City of Music (UNESCO) explained

City of Music is a designation given by UNESCO to a number of cities around the world "that have identified creativity as a strategic factor for sustainable urban development", to promote cooperation among them and to help establish further music-related activities in the cities.[1] The network is a sub-network of the wider UNESCO Creative Cities Network, or UCCN. The UCCN launched in 2004, and has member cities in seven creative fields. The other fields are: Crafts and Folk Art, Design, Film, Gastronomy, Literature, and Media Arts.[2]

Cities of Music values

The purpose of the UNESCO Creative City Network is to use creativity to drive the sustainable development of cities.

About the cities

In March 2006, Seville was designated as the first City of Music. Bologna was named approximately two months later.[3]

Seville has a "legendary Flamenco scene," and UNESCO lists Flamenco as an "intangible cultural heritage."[4]

Hamamatsu is the founding city of musical instrument companies Yamaha, Kawai, and Roland. It has also an Museum of Musical Instruments.[5]

Liverpool—"the city that spawned The Beatles"—earned its designation due to music's "place in the heart of the city's life." UNESCO also noted a "clearly defined" music, education, and skills strategy for young people.[6]

Idanha-a-Nova "lives by the rhythm of music," Ghent is a "city full of culture," and Auckland is the "beating heart of New Zealand's music industry."[7] [8] [9]

According to Lonely Planet, Daegu is a "pleasant and progressive place," and Leiria is an "agreeable mixture of medieval and modern".[10] [11]

Lonely Planet describes Adelaide as "sophisticated, cultured, and neat-casual".[12] In 2024, after the historic pub and popular live music venue Crown and Anchor was threatened with demolition and then saved after extensive public backlash and protests, the state government introduced laws to protect live music venues in Adelaide city centre. Part of the justification for this was given as the city's status as a City of Music.[13]

Cities of Music

As of 2024, there are 75 Cities of Music. Nine countries have two Cities of Music, while six countries have three member cities. Colombia is the only country with four Cities of Music.

The Cities of Music are:

CityCountryYear
Abu Dhabi2021[14]
Adelaide Australia2015[15]
Almaty Kazakhstan2017[16]
Amarante Portugal2017[17]
Ambon Indonesia2019[18]
Auckland New Zealand2017
Banja Luka2023[19]
Batoumi2021[20]
Belfast2021[21]
Bissau Guinea-Bissau2023
Bogotá Colombia2012[22]
Bologna Italy2006[23]
Bolzano Italy2023
Brazzaville Congo2013[24]
Brno Czech Republic2017[25]
Bydgoszcz Poland2023
Caracas2023
Chennai India2017[26]
Concepción2023[27]
Da Lat2023
Daegu2017[28]
Essaouira Morocco2019[29]
Frutillar Chile2017[30]
Ghent Belgium2009
Glasgow United Kingdom2008[31]
Gwalior India2023
Hamamatsu Japan2014
Hanover Germany2014[32]
Havana Cuba2019[33]
Huancayo2021[34]
Ibagué2021[35]
Idanha-a-Nova Portugal2015
Ipoh Malaysia2023
Kansas City United States2017[36]
Katowice Poland2015[37]
Kazan2019[38]
Kharkiv2021
Kingston Jamaica2015[39]
Kinshasa2015[40]
Kırşehir Turkey2019[41]
Leiria Portugal2019[42]
Liverpool United Kingdom2015[43]
Llíria Spain2019[44]
London Canada2021[45]
Mannheim Germany2014[46]
Medellín Colombia2015[47]
Metz France2019[48]
Mexicali Mexico2023
Montreux Switzerland2023
Morelia Mexico2017[49]
Norrköping Sweden2017[50]
Pesaro Italy2017[51]
Port Louis2021[52]
Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago2019[53]
Praia Cape Verde2017[54]
Ramallah2019[55]
Recife2021[56]
Salvador Brazil2015[57]
Sanandaj2019[58]
Şanlıurfa Turkey2023
Santiago de Cuba2021[59]
Santo Domingo Dominican Republic2019[60]
Seville Spain2006[61]
Suphan Buri Thailand2023
Tallinn Estonia2021[62]
Tongyeong2015[63]
Toulouse France2023
Valledupar Colombia2019[64]
Valparaíso Chile2019[65]
Varanasi India2015[66]
Varaždin Croatia2023
Veliky Novgorod2023
Veszprém Hungary2019[67]
Vranje Serbia2019[68]
Xalapa2021[69]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: The Cities of Music. UNESCO Cities of Music . 19 August 2024.
  2. Web site: Cities Join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network.
  3. Web site: UNESCO's Cities of Music. 22 September 2014. 7 May 2019. 20 June 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190620010148/http://www.listentotheworld.net/human-aesthetics/unescos-cities-of-music/. dead.
  4. Web site: Seville's Legendary Flamenco Scene.
  5. Web site: Hamamatsu.
  6. News: Liverpool receives 'City of Music' honour from UNESCO. BBC News. 12 December 2015.
  7. Web site: Idanha-a-Nova.
  8. Web site: Ghent.
  9. Web site: Auckland .
  10. Web site: Daegu.
  11. Web site: Leiria.
  12. Web site: Adelaide.
  13. Web site: Cranker saved from demolition under historic deal and legislation . InDaily. David . Eccles . Helen . Karakulak . 19 August 2024 . 19 August 2024.
  14. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Abu Dhabi . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  15. Web site: Adelaide. https://web.archive.org/web/20231202161242/https://en.unesco.org/creative-cities/adelaide. 2 December 2023. Creative Cities Network. UNESCO.
  16. Web site: Almaty.
  17. Web site: Amarante.
  18. Web site: Ambon.
  19. Web site: 55 new cities join the UNESCO Creative Cities Network on World Cities Day. 31 October 2023.
  20. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Batumi . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  21. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Belfast . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  22. Web site: Bogotá.
  23. Web site: Bologna.
  24. Web site: Brazzaville.
  25. Web site: Brno.
  26. Web site: Chennai.
  27. Web site: 2024-02-12 . Concepción . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  28. Web site: Daegu.
  29. Web site: Essaouira.
  30. Web site: Frutillar.
  31. Web site: Glasgow.
  32. Web site: Hanover.
  33. Web site: Havana.
  34. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Huancayo . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  35. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Ibagué . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  36. Web site: Kansas City.
  37. Web site: Katowice.
  38. Web site: Kazan.
  39. Web site: Kingston.
  40. Web site: Kinshasa.
  41. Web site: Kırşehir.
  42. Web site: Leiria.
  43. Web site: Liverpool.
  44. Web site: Llíria.
  45. Web site: London, Ont. Is Canada's first UNESCO City of Music. 8 November 2021.
  46. Web site: Mannheim.
  47. Web site: Medellín.
  48. Web site: Metz.
  49. Web site: Morelia.
  50. Web site: Norrköping.
  51. Web site: Pesaro.
  52. Web site: 2023-07-14 . Port Louis . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  53. Web site: Port of Spain.
  54. Web site: Praia.
  55. Web site: Ramallah.
  56. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Recife . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  57. Web site: Salvador.
  58. Web site: Sanandaj.
  59. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Santiago de Cuba . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.
  60. Web site: Santo Domingo.
  61. Web site: Seville.
  62. Web site: Tallinn.
  63. Web site: Tongyeong.
  64. Web site: Valledupar.
  65. Web site: Valparaíso.
  66. Web site: Varanasi.
  67. Web site: Veszprém.
  68. Web site: Vranje.
  69. Web site: 2023-08-18 . Xalapa . 2024-08-01 . UNESCO Cities of Music . en.

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