A group of parliamentarians from the French Senate is visiting the city of Évora today, in a trip that aims to address specifically the candidacy process to become the European Capital of Culture, an initiative that Évora will host in 2027.

The delegation of French senators will be welcomed by the Mayor of Évora, Carlos Pinto de Sá, and will visit some of the city's leading institutions, such as the National Museum Frei Manuel do Cenáculo, the Évora Public Library and the HERCULES Laboratory, on a visit that will have a special focus on heritage issues.

In the afternoon, the group of French representatives will meet with the Évora_27 Mission Team at Torre do Salvador, to share the experience of the application process that brought the title of European Capital of Culture to Évora and the Alentejo, as well as the first steps in the implementation of the project.

"The candidacy for European Capital of Culture is a long and complex process, and unprecedented in Portugal in this competitive model, in which 12 cities have submitted their applications. France is now experiencing a similar process, and we are delighted to share Évora's experience, and a part of our collective journey," declares Carlos Pinto de Sá, Mayor of Évora.

"In the month in which we celebrate Europe Day, this is a significant meeting for Évora_27, as it allows us to fulfil one of the main objectives of the European Capital of Culture: to bring together the peoples of Europe through culture, asserting what unites us, but also, through the identity of each country, highlighting what makes us unique," Paula Mota Garcia, Coordinator of the Évora 27 Mission Team, points out. "Évora_27 was not, in several aspects, the standard application, and so it is with a sense of responsibility that we share our experience with other cities applying for the largest cultural initiative in Europe," she concludes.

In 2028, a French city will be awarded the title of European Capital of Culture. The cities of Bourges, Clermont-Ferrand, Montpellier and Rouen are still in the race, as finalists in a selection process similar to the one that took place in Portugal, between 2020 and 2022, and for which 12 cities were competing. In addition to France, the Czech Republic and a country belonging to the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)/European Economic Area (EEA) will also host a European Capital of Culture in 2028.

After a selection process for which 12 Portuguese cities were running, Évora was officially designated European Capital of Culture in February 2023. Évora_27 proposes VAGAR - as full awareness that we, as humans, are always in relation with everything around us - as an urgent future response to the challenges facing Humanity. Questioning our dominance position, VAGAR involves coevolution, contention, creation and construction, time and space, memory and collective, resilience and tension and is presented as "another art of existence".

Évora_27 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, Tourism of Alentejo - ERT, Eugénio de Almeida Foundation and the Alentejo Regional Agency for Tourism Promotion - ARPTA. Évora_27 is supported by the four intermunicipal communities of the Alentejo, representing the 47 municipalities of the region.