Bodø vies for Culture Crown

Bodø.Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB scanpix

The European Union’s (EU) yearly competition grants the title of ‘Culture Capital’ to a city that reflects strong cultural diversity; and Norway’s Bodø believes it has what it takes to win the EU cultural designation.

 

 

Last week during a Brussels meeting of the Northern Norway European Office,county leaders from Norway’s Troms & Finnmark offered to support Bodø’s ‘culture contest’ application.

Norway’s Bodø has rallied a majority of Norwegian county leaders in supporting its application to enter the EU contest and becoming hailed as the EU’s 2024’s ‘European Capital of Culture’.

Nordland County Council leader Tomas Norvoll (AP) gave comment upon Bodø’s application to win, saying “The project is more than about Bodø & Nordland. If we win,Bodø would be the first cultural capital located north of the polar circle.’ –

“Winning this competition give us a unique opportunity to illustrate the vibrancy of the Far North.” – said Norvoll.

Norvol also gave that the project’s far-reaching support from across the entire nation reflects Norway’s cohesiveness over wide-ranging issues.

The ‘European Capital of Culture’ designation is bestowed upon a community by the European Commission for a period of one calendar year. During that year, the designated city is tasked with hosting cultural events that emphasize or reflect European cultural diversity.

Located within the Arctic Circle, Norway’s Bodø enjoys both the midnight sun and some of the largest temperature anomalies on Earth.

Most of Bodø was destroyed during a WWII Luftwaffe attack in 1940.

In the winter of 1941, Sweden helped rescue Bodø with emergency, wartime housing. Today, the Heart of Bodø is still called Svenskebyen: The Swedish Town.

Other villages in Bodø include Misvær, Skjerstad, Saltstraumen, Løding, Løpsmarka, Kjerringøy, Sørvær, and Fenes.

 

© NTB scanpix / #Norway Today