Member of the Unesco Creative Cities Network Since 2023

Creative Cities In Music
Home

Creative Cities In Music

Creative Cities in Music

City of Music (UNESCO)

image loader

UNESCO's City of Music programme is part of the wider Creative Cities Network.

The Network 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.

 

Criteria for Cities of Music

 

To be approved as a City of Music, cities need to meet a number of criteria set by UNESCO

Designated UNESCO Cities of Music share similar characteristics:

  • recognised centres of musical creation and activity
  • experience in hosting music festivals and events at a national or international level
  • promotion of the music industry in all its forms
  • music schools, conservatories, academies, and higher education institutions specialised in music
  • informal structures for music education, including amateur choirs and orchestras
  • domestic or international platforms dedicated to particular generes of music and/or music from other countries
  • cultural spaces suited for practicing and listening to music, e.g. open-air auditoriums

 

As of 2021, fifty Cities of Music have been designated by UNESCO. Nineteen of the participating cities are European, ten are Asian and Middle Eastern. South America and North America each have six, Africa has four, and two have been designated in Oceania. Seven countries have two member cities. Colombia, Portugal, and the United Kingdom are the only countries to have three designated cities.

 

City Country Year of Inscription
Adelaide  Australia 2015
Almaty  Kazakhstan 2017
Amarante  Portugal 2017
Ambon  Indonesia 2019
Auckland  New Zealand 2017
Belfast  United Kingdom 2021
Bogotá  Colombia 2012
Bologna  Italy 2006
Brazzaville  Congo 2013
Brno  Czech Republic 2017
Chennai  India 2017
Daegu  Korea Republic 2017
Essaouira  Morocco 2019
Frutillar  Chile 2017
Ghent  Belgium 2009
Glasgow  United Kingdom 2008
Hamamatsu  Japan 2014
Hanover  Germany 2014
Havana  Cuba 2019
Idanha-a-Nova  Portugal 2015
Kansas City  United States 2017
Katowice  Poland 2015
Kazan  Russia 2019
Kingston  Jamaica 2015
Kinshasa  Democratic Republic of Congo 2015
Kırşehir  Turkey 2019
Leiria  Portugal 2019
Llíria  Spain 2019
London  Canada 2021
Liverpool  United Kingdom 2015
Mannheim  Germany 2014
Medellín  Colombia 2015
Metz  France 2019
Morelia  Mexico 2017
Norrköping  Sweden 2017
Pesaro  Italy 2017
Port of Spain  Trinidad and Tobago 2019
Praia  Cape Verde 2017
Ramallah  Palestine 2019
Salvador  Brazil 2015
Sanandaj  Iran 2019
Santo Domingo  Dominican Republic 2019
Seville  Spain 2006
Tallinn  Estonia 2021
Tongyeong  Korea Republic 2015
Valledupar  Colombia 2019
Valparaíso  Chile 2019
Varanasi  India 2015
Veszprém  Hungary 2019
Vranje  Serbia 2019

 

The 61 cities which currently make up this network work together towards a common objective: placing creativity and cultural industries at the heart of their development plans at the local level and cooperating actively at the international level.By joining the Network, cities commit to sharing their best practices and developing partnerships involving the public and private sectors as well as civil society in order to:

  • strengthen the creation, production, distribution and dissemination of cultural activities, goods and services;
  • develop hubs of creativity and innovation and broaden opportunities for creators and professionals in the cultural sector;
  • improve access to and participation in cultural life, in particular for marginalized or vulnerable groups and individuals;
  • fully integrate culture and creativity into sustainable development plans.

The Creative Cities Network is a privileged partner of UNESCO, not only as a platform for reflection on the role of creativity as a lever for sustainable development but also as a breeding ground of action and innovation, notably for the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.