Marseille-Provence 2013
Notre-Dame de la Garde on opening night
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| Date | January 12 to December 31, 2013 |
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| Location | Marseille and Provence |
| Organised by | Jacques Pfister, Jean-François Chougnet, Bernard Latarjet |
| Website | www.mp2013.fr |
Marseille-Provence 2013 or MP2013 was the year-long series of cultural events that took place in Marseille, France and the surrounding area to celebrate the territory’s designation as the European Capital of Culture for 2013. In total, there were more than 900 different cultural events that attracted more 11 million visits. Marseille-Provence 2013 had an operating budget of approximately 100 million euros and more than 600 million euros in new cultural infrastructure was unveiled in 2013 including the MuCEM designed by Rudy Ricciotti and the Villa Méditerranée conference center designed by Stefano Boeri. MP2013 was a key part of a larger, decades-long, multibillion-dollar development effort to revitalize the city.
The official designation of European Capital of Culture was created in 1985 with the goal of building ties between citizens of the European Union by celebrating both the diversity of European culture and its common history and values. The event is also considered an opportunity for a city or region raise its international profile and to foster urban renewal through investment in culture and tourism. Thus far, more than 40 cities have received the European Capital of Culture designation.
The city of Marseille launched its candidacy to host the European Capital of Culture in March 2004 and later expanded their bid to include neighboring cities in Provence. A French jury selected Marseille as its choice in September 2008. In May 2009, the European Council officially announced that Marseille would be the European Capital of Culture in 2013 in parallel with the city of Košice in Slovakia.
In 2006, the official Marseille-Provence 2013 association was created under French laws for non-profit organizations. It brought together members of both the public and private sectors and was first directed by Bernard Latarjet and then Jean-François Chougnet. The association administrative council was led by Jacques Pfister, the president the Chamber of Commerce and Industry for Marseille and Provence.
The association had an initial budget of 91 million euros, 84% of which was provided via public financing (the European Union and various levels of French government). The rest of the budget came from the private sector. The final budget for the association was 101 million euros, a sum that included the cost of running the ticket office and other initiatives.
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