The Jerez 2031 European Capital of Culture bid kicked off the week with an intense day of work between the members of the Technical Office team and the participation of the Governing Council, represented by the Mayor of Jerez, María José García-Pelayo; the President of the Provincial Council of Cadiz, Almudena Martínez del Junco; the rector of the University of Cádiz, Casimiro Mantell; and the president of the Jerez Chamber of Commerce, Javier Sánchez Rojas.
During the day, the contents of the proposal that the city of Jerez, together with the entire province of Cádiz, will take to Europe were finalised, and the milestones achieved in the candidacy process were discussed, including the recent update of the Strategic Plan for Culture and Creativity, the formation of the city’s Cultural Council, the dialogue with the Spanish Federation of Municipalities and Provinces (FEMP), and the establishment of strategic alliances with cities and entities at an international level with the aim of strengthening the European dimension of the project.
In her speech to the media, the mayor, María José García-Pelayo, recalled that ‘the process of preparing the Jerez 2031 candidacy has been developed from the grassroots level, from the bottom up,’ also taking into account the proposals of cultural entities throughout the territory. With all this in mind, the Jerez councillor pointed out that ‘today, therefore, is a day to thank all the people who have contributed their ideas to the project, but also to recognise the work of the teams involved’, both at the municipal level and in the Technical Office, the institutions that make up the Governing Council, as well as all the municipalities of Cadiz that have contributed their initiatives.
She also referred to the importance of the fact that in this bid ‘public and private institutions have joined forces’, so that at the end of December, when the bid book is due to be submitted, ‘we will be presenting ourselves to Europe with our homework done’. She also highlighted the importance of all the work carried out internally, as “today we know Jerez much better, the power that Jerez represents from a cultural point of view. We have a cultural strategy that will lead us to become the European Capital of Culture in 2031.” He also recalled that in the coming days a meeting will be held at the FEMP forum with the Ministry of Culture to address issues related to the bid book and initiatives on cultural cities in Spain.
The president of the Cadiz Provincial Council, Almudena Martínez, emphasised the provincial nature of the Jerez 2031 bid, calling it ‘an opportunity for Jerez and for the whole province’. Martínez del Junco praised a bid that represents ‘tradition, avant-garde and inclusion’, and highlighted that the province’s strategic position – in history and in the territory – as a bridge between Europe, Africa and America, puts it at an advantage in achieving the capital status. The president thanked everyone who had participated in the bid, from the technical team that prepared the bid book to the companies, cultural and social entities, administrations and citizens ‘for their support and involvement’, while expressing her ‘total confidence’ that the bid would pass the cut and move on to the next phase of the process.
For his part, the rector of the University of Cadiz, Casimiro Mantell, assured that ‘the University has done everything that needed to be done; four institutions in the province have joined forces to reinforce our commitment to a bid that we are very excited about’. He also mentioned that recently, the UCA ‘has strengthened its internationalisation with the support of the nine universities that make up the SEA-EU alliance’. In this context, ‘we are optimistic but cautious; we are confident that everything has been done in the best possible way’.
On the other hand, in his speech, the president of the Jerez Chamber of Commerce, Javier Sánchez Rojas, reiterated the commitment and support of the province’s business community for the candidacy and the work being done through training activities, meetings and events for professionals in the world of culture.
