Le parc Chanot - Palais des Congrès & des Expositions de Marseille

To bring Europeans together by designating two cities every year which become the venue for numerous artistic events highlighting their historical and cultural heritage, that in a nutshell is the aim of the European Capital of Culture initiative. In 2013, Marseille will share the "crown" with the Slovakian city of Kosice.

International visibility

Throughout the year, the city will be putting on an exceptional programme of cultural events: exhibitions, shows, workshops, popular festivals... These cultural projects will also contribute to the economic and social development of the city, by increasing its international visibility. 

2013, Marseille Provence Capitale Européenne, is an initiative that aims to give the city a new face, generate significant economic benefits and give a new impetus to the cultural life of the Phocaean City!

Strong cultural potential

If Marseille was designated, it is because the city has a strong cultural potential. A dynamism that is maintained by a deliberate policy of attracting and supporting creative people, companies and cultural organisations that often invest in abandoned premises. In Marseille, culture above all means a total absence of boundaries between highbrow and popular culture. Different forms of writing, of performances and audiences mix and mingle: circus, street performance, contemporary music in all its forms arts, digital arts, urban dance and poetry...

Projects underway for 2013

Numerous major projects are underway or in preparation, including, in particular, near the Docks, the work on the Silo, which will be home to the future "Olympia sur Mer" concert venue, but also the MUCEM (Museum of Civilisations and the Mediterranean), which will be the first major national museum created by the State outside Paris and finally the CRM (the Regional Mediterranean Centre). 

This completion of this project, long awaited by the people of Marseille, will mark an important step in the city's future.