Aware of the relevance of this process for the country's cultural development, and taking into account the role of the Portuguese Ministry of Culture in managing it, the four cities decided to request an audience with the new head of the Ministry, seeking to resume the dialogue that they had established since the pre-selection phase and which will be important for preparing the second version of the candidacy dossier (bid book) to be delivered for evaluation by the international expert panel by 21 October 2022.

Given the pioneering nature of the process in Portugal, taking into account that this is the first time that several cities have presented their candidacy, back in 2020, the 12 candidate cities decided to establish an informal network of collaboration to jointly engage in dialogue with the Government, through the Ministry of Culture, on issues common to their  candidacies. This work and partnership inevitably extended to other areas of the application process, and has now been taken up by the finalist cities.

In this meeting, the teams from Aveiro, Braga, Évora and Ponta Delgada analysed the report from the independent expert panel that resulted from the pre-selection phase, and addressed some of the dimensions included in the selection form. The teams were unanimous in considering that, although it is a competitive process in which only one city will be selected to receive the title, this is an opportunity to create incentive conditions so that, regardless of the results, all cities, including those that submitted a pre-selection, can proceed with the work they have done in preparing their applications. Enthusiastic about the next steps, the teams also intend to increase their collaboration, namely in the development of joint projects.

In 2027, the title of European Capital of Culture - the European Commission's initiative with the highest public recognition by European citizens - will once again be awarded to a Portuguese city, alongside a city in Latvia. In March, we learned that Aveiro, Braga, Évora and Ponta Delgada were the four Portuguese cities selected to move on to the final stage of the competition. After this stage, the cities will have to submit the second version of their bid book by 21 October, taking into account the recommendations of the independent expert panel that evaluated the applications submitted in the pre-selection stage. Then, there will be a new hearing with the panel and, previously, a visit by 2 to 4 members of the jury to the selected cities. Between the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023, the name of the Portuguese city chosen to receive the title of European Capital of Culture in 2027 will be announced.

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.​