October 14, 2019

The Commission has released the second edition of its Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor, a tool designed to benchmark and boost the creative and cultural potential of European cities, which the Commission says is “vital to driving economic growth and social cohesion”.

The first edition was published in 2017. The 2019 edition presents an updated portrait of Europe’s cultural and creative richness in an extended sample of 190 cities in 30 countries, including Norway and Switzerland. The Monitor was created by the Joint Research Centre, the Commission’s science and knowledge service, and is accompanied by a revamped online tool, which enables cities to add their own data for more in-depth coverage.

Key findings of the second edition include:

• Paris (France), Copenhagen (Denmark), Florence (Italy) and Lund (Sweden) rank top in their respective population groups, with Lund being a new entry among the top cities compared to the 2017 edition;
• jobs in the cultural and creative sectors have been growing particularly in cities in the North and East of Europe, with an average yearly increase of around 12% in Budapest (Hungary), Tallinn (Estonia), Vilnius (Lithuania), Krakow and Wroclaw (Poland) and Tartu (Estonia);
• macro-regional performance shows that Northern Europe does best. Western Europe leads on “Cultural Vibrancy”, very closely followed by both Northern and Southern Europe. Western Europe is also the top performer on the “Creative Economy”, with northern Europe coming close behind. The best job creation dynamics are found, on average, in Northern and Eastern European cities;
• future EU Cohesion Policy funds could further support socio-economic convergence and territorial cohesion by focusing on creative jobs and innovation, transport connections and governance, which are the areas where the biggest gaps remain; and
• leading cultural and creative cities are more prosperous: there is a positive and significant association between the Cultural and Creative Cities Index scores and the cities’ income levels.

To read the Commission’s press release in full and for a link to the Monitor 2019, click here.