The alliance of Cádiz municipalities is strengthened with the phase of incorporating local projects into the joint bid’s cultural program.
September 19, 2025. The #Jerez2031 European Capital of Culture bid continues to take steps in its strategy of social, cultural, and institutional alliances to strengthen its project and cultural program. In this context, a significant step was taken today with the holding of a historic meeting where more than 100 mayors from the province, along with representatives from the rural area of Jerez and cultural and institutional representatives, reaffirmed their commitment to Jerez’s joint bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2031.
The event, chaired by the bid’s Steering Council, composed of the Mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo; The meeting, which was attended by the President of the Cádiz Provincial Council, Almudena Martínez del Junco; the Rector of the University of Cádiz, Casimiro Mantell; and the President of the Chamber of Commerce, Javier Sánchez Rojas, culminated in unanimous support for the proposal and the participatory process for incorporating cultural projects from all Cádiz municipalities into the program that will accompany the bid.
The Mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo, expressed her deep gratitude to all the mayors and institutional representatives who attended the meeting. During his speech, he emphasized the purpose of the joint bid: “We are here to unite in a bid that is a true commitment to growth, inclusion, and the recognition of our province and our region as cultural epicenters of Europe. Never has a city, a province in Southern Europe, been a European Capital, and now it is an opportunity for the entire province. Every corner of our land has something unique to contribute, and together, we can bring the name of Cádiz and Andalusia to the heart of Europe,” he noted.
García-Pelayo emphasized that “we are building an inclusive cultural future, where new generations can find inspiration, opportunities, and motivation to continue creating and dreaming.” “Jerez’s bid as European Capital of Culture 2031 is a project for our city; it is an opportunity for the entire province. From the Bay of Cádiz to the Grazalema mountains, from the Jerez countryside to the coast, we all share a common identity.”
“Today, more than ever, we understand that culture has no borders and that, in this context, working together with all the municipalities in the province is more necessary than ever. We know that this candidacy not only represents a year of celebration, but that today must be the beginning of a process of transformation that will have a lasting impact.” Finally, she emphasized the importance of the title’s aspirations reaching every corner of the province, “that all the inhabitants of Cádiz feel they are part of something greater, that they understand that their identity is part of this cultural journey to Europe.”
A provincial project
For her part, the president of the Cádiz Provincial Council, Almudena Martínez, wanted to share a key idea: “Jerez 2031 is a provincial project.” With this in mind, Almudena Martínez encouraged everyone present to join the “Provincial Pact for Culture that Jerez 2031 represents.” The project, she stated, “is positive for the entire province, an opportunity to open up to Europe culturally and share with the rest of the continent what the province—and only this province—can contribute to European culture.”
The president referred to the intangible values that make Jerez’s candidacy strong and differentiate it from any other, because “how can we explain in words a culture with more than 3,000 years of history? That the first Spanish Constitution was not signed in Madrid but in Cádiz; that Magellan carried bottles of Sherry in the holds of his ships; that before Greenwich, we had the San Fernando meridian at the Royal Astronomical Observatory; that we celebrate Holy Week, Carnival, Fairs, or Moors and Christians festivals; or that even horses dance here.”
To all this, Martínez added, “we are facing a unique opportunity not only to showcase the talent, creativity, culture, and soul of the entire province to the world,” but also to highlight the cultural sector as “an undisputed economic engine and source of employment and development.” For all these reasons, the President of the Provincial Council has asked all municipalities to embrace the candidacy and add their projects to it.
In the opinion of the rector of the UCA, “the integration of the cultural offerings of the municipalities of the province of Cádiz, as well as the rural area of Jerez, is fundamental both for the candidacy and for the joint knowledge alliance we are building throughout the process. In this process, the University of Cádiz proudly assumes its role as a cultural, academic, and research force serving the entire province.”
During the meeting, representatives of the Technical Office of the #Jerez2031 bid, Francisco Perujo (PhD in Journalism, Communications Director, and professor at the University of Cádiz) and Antonio Javier González (PhD and researcher at INDESS-UCA), presented the key aspects of the work carried out to date in the areas of communication, programming, and active citizen participation. They also detailed the roadmap and next steps, which will allow each municipality to contribute activities that will be integrated into the province’s shared project.
The event marked a decisive step in building a solid, participatory, and diverse bid that reflects the diversity and cultural richness of the province of Cádiz. This bid not only aspires to the European title but also aims to generate a positive and sustainable impact on the economic, social, and cultural future of the entire province, as well as its area of influence.
This meeting, and subsequent meeting between mayors, has served to underscore the value of this provincial alliance, which transforms the Jerez 2031 bid into a shared project with a clear European dimension, based, among other things, on the combination of identities and the capacity for institutional cooperation.