that Plovdiv will enable visitors from Europe and all over the world to discover not only the city itself but also to appreciate the cultural diversity, history and values of our continent. I am convinced that the title will bring Plovdiv and its surrounding area significant long-term cultural, economic and social benefits, as we have seen with previous European Capitals of Culture.\u201d<\/p>\n