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Lemesos 2030 Organisation
The Organisation Lemesos 2030 - European Capital of Culture Candidate City was established in November 2022 by the Limassol Municipality as an independent organisation with the mission of bidding for the title in the first phase and in case of success, the course and implementation of the European Capital of Culture proposal until 2030.
The vision of the organisation is to create an inclusive and accessible route through culture and the arts, in order to (re)introduce and (re)define our city, while highlighting the challenges it faces; challenges that are unique and similar to those faced by the whole of Europe and its citizens.
The primary objective is to create and develop the philosophy and rationale for the bid book, and the objectives and projects that will be included in it. The organisation is therefore opening up to the society, wanting to listen, understand, but also raise awareness. It will attempt to shift the weight of culture within the city's daily life and invest in its important contemporary artistic and creative capital through innovative actions and sustainable institutions that will engage in conversation with burning local, European and universal issues, going beyond the 2030 target.
In this inclusive journey, the organisation intends to meet, listen and discuss with all the city's residents, Cypriots and foreigners, institutions, youth, artists and all those who remain unseen. Because a bid would be meaningless, a march towards the title would be worthless, if those who experience the city on a daily basis, those who experience it in its festive and difficult daily moments, do not participate first and foremost.
The ECoC initiative
The European Capital of Culture (ECoC) institution was established by the Council of Ministers of the European Union, on the initiative of the Ministers of Culture of Greece, Melina Mercouri, and France, Jacques Lang, in June 1985.
The ECoC puts culture at the heart of European cities, highlights the richness and diversity of cultures in Europe and forms a way of strengthening and enhancing the profile of cities in the eyes of their own inhabitants. The ECoC title may act as a catalyst for the development of long-term cultural strategies and enhance the European dimension at a social and individual level. At the same time, it gives impetus to development projects and a great potential for tourism and, by extension, the economy. The European Union awards the Melina Mercouri Prize of €1.5 million to each winning city. In addition, on the occasion of the title, the cities are sponsored by the state, the municipality or municipalities and the private sector.
Over time, the institution has diversified considerably, gaining increasing cultural, social and economic weight for the cities that win it through a long evaluation process. Each year the title is awarded to two or three cities from European countries, which compete against each other on a national level. Paphos was the first Cypriot city to host the European Capital of Culture in 2017. In 2030, the title will be awarded to one city in Cyprus, one in Belgium and one of the candidate countries to join the European Union.
More about the ECoC initiative here.
Board of Directors - Core Team
The Board of Directors of the organisation is made up of personalities from the business, university, journalistic, educational, scientific and cultural sectors of Limassol. Dr. Andreas Pittas is the chairman of the board, Mrs. Georgia Döetzer is the vice-chairman, and the members are Mr. Nicos Kyriakides, Ms. Anthi Theocharous, Ms. Antigone Komodiki, Dr. Vasilis Protopapas, Mr. Michalis Papaevagorou, Dr. Nikos Zamboglou, Ms. Tasoula Hatzitofi. Mr Christos Melidis, is the Legal Advisor.
Through an open procedure, the position of Artistic Director was assumed by Eleana Alexandrou. Her role includes the creation of the artistic proposal that will be included in Lemesos’ bid book, the creation of the concept, the main themes, the philosophy of the programme and the proposal.
The venture is supported by a team of independent consultants from Great Britain and Germany with long experience in similar events.
The team is complemented by Diomedes Koufteros from the role of Artistic Programme and Networking Coordinator and Verina Gouda, secretary in the Organisation’s office.
Collaborators and working groups:
The first working group, the Outreach team, is coordinated by Elena Agathokleous and Marina Kakoulli.
The second working group, the Trajectories team, is coordinated by Elena Agathokleous and Eleni Pashia.
Artistic Director
Eleana Alexandrou knows the city, its contemporary culture and heritage, its institutions and artists very well, being herself for years part of its artistic capital. Her creative genius, extroversion, management and effective implementation skills acquired through her involvement with national and European institutions, make her the ideal choice to lead the city, its creators and its residents on this cultural path of inspiration, creation and participation, redefining Limassol culturally, investing in the multiculturalism of the city and creating prospects for a contemporary and sustainable development that will extend beyond 2030.
She obtained a Master's degree from the DasArts Master of Theatre (DAS Theatre) programme at the Amsterdam School of Arts (2016) after a degree in dance and choreography from Bath Spa University, UK (2009). She has been working professionally as a performer since 2004, choreographing since 2011, writing since 2015. She is co-founder of bytheway productions, a non-profit company active in the fields of performing and applied arts, and co-director of the open access makerspace Makers Will Make. Her works have been presented in international festivals in Cyprus and abroad. She has been a close collaborator of Center of Performing Arts MITOS, Dance House Lemesos and pelma.Lia Haraki. From January 2017 until June 2023, she acted as president of the board of ‘Nea Kinisi’, representative organisation for dance companies, dancers and choreographers in Cyprus.
