BID BOOK N2025.EU WE ARE BIDDING FOR EUROPEAN CAPITAL OF CULTURE PAST FORWARD NÜRNBERG 2025 N2025 NUREMBERG. What’s the first thing that springs to mind when you hear the name Nuremberg? Perhaps you imagine Lebkuchen, with their delicious sugar glaze and magical blend of Christmas spices? Or maybe a freshly grilled bratwurst sausage topped with tangy local mustard? Or is it the city’s castle, seated proudly atop sandstone rock, looking down on the medieval city below? Or perhaps you picture the angel-like figure of the Christkind, her golden locks flowing over her shimmering dress as she officially opens the Christmas market? Or do you see the Renaissance artist Albrecht Dürer, clad in his fur-collared robe, gazing at you from his iconic self-portrait in defiant self-assurance? Or maybe Nuremberg conjures up entirely different images. Say, hundreds and thousands of people hailing the leaders of the Nazi regime at the Nuremberg Rallies. Or perhaps it evokes the scene of Hermann Göring, a malicious smirk on his lips as the charges against him are read out at the Nuremberg Trials. Of course, the football fans among you are likely to think of 1. FC Nürnberg and their unmatched record number of eight promotions to the Bundesliga – and, dare we say, record number of nine relegations, too. Or perhaps the name makes you think of the international toy fair that the city hosts each year. But maybe, just maybe, when you hear the word Nuremberg, your mind draws a complete blank. Whatever your own personal association, this diverse collage depicts – in a nutshell – the public image and also the self-image of our city. Above all, it is the past, a highly contradictory, guilt-ridden past that defines how we see ourselves and how others see us. Nuremberg, more than any other German city, is associated with the atrocities of National Socialist history. At the same time, Nuremberg identifies more strongly with its medieval heritage than any other city in Germany. And therein lies our dilemma. How can we embrace the future if we are still living in the past? Very few cities are at such odds with themselves as Nuremberg. “We are proud of not being proud”, German satirist Jan Böhmermann describes the mentality of 21st century Germans in a song. And indeed there is no more fitting a statement to describe Nuremberg than this. Maybe what has been repeated, almost mantra-like, for centuries, is true after all. Maybe Nuremberg really is the most German place in Germany. This would certainly ex- plain why the British family that featured in the BBC documentary “Make me a German” (2013) chose to move to Nuremberg. Joking aside, does this stereotype really chime with the reality of a city where almost 46 percent of the locals come from international backgrounds? These citizens of Nurem- berg have a different story, a different relationship to this city’s quintessentially German history. Are we trapped in the confines of our own stereotype? Can we be authentic if so many individual and collective stories of Nuremberg are not represented in our city’s narrative? For the city and people of Nuremberg, the title of European Capital of Culture 2025 is an opportunity, a chance to shift up a gear and move towards the future, without losing sight of our past. For it is this very past that defines who we are today. So buckle up, Europe – you’re in for a year of wondrous travel through the past and the present in Nuremberg’s time machine extraordinaire. We can make this journey together. Through work, play and with a good hard look in our rear view mirrors, we will be off in no time shaping what will come. Our destination is Nuremberg of the future. And to set the course for the journey into the future, we have chosen – and it may be no more than a symbolic gesture – to “It’s the same for me, you know. I see the write our city’s name in the original German form. So farewell Nuremberg, hello Nürnberg. European Capital of Culture as a great op- portunity. It’s also an opportunity to venture into the unknown. Young artists, seeking PAST FORWARD! new paths. Nürnberg has to be about more than the Christmas market, sausages and Dürer. It has to make more of an impact – and it can.” © David Häuser PREFACE 1 CONTENT 0 INTRODUCTION 4 OUTREACH 0.1 Why does your city wish to partake in the competition 4.1a Explain how the local population and your for the title of European Capital of Culture? 4 civil society have been involved in the preparation of the application. 42 0.2 Does your city plan to involve its surrounding area? 6 4.1b Explain how the local population and civil society 0.3 Explain briefly the overall cultural profile of your city. 7 will be involved in the implementation of the year. 44 0.4 Explain the concept of the programme which would be launched if the city is designated as European 4.2 Explain how you intend to create opportunities Capital of Culture. 9 for participation of marginalized and disadvantaged groups. 44 1 CONTRIBUTION TO THE 4.3 Explain your overall strategy for audience development, and in particular the link with LONG-TERM STRATEGY education and the participation of schools. 47 1.1 Describe the Cultural Strategy that is in place in your city at the time of the application, including 5 MANAGEMENT the plans for sustaining cultural activities beyond the year of the title. 12 5.1 Finance 48 1.2 Describe the city’s plans to strengthen the 5.1.1. City budget for culture 48 capacity of the cultural and creative sectors, including through the development of long term 5.1.2 Operating budget for title year 49 links between these sectors and the economic 5.1.3 Budget for capital expenditure 50 and social sectors in your city. 13 5.2 Organisational structure 51 1.3 How is the European Capital of Culture action included in this strategy? 13 5.3 Contingency planning 52 1.4 If your city is awarded the title of European Capital 5.4 Marketing and communication 53 of Culture, what do you think would be the long-term cultural, social and economic impact on the city (including in terms of urban development)? 16 6 CAPACITY TO DELIVER 6.1 Please confirm and supply evidence that you have 1.5 Outline briefly the plans for monitoring broad and strong political support and a sustainable and evaluation. 17 commitment from the relevant local, regional, 2 CULTURAL AND and national public authorities. 56 6.2 Please confirm and provide evidence that your city ARTISTIC CONTENT has or will have adequate and viable infrastructure 2.1 What is the artistic vision and strategy for the cultural to host the title. 56 programme of the year? 18 6.2.1 Explain briefly how the European Capital of Culture 2.2 Give a general overview of the structure of will make use of and develop the city’s infrastructure. 56 your cultural programme, including the range and diversity of the activities/main events that will 6.2.2 What are the city’s assets in terms of accessibility? 58 mark the year. 23 6.2.3 What is the city’s absorption capacity in terms of 2.3 Explain succinctly how the cultural programme tourists’ accommodation? 59 will combine local and cultural heritage and traditional art forms with new, innovative and experimental 6.3 In terms of cultural, urban and tourism infrastructure cultural expressions. 30 what are the projects (including renovation projects) that your city plans to carry out in connection 2.4 How has the city involved, or how does it plan to with the European Capital of Culture Action between involve, local artists and cultural organisations in now and the year of the title? 56 the conception and implementation of the cultural programme? 31 7 ADDITIONAL INFORMATION 3 EUROPEAN DIMENSION 3.1 Give a general outline of the activities forseen in view of the European Dimension 34 3.2 Can you explain your overall strategy to attract the interest of a broad European and international public? 39 3.3 To what extent do you plan to develop links between your cultural programme and the cultural programme of other cities holding the European Capital of Culture title? 40 The Christkind leaving the independently managed Communications and Cultural Centre “KOMM”, 1992 © Matthias Strobel CONTENT 3 industrial production. After 1945, compa- Our vision is to work together with the people of the city of nies such as Quelle, AEG, Schöller and Nürnberg and the region to develop a new concept of the city INTRODUCTION Grundig became important employers, triggering a period of growth that was and of Europe – a place of humanity and togetherness, justifiably dubbed the Wirtschaftswunder or economic miracle. But the structural a place to experiment, a laboratory for culture and the arts. transformation that took place from the 0. late 1990s onwards brought the loss of confined space? How can we create one that will be felt both by the city itself many thousands of jobs in the manufac- more living space? Who does public and our international guests and part- turing industry in its wake. The transition space belong to and how do we shape ners. 0.1 Why does your city wish to PAST that made Adolf Hitler choose to hold the to the post-industrial era was a huge the future of mobility while factoring in partake in the competition for the title In the Middle Ages, Nürnberg was one first National Socialist party rallies here challenge for the city of Nürnberg, one sustainability and environmental consid- In light of this, our bid will take a of European Capital of Culture? of Europe’s most important trading cen- in 1927.