The proposal of the international expert panel, announced this afternoon in Lisbon, is the conclusion of a long selection process that, in its final phase, had four finalist cities. In addition to Évora, Aveiro, Braga and Ponta Delgada were in the race.

"This is the moment we were waiting for. It is an opportunity for Évora, and the Alentejo, but also for Europe and the world. Because this is what VAGAR is about: a proposal for the future for Humanity" said the Mayor of Évora, Carlos Pinto de Sá, representing the Executive Board Évora 2027. "We congratulate all the candidate cities, aware of the responsibility that lies ahead of us. This is the result of a collective process, which involved many people and entities, built on our identity, to connect the Alentejo to Europe and the world, projecting the territory and its communities. We have achieved our goal and now we will keep working so that Évora 2027 becomes a milestone in the European Capitals of Culture initiative", he asserted.

For Paula Mota Garcia, coordinator of the Évora 2027 Mission Team, "Our proposal was daring, but it was also very honest. The entire concept of the candidacy, and its cultural and artistic programme, are based on the Alentejo way of being and living, on Vagar as a full awareness that we, as humans, are always in relation with everything around us. We are very happy that the panel of experts who evaluates the candidacies has listened, and understood, what this VAGAR means, and what it can mean for Europe and for the world, as a possible response to the challenges we collectively face."

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. Besides the creation of the Executive Board, which brought together various institutions in the region, Évora 2027 has the support of the 4 intermunicipal communities of the Alentejo, representing the 47 municipalities in the region.

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.

It is time to keep building this project, in a process of collaboration and co-creation, with the city, the region and its agents, involving, as until now, the largest possible number of people, communities and entities.

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.