UNESCO Cities of Music

Mannheim

Live music in Mannheim – an audience enjoys the scene…

About the Creative City:

Mannheim is renowned for its diverse cultural offerings, ranging from museums, theaters to festivals, cinemas and performing arts spaces and a vibrant independent creative scene.

Culture, creative economy and particularly music have played a pivotal role in shaping the objectives and strategies of the city for many years. Music is an important part of Mannheim’s history, which positioned the city as a cultural and creative innovator, starting with Johann Stamitz and the Mannheim School in classical music in the 18^th century up to today’s influential electronic music scene as well as outstanding jazz, indie and electronic music festivals.

Music has always been an important aspect for intercultural communication and social cohesion in the multicultural city of Mannheim that is home to people from more than 170 nationalities. Mannheim has always been proud to be an open city: open for urbanity, open for others, open for creativity and innovation and open for commitment and engagement.

As a long-standing pioneer and innovator, Mannheim has established a unique support infrastructure for music, which became internationally known as the “Mannheim Model”, encompassing the Popakademie Baden-Württemberg (all genres of popular and global music as well as music business and creative industries) and the University of Music & Performing Arts (classical music, jazz and dance), Musikpark – the first and only startup hub in Germany exclusively for the music industry – as well as respective commissioners for music & pop culture, the music industry as well as creative economy providing tailored and holistic support for the entire music and creative ecosystem of the city.

Mannheim has always considered music to be a central driver for artistic, economic, educational, social and policy innovation as well as urban development and was the first city in Germany to develop an integrated urban development strategy with music at its center. Moreover, Mannheim has been one of the first cities in Germany to leverage music as a driver of innovation in other sectors and industries through numerous cross innovation projects and initiatives. In keeping with its pioneer mindset, Mannheim has been the first city in Germany to introduce a night mayor position for fostering sustainability, inclusiveness, creativity and innovation in night culture and night-time economy.

Mannheim is looking forward to sharing this expertise with all members of UCCN and to learning from other UCCN cities to further develop its music and creative ecosystem.

As a Creative City of Music, Manheim envisages:

sharing its expertise and experiences with regard to fostering vibrant urban music ecosystems
facilitating an expert exchange on music and urban policies, and increasing continued learning within the network
strengthening the role of music, culture and creativity for urban development
advocating for the pivotal role of cities towards achieving the 2030 Agenda
providing international network and market access to Mannheim stakeholders
further developing the intersection between music & film
initiating cross innovation projects within UCCN
increasing the international scope of Mannheim’s music festivals through long-term cooperation with other festivals in the network

Brazzaville

About the Creative City:

The capital of Congo, Brazzaville, is a great cultural crossroads where artistic activity and intellectual activity thrive. Brazzaville witnessed the beginning of Congolese rumba, a musical rhythm and theme initiated by Paul Kamba of the «bantous de la capitale» Orchestra.

Brazzaville is an artistic hub, a historical city with a large number of cultural assets, in particular a heritage linked to diversity, music and the arts. Music is fully integrated in the urbanity of Brazzaville where almost all streets have spaces for the sharing of music.

For many years, Africa danced to the Congolese rhythm. And even to this day, Brazzaville, which houses the African Music Council (CAM), the regional branch of the International Council of Music, continues to hear its music everywhere in the world and especially on the African continent.

Every two years, Africa gathers in Brazzaville. For a few days, the city becomes the African capital of music thanks to the world-renowned Pan-African Music Festival (FESPAM). Besides this great polymorphic festival, the city boasts other major events such as the FEUX DE BRAZZA Festival, which aims to make Brazzaville the stronghold of traditional and modern-traditional music.

As a Creative City of Music, Brazzaville envisages:

Continuing to support several candidate cities to the UNESCO Creative Cities Network;
Creating an artistic residence to support the creative work of visually impaired musicians at local level;
Continuing to support numerous events and music festivals, such as the popular and international Festival of traditional music « Feux de Brazza» ;
Developing, through the city’s departmental and municipal Council, an ambitious action plan built around the construction of infrastructure in partnership with the government (Brazzaville Culture Office), the production and promotion of musicians, the construction of a musical library in partnership with the African Music Council, the creation of residences for local and international artists, and the organization of Brazzaville’s artist tours.

Kinshasa

About the Creative City:

Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), bears witness to a rich music history. With 10 million inhabitants, it is a city of great cultural diversity and considered as the cradle of Congolese rumba, a popular genre of dance music shaped by many international influences. Music is to Kinshasa a shared social practice and a key enabler of intercultural dialogue and social cohesion. In addition, the city is home to multiple recording studios including the Olympia, Ngoma and Loningisa, where pioneer musicians and bands such as African Jazz and Ok Jazz made their debuts as part of Congolese rumba’s second wave movement.

A range of festivals highlighting the vitality of the music sector, such as the International Stars Festival, the Jazz Kif Festival and the Pan African Music Festival, are organised each year in cooperation with Brazzaville Creative City of Music. Kinshasa is also home to the National Institution of Arts (INA), being the only Central African city to host an internationally renowned institution of higher arts education, providing training to performance artists and musicians. Since opening, the INA has notably implemented several successful exchange programmes with other African and European cities.

With music being the foundation of local and national civic identity, the city is devoted to strengthening the capacities of various stakeholders in the music industry and to increase direct and indirect job opportunities in the sector. By focusing on integrating culture into all levels of development programmes and by supporting the emergence of cultural and creative industries, the city continues to develop and grow its creative sector. Kinshasa is also committed to reinforcing the protection and wide access to cultural goods and services to move along a sustainable urban development path.

As a Creative City of Music, Kinshasa envisages:

conducting an evaluative and future-oriented study on the local music industry, at various levels of the value chain, to better focus the city’s strategies and development plans;
implementing the Strategic Direction and Planning of Kinshasa aimed at establishing a creative hub dedicated to music, as well as recreational areas;
positioning the city as a national and international reference in the music sector;
strengthening capacities and offering more job opportunities, especially for young people and women; and
organizing joint music events with other Creative Cities to foster exchange of knowledge and the mobility of artists.

Adelaide

Adelaide, the capital city of South Australia, has a history of cultural vision and social reform and is known internationally for its thriving arts festivals. It has a proud musical heritage, being the first Australian city to establish a tertiary music institution in 1883, and is home to the nation’s first major arts centre complex, Adelaide Festival Centre, opened in 1973.

The city centre is bordered by expansive Park Lands which host numerous cultural events such as Australia’s favourite outdoor music festival WOMADelaide. The metropolitan area extends to famous food and wine regions, whose produce infuses the city’s diverse music culture throughout the year, and its suburbs have given rise to some of Australia’s greatest rock bands and pop artists.

Festivals are key economic contributors and drivers for tourism in Adelaide, and the city also produces outstanding orchestral, chamber, choral and youth music events year-round.

Adelaide’s leadership holds creativity at the heart of its cultural policies, highlighting the role of live music in a vibrant, liveable city, and its contribution to economic development. In 2014, a pioneering Music Development Office was established, envisioning a whole music ecology for the city and placing music as central to the city’s identity and development.

The Mission of Adelaide UNESCO City of Music is:

To enhance and promote collaboration, excellence, diversity and sustainability in all aspects of music making in throughout the City of Music, including urban and regional South Australia.
To build international pathways for the City of Music throughout the UNESCO Creative Cities Network and beyond
To advocate locally and nationally on behalf of the City of Music and the entire Music sector to fully integrate culture and creativity into policy and sustainable development plans
To develop and facilitate connection and collaboration for Music with Industry and all other creative sectors
To foster life-long love for and engagement with Music within our entire community through education and participation

Tongyeong

Located at the southern edge of the Korean peninsula, Tongyeong is famous for its beautiful marine surroundings, its many islands and waterways, its lively port town atmosphere and its famous seafood. It is a city of culture, of the arts, and of music, being the home of many distinguished artists. It is also a city where history and ancient traditions are being kept alive.

Tongyeong is a city that knows to celebrate with lively festivals including Tongyeong Arts Festival, the Literature and Theatre Arts Festivals, the Great Battle of Hansan Festival, the Tongyeong Fringe Festivals, and the famous Tongyeong International Music Festival.
Music plays a significant role in Tongyeong. Celebrating its 14th year in 2016, Tongyeong International Music Festival is being considered one of the most influential and well respected contempory music festivals in Asia. Called “the Salzburg Festival of Asia“ by the German Frankfurter Allgemeine Newspaper, it pays tribute to the music of Isang Yun, who was born here in 1917 and later achieved worldwide recognition as one of the prominent composers of the 20th century.

In 2015, Tongyeong has become part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network that 116 cities from 54 countries around the world has joined. In line with UNESCO’s priorities and goals, Tongyeong aims to harness the full potential of culture and creativity as drivers of social inclusion and cohesion, placing music at the core of the city’s identity and development.

Looking into the future, Tongyeong is pushing its boundaries to further develop into a musical hub.

As a City of Music, Tongyeong will focus on:

Active Participation and cooperation

Actively participate in the activities of the UCCN and in the music sub-network.
Undertake inter-city projects with other Music cities to harness the full potential of the designation.

Education

Continue already existing excellent music programs including TIMF School Concert Project and exchange know-how, best practices, and expertise between the cities to further foster music education

Building community

Implement initiatives intended for children and marginalized people to foster access and participation in cultural life.

Contribution to the world music scene

Enhance the mobility of artists by involving musicians from the UCCN in the city’s event including the Tongyeong International Music Festival.
Host international cultural events that will include the Music Cities as special guests in the future.

Katowice

About the Creative City

Katowice is the capital of the Upper Silesian Region in Southwestern Poland. Deeply marked by the industrial age, Katowice has been investing in culture and creativity to revitalize and regenerate, summarizing its vision by the motto “from heavy industry to creative industries”. This city of 310,000 inhabitants contributes 45 million euros each year in the form of grants to foster the creative economy, predominately focusing on the renovation of cultural spaces largely dedicated to the music sector, which today truly fuels the socio-economic development of the city.

Often considered underground and subversive, with a long tradition of amateur choirs and orchestras, music in Katowice testifies of a rich diversity of genres, from classical to rock, jazz, baroque, electronic and rap. Among the 27 music festivals that liven up the city’s cultural life, three major and world-renowned events – OFF, Tauron and Rawa – annually add around 2.7 million euros to the city’s local economy. Katowice is also recognized across the country as a centre of comprehensive music education. The city is notably home to the Karol Szymanowski Academy, which founded the first Department of Jazz music in Poland.

The Municipality is committed to further nurture cultural and creative industries as levers for the city’s urban renewal and sustainability, especially through its five-year Cultural Zone programme, which is the largest investment in cultural infrastructures in Poland to date. The main achievement of this programme is the establishment of the headquarters of the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra (NOSPR) and the Silesian Museum on ancient mine sites. Katowice proves that investing in creativity can transform a once-industrial district into a vibrant creative city.

As a Creative City of Music, Katowice envisages:

establishing the MusicHUB, an incubator of local and emerging talents and creative entrepreneurs, aiming to strengthen the capacities and increase job opportunities in the music industry, especially targeting youth, women, and people from disadvantaged groups; launching the Baroque Factory, supported by public-private partnerships, aimed to develop wider audiences;
supporting interdisciplinary research of the SoundLab Innovation Center, designed to improve and sustain the quality of urban life by tackling practical public issues; setting up the Pop Music Development Lab; an international educational platform based on a network of residencies and students;
enhancing cooperation between Creative Cities of Music and Literature through the Col-LAB-orate project, offering a series of workshops on spoken word and slam poetry to young people from vulnerable groups; and
involving other Creative Cities of Music to the forthcoming World Music Expo aimed to showcase talented musicians of the Network, exchange experiences and best practices, as well as to further extend the UCCN especially to the global South.

Liverpool

Liverpool is a city where music is our lifeblood.

Liverpool and music are synonymous, and there’s no other city that does it quite like we do. With a rich and diverse music history and talent from across the region, music is at the very heart of what makes Liverpool special. In 2015, Liverpool was designated as a UNESCO City Of Music and confirmed what we all knew, Liverpool is and always will be a music city.

Liverpool’s musical reputation is built around the city’s innate ability to continue to generate talent like no other place on earth. From The Beatles through to Frankie Goes To Hollywood, The Real Thing, Atomic Kitten, Rebecca Ferguson, Echo And The Bunnymen, The La’s, The Coral, CamelPhat, Yousef, the list goes on. That’s before you even look to the stars of today and beyond. With talent like Jamie Webster, Crawlers, The Mysterines, Red Rum Club, Stone, Girls Don’t Sync and Michael Aldag rising amongst the ranks representing the city on national and international platforms.

To hone these talents, you need the right environment and Liverpool has music pouring out of every street, building and open space you can find. Our rich network of venues, run by people who live and breathe music, are the foundations of what allows us to develop our crafts. From 24 Kitchen Street to Meraki, Invisible Wind Factory, Future Yard, The Jacaranda and so many more amazing grassroots venues, you’re never far from discovering the next big thing.

Liverpool also knows how to go big, and we promise to throw a party you will never forget. From hosting the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards to welcoming the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine to the M&S Bank Arena in 2023 we don’t shy away from hosting a party for world class events. That’s not forgetting our incredible festival scene too, from Liverpool Sound City to On The Waterfront, Africa Oye, International Beatle Week, and Creamfields – festival season is like no other in Liverpool. Team all that with the outstanding reputation the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra holds across the world and the lengths people travel to experience a Cream or Circus club night, we’re a city to be beaten.

This is Liverpool. The city where music lives.

Salvador

About the Creative City:

With a population of 2.9 million inhabitants, Salvador is the third largest city in Brazil. Capital of the State of Bahia, Salvador lives by the rhythm of music and uses it successfully to convey a great sense of social cohesion within a rich multicultural city. Home to the renowned composers Gilberto Gil and Caetano Veloso, Salvador has been the birthplace of many music genres including tropicalismo, axé, bossa nova and samba. It was also in Salvador that the “trio elétrico”; a truck popularly used as a mobile stage for large outdoor music events due to its high power sound system, was created.

In Salvador, public spaces are ideal stages to promote culture, and music in particular. Salvador is best known for its Bahian Carnival, which is the largest parade in the world with 2 million people celebrating throughout 25 kilometres of the city’s streets, avenues and squares for an entire week. It is estimated that this massive event represents over $248 million dollars of financial transactions. As a result, the Bahian Carnival has been responsible for promotingthe local music industry on an international scale, with a significant increase of multilevel partnerships, as well as employment opportunities.

The city, whose creative economy largely relies on the music sector, has placed it at the core of its social and economic development plans. In particular, the Sound Incubator project supports the emergence of music businesses and the promotion of local music bands on the international stage. In the framework of the network Brasil Criativo, setup by the Ministry of Culture, Salvador steps up its efforts through a wide range of capacity building programmes based on creative competences to make creativity a key enabler of inclusive and sustainable urban development.

As a Creative City of Music, Salvador envisages:

establishing the Music Museum to showcase the diversity of Brazilian music from the Bahian music to contemporary popular music, and will also serve as an open, creative space for musicians and music professionals;
fostering access and participation to cultural life and social cohesion by supporting outdoor music events held in public spaces through the Music Spaces initiative based on public-private cooperation;
promoting Afro-Brazilian culture through the multidisciplinary Afródromo project aimed at creating synergies between music, performing arts and media arts;
nurturing the mobility of artists within the Network through training programmes and artist residencies; and
supporting all stakeholders of the music industry through the Salvador Capital of Music Forum, which will also serve as a dialogue platform for Creative Cities of Music to exchange knowledge, best practices and organize joint-events.

Medellín

City of Artists

In the middle of the 20th century, Medellín was one of the most important centers in the Latin American music industry. The headquarters of some of the biggest national record companies of that time were in the city, therefore, many renowned artists from neighboring countries came and temporarily settled to make their record productions. Those visiting artists established relations with local musicians and the city became a venue for live shows. Medellín was a city of opportunities for the most outstanding musicians from all over the country.

The 60’s arrived with a profound change in popular taste, generating new dynamics in the consumption of art and culture. In the 80’s and 90’s, drug trafficking hit the city in all its spheres and Medellín faced one of the most harrowing chapters in its history.

Arts, specifically music, has been one of the most effective tools of Medellín to accompany and strengthen the processes of citizenship building and social transformation. The local government has accompanied these processes by generating spaces for creation, dissemination, and training for both, artists and audiences.

The Secretariat of Culture has been responsible for promoting, implementing and driving the city process through music. Programs such as the Red de Escuelas de Música, which was created 22 years ago and receives an average of 4,600 students per year, has benefited not only musicians but also their families and surrounding communities.

Altavoz, a 15-years annual process which seeks to generate coexistence spaces for attendees and the circulation of local and international artists, is also one of these many programs. Its previous version had more than 200 artistic presentations in all its phases and an audience of more than 80 thousand people.

The Secretariat of Culture of Medellín has developed public policies, different from the above mentioned, to strengthen the musical sector such as the Convocatoria de Estímulos para el Arte y la Cultura; Medellín Ciudad de Artistas and in May, the city will hold an event called Referentes, which seeks to generate a space for dialogue and strengthening in different arts such as music through talks and music business roundtables.

CONTRIBUTION TO THE NETWORK:

As a creative city of music, Medellín focuses on the following activities:

Making permanent contact with the entire musical ecosystem, thus strengthening the existing public policies and allowing the creation of new policies that help the sector to grow.

Generating free public spaces for musical training throughout the city. Strengthening citizenship building processes, boosting the cultural and musical scene, creating life opportunities for children and young people.

Strengthening dissemination spaces for local artists and their proposals. Facilitating ventures along the productive chain of the musical sector through training and resources.

Promoting spaces for citizen encounters linked to music and work towards the formation of new audiences.

Supporting the circulation and creation processes of local musicians by maintaining and strengthening programs such as the call for art and culture incentives. In addition to other circulation spaces.

Joining the city’s memory and heritage processes by supporting and strengthening the transcendental musical manifestations in its history.