7th July 2017

European Commission releases ‘Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor': Prague excels on 'Cultural Vibrancy', Brno follows

The new tool provides comparable data on how European cities perform across nine dimensions – covering culture and creativity – and underlines how their performance contributes to cities' social development and economic growth and job creation. The report covers 168 cities in 30 countries, selected from about 1000 cities.


 

Key findings of the research include:

  • Leading cultural and creative cities: compared to other cities with a similar population, Paris, Copenhagen, Edinburgh and Eindhoven perform better than their counterparts;
  • Cultural, creativity and prosperity: culture and creativity contribute to higher economic growth rates, and are crucial for low-income cities;
  • Size is not everything: the size of a city does not determine its performance in culture and creativity, as on average small and medium-sized cities score relatively well compared to larger ones;
  • Capitals fly high but not highest: even if capitals are often in the lead, they are outperformed in Austria, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Poland, Spain, the Netherlands and the UK.

Read more, including country fact sheets. The fact sheet for the Czech Republic is attached below.

 

 

The Czech Republic: 

 Three European Capitals of Culture Winners: Pilsen and Prague - shortlisted: Ostrava

 Two cities hosting at least two international cultural festivals: Brno and Karlovy Vary

 

Key findings 
Prague excels on 'Cultural Vibrancy' coming 2nd in the XXL group of 21 ranked cities, due to an outstanding performance on Cultural Venues & Facilities (1st). The city, which was one of the leading cultural centres of Medieval Christian Europe, offers hundreds of concert halls, museums, galleries, movie theatres, music clubs and internationally acclaimed festivals. The most famous one is the Prague Spring International Music Festival that brings in music professionals and fans from all over the world. Prague was a European Capital of Culture in 2000.  

Brno comes 16th in the L group of 36 ranked cities on Cultural Venues & Facilities underpinning 'Cultural Vibrancy' (best position in the country after Prague). The city enjoys a rich cultural life, especially in relation to its size. The Brno Municipal Theatre is perhaps the most dynamic exponent of musical theatre in the country, and the ballet ensemble of the National Theatre in Brno has a distinguished tradition.  

Karlovy Vary ranks 29th on 'Cultural Vibrancy' in the S-M group of 64 ranked cities. The city mostly owes this position to its Cultural Venues & Facilities, where it ranks 27th. Karlovy Vary is a truly multicultural city hosting Vietnamese, Germans, Russians and Ukrainians. The city is home to the Europe for Festivals, Festivals for Europe labelled Karlovy Vary International Film Festival, which is a leading film event in Central and Eastern Europe. 

Members of the American Chamber of Commerce in the Czech Republic