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On Monday 2 January, the official date for the submission of applications from all French cities applying for the title of European Capital of Culture (ECC), Montpellier Hérault Sport Club team met Olympique de Marseille for a special match.

The last city to have obtained the ECC label met with the next contender at La Mosson stadium, a symbolic venue for the projects supported by Montpellier 2028.

In support of the M28 bid, the players of the Montpellier team wore an original jersey, flocked with the Montpellier 2028 logo.

On Monday 5 December 2022, Michaël DELAFOSSE, Mayor of the City of Montpellier and President of Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, and Max PONSEILLÉ, CEO of the OC Santé Group, Treasurer of the Montpellier 28 Association and President of the College of Patrons, met with the founding patrons of the Montpellier 2028 bid and together signed the first patronage agreements.

The four founding patrons present were
– Nathalie BULCKAERT-GRÉGOIRE, Member of the Board of La Caisse d’Épargne Languedoc-Roussillon, representing La Caisse d’Épargne Languedoc-Roussillon;
– Bertin NAHUM, CEO of Quantum Surgical, who signed on his own behalf;
– Cyrill MEYNADIER, Director – OPALIA Immobilier et Urbanisme and Mr Luc POURRINET, Pedagogical Director of ArtFX represented the ARTFX Campus – Opalia partnership;
– Nicolas CEYSSON, Regional Director of COGEDIM and Pierre CABROL, Director of the PITCH agency in Montpellier, represented Altaréa (Altaréa being the parent company of Pitch and Cogedim, the two local directors of these developers signed).

These four sponsors represent four economic sectors of the territory: Med Vallée (Bertin Nahum), Cultural and Creative Industries (ArtFX), real estate development (Altaréa) and banking (Caisse d’Epargne). They each pledged 50,000 euros for 2022, i.e. a total of 200,000 euros of sponsorship.

These sponsors are thus committed to the adventure of the Montpellier 2028 bid and their precious support testifies to the importance of our approach for the region, which brings together 142 municipalities and mobilises all its vital forces (local authorities, associations, companies, etc.).

As part of Montpellier’s bid to become the European Capital of Culture 2028, and building on the proposals and enthusiasm generated by the first Call for Projects, the “Montpellier 2028” Association is launching a second Call for Projects with a view to enriching the creation and dissemination of art and heritage in the region.

Connect / Act / Celebrate and Water that connects us / Serial Futures / Trans, the projects should reflect the artistic directions and concepts of the bid to prefigure what 2028 could look like.

→ Download the press release of the Call for Projects 2023
→ Access the Call for Projects 2023

On Monday 17 October 2022, the presentation evening for Montpellier’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2028 was held at Fluctuart – a centre for urban arts.

In the presence of numerous personalities from the cultural world, Nicolas Dubourg, its Artistic Director, unveiled the three concepts: Connect / Act / Celebrate and the three artistic directions behind the bid: Water that connects us, Serial Futures, Trans?

To illustrate their richness and diversity, Christian Rizzo – choreographer and director of ICI-ICN Montpellier, Olivier Saccomano – author and co-director of the “Théâtre des 13 Vents”, Jacqueline Osty – landscape architect and Fanta Dramé – author, shared their experience and their vision through a series of interviews.

To show their full commitment, many elected representatives of the territory came to this beautiful Parisian evening… on water.

On Friday 14 October, the second General Assembly and Board of Directors meeting of the “Montpellier 2028” Association was held in Sète in the presence of all the founding members and representatives of the Montpellier 2028 Association.

During this meeting, the partner local authorities – Montpellier Méditerranée Métropole, the city of Montpellier, the city of Sète, Sète Agglopôle Méditerranée, the Occitanie region, the Hérault department, the Communauté de Communes du Grand Pic Saint-Loup, the Communauté de Communes Vallée de l’Hérault, the Agglo Hérault Méditerranée and the Communauté de Communes Pays de Lunel – once again demonstrated their full support and commitment to the Montpellier 2028 bid.

The elected Board of Directors represents the vital forces of the region: local authorities, associate members from the economic, educational and cultural sectors, and representatives of the colleges that will actively participate in the association’s activities.
A great mobilisation for Montpellier 2028

On 26 and 27 September 2022, thanks to support from Occitanie Europe, a delegation made up of Michael Delafosse and Agnès Robin for the city of Montpellier, Claire Fita representing the Occitanie region, François Commeinhes for the city of Sète and Zita Chevil-Sandin for the department of Hérault, the Montpellier 2028 team travelled to Brussels to present Montpellier’s bid for the title of European Capital of Culture 2028 to the European authorities.

On this occasion, they had the opportunity to exchange views with Nicolas Schmit, European Commissioner for Employment and Social Rights, Jean Paul Buffat, Head of Cabinet, European Committee of the Regions, as well as Pauline Rouch, Head of Cabinet for Commissioner Mariya Gabriel, Éric Andrieu, Member of the European Parliament and Cyril Piquemal, Deputy Permanent Representative of France to the EU.

A life in the city

An episode to discover of the fascinating series on all those who accompany this beautiful collective adventure