“If our company had achieved only this: to bring together such a group today, I would say it was worth undertaking,” said Senator Mayor of Nice Jacques Peyrat at the beginning of his speech. A great deal of effort was put in on Friday morning at the National Conservatory of the Region for the official announcement to the press of the capital of the French Riviera’s candidacy. It is not going at it alone. The major cities of the French Riviera have allied with Nice and its Urban Community. The cities of Grasse, Antibes-Juan Les Pins, Menton, Saint-Paul-de-Vence, and the Principality of Monaco have come together to make this project stronger. “The mayors of Grasse, Cannes, Antibes, and Menton told us right away: ‘yes, we will play together.’ To this yes, add the extraordinary entities that are the University, the Chamber of Commerce, the Hospital, supported by the General Council. Something new has already been born,” Jacques Peyrat said, satisfied, justifying: “It is an original and strong project that will materialize the vitality, talent, and creative force of the artistic and cultural milieu of the French Riviera.” Four themes (light, the Baroque spirit, the living and the artificial, the arts of the shoreline) will highlight the assets of Nice-Côte d’Azur in geographical, historical, and artistic terms.
The final candidacy file will be submitted in October, and a pre-selection will be carried out at the end of 2007. It was necessary by February that Nice makes an impact compared to its French competitors also in the running (Marseille, Lyon, Saint Etienne, Strasbourg, Toulouse, etc.). Elected officials moved, as did artistic personalities like Michèle Mercier, Georges Lauttner, Lionel Bringuier (youngest conductor), Ben, Sacha Sosno… The artistic direction of the candidacy has been entrusted to Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Culture, founding president of La Sept-Arte.
“It is a considerable challenge, a challenge that we issue, with a lot of esteem for our competitors, to conquer without danger we triumph without glory. If we triumph, we will have the glory of having surpassed the other cities that will also have cultural projects.” Jacques Peyrat and the initiators of the candidacy are not seeking glory with this project. The ambition is high. Whether successful or not, the candidacy will have had the merit of making politicians of the Alpes-Maritimes, and the artistic and cultural representatives think together about art and culture. It allows highlighting or making known to as many people as possible the heritage of the French Riviera.
To celebrate the announcement of the candidacy, the conference ended with a musical surprise: 25 musicians representing the 25 cities of the coast and the Principality of Monaco performed the anthem of this event. It is a score written using the two musical themes obtained with the words NICE and CULTURE in the musical alphabet. A surprising success! Worth listening to…
For more information: [https://www.nice.fr/mairie_nice_13692.html](https://www.nice.fr/mairie_nice_13692.html)
Calendar:
First Quarter 2007: Publication by the French Prime Minister of the decree relating to the official call for applications.
October 2007: Submission of candidacy files to the European jury: thirteen members including 6 designated by the concerned member state and 7 by the European Union.
End of 2007: Preselection by the European jury of a few candidate cities (shortlist).
Autumn 2008: Submission by the preselected cities of the final files.
End of 2008: Proposal by the European jury of a French city.
January 2009: Designation of the selected city by the Council of Ministers of the European Union.
Means implemented:
– Creation of a support committee and distribution of membership bulletins.
– Creation of an ambassador club made up of high-profile personalities from the cultural, artistic, scientific world.
– Drafting different key documents based on EU criteria.
– Creation of an association aimed at specifying the four themes that will be developed in the pre-programming of artistic and cultural events.
– The artistic direction of the Nice-Côte d’Azur candidacy was entrusted to Bernard Faivre d’Arcier, assisted by Ophélie Orecchia.
