I really don’t know what to say. Much to my disappointment, it was Umeå, not Lund that became selected as the Swedish candidate for the European Capital of Culture in 2014. The jury made its decision yesterday and when the results were announced during a press conference, I know that the good people of Lund were just scratching their heads. And I understand. Believe me, I do.
I spent five years studying in Umeå, and while I admit that it was an agreeable place to live, its cultural claim to fame is rather questionable (and that’s a very delicate way of putting it, OK?), that northernmost opera house notwithstanding.
So unless in the coming years Umeå can produce some sort of a cultural miracle (which, personally, I don’t see happening), this whole European Capital of Culture bit will be nothing but a monumental waste of money. Money that could be better spent elsewhere. So maybe, in that respect the fact that Lund lost the bid is actually a blessing?
But that got me thinking. What would you say is the most culturally happening city in Sweden? Apart from the obvious choices of Stockholm and Malmö, of course.
- Europas kulturhuvudstad – European Capital of Culture.
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5 Comments
Dear Sir
I’m quite interested in your lessons,
Would it be possible to write about prepositions in Sweden as I got a headache from them.
Like( om,på,i ,etc.)
BRG
Rifaee
Bahahaa! Sorry but that comment was too too funny….
Anna is a girl…so maybe you should get things right in English first
*chuckles away* no offence intended just thought it was hilarious.
SKELLEFTEÅ is the European capital of culture - my mother came from there. Believe me, you wouldn’t have argued with her!
Jokkmokk, def
Nah, I know there’s not much up there, but I just LOVE the place
Hej Anna,
I lived in Umeå and now live in Lund. While I agree that Lund has much more going on, their bid really sucked. Their website was horrible, and they didn’t even have the English version up until July. Maybe they thought it was a sure thing. I didn’t think they’d choose Umeå because it is so far from anything. Who is going to travel there for the culture? I think one thing that strengthened their bid was the Sami culture.