Bratislava/Kosice, September 9 - The eastern Slovak regional city of Kosice became the European Capital of Culture 2013, following a decision taken by a 13-person international jury under the leadership of chairman Sir Bob Scott at the Slovak Ministry of Culture.

The European Capital of Culture project helps bring together different European cultures and create the scope to get acquainted with them, Slovak Culture Minister Marek Madaric said in a speech following the announcement of the winner.

Sir Bob said that "the jury's decision-making was tough, we were deciding to the last between Kosice and Presov, with the majority tilting eventually in favour of Kosice. The Commission recommended both cities to work together on projects they spoke of in their submitted projects."

There were nine Slovak cities competing for the title including Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Dolny Kubín, Trencín, Trnava, Kosice, Presov, Martin and Nitra with the last four making the second round.

"The number of European visitors to the city is expected to rise in the year it will be Europe's Capital of Culture. The city will be put into the list of cultural and travel agencies boosting local tourism trade. This is how Kosice can reach the level of famous towns and regions which are already well established in our European hearts and minds," said Kosice Mayor Frantisek Knapik.

The European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union for a period of one calendar year during which it is given a chance to showcase its cultural life and cultural development. A number of European cities have used the City of Culture year to transform their cultural base and, in doing so, the way in which they are viewed internationally.

The list of recent European Capital of Culture cities include Glasgow (Scotland), Antwerp (Belgium), Thessalonika (Greece), Graz (Austria), Cork (Ireland) and Porto (Portugal). This year Liverpool (England) and the Stavanger region (Norway) share the honour, and Kosice will share the honour in 2013 with an as-yet undisclosed French city or region.

(SK Today,TASR / Illustration photo TASR)