2021/22 European Capital of Culture: Inclusive Culture-Led Branding of Novi Sad?

Abstract

The City of Novi Sad, which is the focus of this chapter as one of the 2022 ECoCs, represents a specifc example as the only non-EU city winning the bid for the 2021 ECoC title (the other two from the EU—Elefsina and Timisoara—are postponed to 2023). However, due to the global pandemic, the process of implemen- tation was prolonged causing new challenges and inconsistencies of planned trans- formations. Therefore, the case of Novi Sad reveals a specifc transitioning context infuenced by both local and global drawbacks. Generating opportunities by pro- moting inclusion and post-confict reconciliation after the breakup of Yugoslavia and the civil wars in the region, the fragile local setting also provides an insight into the use of the ECoC title as a tool for culture-led urban (re)branding, identifying the modes of its integration into the local cultural strategy and urban development plans.