European Capital of Culture in the context of "Plovdiv"

Elefsina (Greek: Ελευσίνα, romanized: Elefsína) or Eleusis (/ɛˈljuːsɪs/ eh-LEW-siss; Ancient Greek: Ἐλευσίς, romanized: Eleusís) is a suburban city and municipality in Athens metropolitan area. It belongs to West Attica regional unit of Greece. It is located in the Thriasio Plain, at the northernmost end of the Saronic Gulf. North of Elefsina are Mandra and Magoula, while Aspropyrgos is to the northeast.

It is the site of the Eleusinian Mysteries and the birthplace of Aeschylus. Today, Elefsina is a major industrial centre, with the largest oil refinery in Greece as well as the home of the Aeschylia Festival, the longest-lived arts event in the Attica Region. On 11 November 2016, Elefsina was named the European Capital of Culture for 2021, which became effective in 2023 due to the COVID-19 pandemic postponement.

Valletta (/vəˈlɛtʌ/ ; Maltese: il-Belt Valletta, lit. 'the city [of] Valletta', pronounced [ɪlˈbɛlt vɐˈlːɛtːɐ]), also known as Città Umilissima (transl. the Humblest City), is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital city, it is a commercial centre for shopping, bars, dining, and café life. It is also the southernmost capital of Europe, and, at just 0.61 square kilometres (0.24 sq mi), it is the European Union's smallest capital city.

Valletta's 16th-century buildings were constructed by the Knights Hospitaller. The city was named after the Frenchman Jean Parisot de Valette, who succeeded in defending the island against an Ottoman invasion during the Great Siege of Malta. The city is Baroque in character, with elements of Mannerist, Neo-Classical and Modern architecture, though the Second World War left major scars on the city, particularly the destruction of the Royal Opera House. The city was officially recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1980. The city has 320 monuments, all within an area of 0.55 square kilometres (0.21 sq mi), making it one of the most concentrated historic areas in the world. Sometimes called an "open-air museum", Valletta was chosen as the European Capital of Culture for 2018. Valletta was also listed as the sunniest city in Europe in 2016.

Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, 178 miles (286 km) north-west of London. It had a population of 508,961 in 2024 and is the administrative, cultural and economic centre of the Liverpool City Region, a combined authority area with a population of over 1.5 million.

Established as a borough in Lancashire in 1207, Liverpool became significant in the late 17th century when the Port of Liverpool was heavily involved in the Atlantic slave trade. The port also imported cotton for the Lancashire textile mills, and became a major departure point for English and Irish emigrants to North America. Liverpool rose to global economic importance at the forefront of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century and was home to the first inter-city railway, the first non-combustible warehouse system (the Royal Albert Dock), and a pioneering elevated electrical railway; it was granted city status in 1880 and was moved from Lancashire to the newly created county of Merseyside in 1974. It entered a period of decline in the mid-20th century, which was largely reversed after the European Union selected it as the European Capital of Culture for 2008, reportedly generating over £800 million for the local economy within a year.

Riga (/ˈriːɡə/ REE-gə) is the capital, primate, and largest city of Latvia and the second largest in the Baltics. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga metropolitan area, which stretches beyond the city limits, is estimated at 847,162 (as of 2025). The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Baltic Sea. Riga's territory covers 307.17 km (118.60 sq mi) and lies 1–10 m (3–33 ft) above sea level on a flat and sandy plain.

Riga was founded in 1201, and is a former Hanseatic League member. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture. Riga was the European Capital of Culture in 2014, along with Umeå in Sweden. Riga hosted the 2006 NATO Summit, the Eurovision Song Contest 2003, the 2013 World Women's Curling Championship, and the IIHF Men's World Ice Hockey Championships in 2006, 2021, and 2023. It is home to the European Union's office of European Regulators for Electronic Communications (BEREC). In 2017, it was named as the European Region of Gastronomy.

Košice is the largest city in eastern Slovakia. It is situated on the river Hornád at the eastern reaches of the Slovak Ore Mountains, near the border with Hungary and Ukraine. With a population of approximately 230,000, Košice is the second-largest city in Slovakia, after the capital Bratislava.

Being the economic and cultural centre of eastern Slovakia, Košice is the seat of the Košice Region and Košice Self-governing Region, it belongs to the Košice-Prešov agglomeration, and is home to the Slovak Constitutional Court, three universities, various dioceses, and many museums, galleries, and theatres. In 2013, Košice was the European Capital of Culture, together with Marseille, France. Košice is an important industrial centre of Slovakia, and the U.S. Steel Košice steel mill is the largest employer in the city. The town has extensive railway connections and an international airport.

Nova Gorica (pronounced [ˈnɔ̀ːʋa ɡɔˈɾìːtsa] ) is a town in western Slovenia, on the border with Italy. It is the seat of the Municipality of Nova Gorica. Nova Gorica is a planned town, built according to the principles of modernist architecture after 1947, when the Paris Peace Treaty established a new border between Yugoslavia and Italy, leaving nearby Gorizia outside the borders of Yugoslavia and thus cutting off the Soča Valley, the Vipava Valley, the Gorizia Hills and the northwestern Karst Plateau from their traditional regional urban centre. It is the European Capital of Culture in 2025. Since 1948, Nova Gorica has replaced Gorizia as the principal urban center of the Gorizia region (Slovene: Goriška), as the northern part of the Slovenian Littoral has been traditionally called. Since May 2011, Nova Gorica has been joined with Gorizia and Šempeter-Vrtojba in a common trans-border metropolitan zone, administered by a joint administration board.

Guimarães (European Portuguese pronunciation: [ɡimɐˈɾɐ̃jʃ] ) is a city and municipality located in northern Portugal, in the district of Braga.Its historic town centre has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2001, in recognition for being an "exceptionally well-preserved and authentic example of the evolution of a medieval settlement into a modern town" in Europe. The Nicolinas are the city's main festivities.

Guimarães is referred as the capital of the Ave Subregion (one of the most industrialised subregions in the country), and located in the historical Minho Province. The municipality has a population of 156,789 inhabitants according to the most recent data of 2023 in an area of 240.95 square kilometres (93.03 sq mi). The current mayor is Ricardo Araújo. Guimarães, along with Maribor, Slovenia, was the European Capital of Culture in 2012. Guimarães also received the 2026 European Green Capital Award.