With the concept of VAGAR at its heart, the candidacy of Évora and the Alentejo to become European Capital of Culture in 2027 was one of those selected to move on to the second phase of the competition. After the delivery of the pre-selection bid book on 23 November 2021, and after the hearing with the international jury, which took place last March 8, Évora 2027 takes another step forward on the route to be European Capital of Culture.

"This is a candidacy of Évora, and the Alentejo, which recreates the concept of Vagar, based on an identity and contemporary perspective. We are very happy that the jury has embraced this concept which, in our view, is a proposal for the future", said the Mayor of Évora, Carlos Pinto de Sá, representing the Executive Committee Évora 2027. "We need to regain time to live, to socialise, to think and reflect. And to connect the need for 'Vagar' in order to, from the Alentejo, propose a new balance between Man and Nature, a new balance in our society, a participative process of urban and social transformation starting from Culture, but bridging other areas and sectors", he added.

For Paula Mota Garcia, coordinator of the Évora 2027 Mission Team, this is only the beginning: "We were certain of the strength of our proposal, but the way it was received exceeded our expectations. Now we will continue our work to take Vagar further. With humility and responsibility, but also with a lot of enthusiasm".

The process of preparing the candidacy for European Capital of Culture has been and is a long and complex one, which, in Évora and in the Alentejo, has counted on the collaboration of several entities and many people. This collaborative movement gave rise to and is still building a structuring identity project that will transform the city and the region. We express our deepest gratitude and recognition to all those who have already added their voice this candidacy, and we renew the challenge. The collaboration of the city, the region and its agents will continue to be decisive in the construction and success of this candidacy, so we count on the active participation of the largest possible  number of people, communities and entities.

Having concluded this first phase, the work to bring the European Capital of Culture to Évora and the Alentejo, in 2027, will continue, and the Évora 2027 Executive Commission, which promotes this candidacy, will meet very soon to define the action plan for the second version of the bid book, which will be submitted to a new evaluation by the jury in December this year, before the final decision is revealed in the first quarter of 2023.

The Alentejo Vagar, which inspires Évora's candidacy to become European Capital of Culture, is the full awareness that we, as humans, are always in relation with the universe, questioning our dominance position. It is a cultural way of being and living that implies coexistence, coevolution, contention, creation and construction, distance (space and time), memory and collective, but also resilience and tension.

Évora's candidacy for European Capital of Culture is promoted by the Executive Committee Évora 2027, led by the Municipality of Évora. This Executive Committee is also composed by the Alentejo Regional Directorate for Culture, the University of Évora, the Intermunicipal Community of Central Alentejo, the Alentejo Regional Development Coordination Commission, Turismo do Alentejo - ERT, Eugénio de Almeida Foundation and the Alentejo Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion - ARPTA.

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