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I want Cáceres to think big. Undoubtedly, culture is the driving force that will propel us to achieve this. Without reservations and with ambition, making culture a cross-cutting pillar that will lead us to progress as a city.

Cáceres, a bridge between tradition and avant-garde, art and belonging, ambition and future. Cáceres, from Extremadura and European, universal and intimate, in pursuit of an unparalleled 2031 as Capital of Culture. Let us make it possible.

The European Capital of Culture is not an institutional goal; it is a shared heartbeat that runs through every corner of our land. It is a project born of society and sustained by its commitment, a collective dream that unites people from Las Hurdes to Miajadas, from Alía to Valencia de Alcántara. It will be the great showcase for the cultural, historical and creative potential of our towns, a celebration of who we are and, above all, of the hope with which we look to the future.

“Being the European Capital of Culture will place our millenary and cross-border legacy, and our creative potential as a bridge for innovation, at the center of the European Union map, turning us into the great showcase for a new development model where every stone, steeped in history and culture, and a committed citizenry… …drive a cultural rebirth that projects our living legacy as the vibrant heartbeat of Europe’s future. This opportunity will allow us to demonstrate that our history is not just the past, but the engine of a future of progress and cohesion rooted in the values of diversity, dialogue, and sustainability that unite us as Europeans.”

The European Capital of Culture in 2031 will represent a historic opportunity for Cáceres and Extremadura to showcase our heritage and creative wealth on the international stage, and to generate new cultural, social and economic dynamics that will undoubtedly transform the city’s future in a sustainable way.

When I arrived in Cáceres, I was transported to a world I thought was lost. It was like finding a jewel in the desert, a jewel brimming with humanity. Cáceres is a capital of culture and humanity; it is a true gem in the European cultural firmament, and its official recognition would be a triumph for the world.

“As one of the leading contemporary art institutions in Europe, the Helga de Alvear Museum believes that the candidacy for the Capital of Culture will be a project of structural cultural transformation for the city.”

Cáceres 2031 is not just a cultural candidacy; it is a transformation demonstrating that when a city experiences culture through the senses and emotion, it strengthens its identity, broadens its perspective, and becomes truly inclusive.

My experience in Cáceres allowed me to witness how this candidacy is driving a living culture, where senses, emotion, and inclusion are not mere rhetoric, but a real practice that transforms the city.

“The candidacy of Cáceres as European Capital of Culture is an opportunity to bring to the world the values that make this beautiful city a reference of union between Europe and Latin America”.

“For Cáceres, it represents an international boost in prestige, tourism, investment and cultural development, with lasting economic and social benefits”.

By imagining Cáceres as Transculture—that is, as an open, collaborative European city that connects its local identity with broader, continental, global, and meaningful conversations—I have experienced how culture can build genuine bridges between territories, generations, and perspectives. This show must go on!

“Cáceres’ candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2031 represents a transformative project aimed at consolidating our city as an international benchmark.”

Discussing innovation and culture only makes sense if we also discuss inclusion. True progress is that which integrates all people, recognizes diversity as a value, and guarantees full participation in the cultural, social, and economic life of the territory. These types of spaces are key to building a more just, accessible, and cohesive society.

Our city’s candidacy opens an excellent opportunity for us, not only to showcase our unique historical and natural heritage, but to define the meaning of culture in the 21st century. May what makes us unique and distinctive be our ability to interweave our history and our nature, so that Cáceres can become a European reference capable of creating an inclusive and diverse cultural ecosystem.

“Cáceres 2031 is not just a goal, it is a driver of transformation that is already positioning the city as a global benchmark where artistic innovation and social entrepreneurship converge to create real solutions for the community”.

“The European Capital of Culture status should mark a turning point for Cáceres, consolidating culture as a recognized and sustained professional field, and not as an activity exclusively reliant on volunteer efforts.”

The involvement of UEx, through EU Green, has provided a real platform to unite the university, Cáceres, and its citizens within a framework of cultural innovation and territorial sustainability, as well as a projection for the promotion of biodiversity that integrates education, culture, and urban transformation.

That Cáceres is a candidate—and that tomorrow it may become a European Capital of Culture—represents more than external recognition. It is, above all, a self-affirmation. The confirmation, for ourselves and for those who look at us from outside, of a certainty we have always felt: culture is part of this city’s DNA.
It has accompanied us since our origins and is, without doubt, the most solid and strategic path to project ourselves into the future. Cáceres does not aspire to be something different; it aspires to have recognized what it already is.

We are going to turn European culture upside down.

The programme offered by Cáceres as part of its bid for the European Capital of Culture 2031 is highly engaging, original, and of outstanding quality. Cáceres, a city that combines modernity with strong roots in tradition and history, is the ideal setting to represent the values of today’s Europe. Concerts such as Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony attest to this. The programme clearly reflects that “culture is the way”, and Cáceres—heritage and innovation—is the ideal setting to follow it.

As a conductor, I know that what matters is not only the concert, but the process that makes it possible. Cáceres 2031 represents exactly that: a collective construction where tradition and innovation dialogue without complexes.

This land has roots, character, and community. The Capital of Culture designation is the opportunity to project it to Europe with truth, without disguise. It is not a showcase: it is a common rehearsal to grow together. And that process deserves to be led with ambition and pride.

“As an expert in European cultural management, I see Cáceres as a living laboratory of innovation; the candidacy for the Capital of Culture is not only recognition of its cultural potential, but the perfect opportunity for local leaders and communities to shape new forms of citizen participation through the arts”

“Culture as space, art as time. The memory of a city beating.”