Jack Lang (French politician) in the context of Ministry of National Education (France)

A European Capital of Culture is a city designated by the European Union (EU) for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong pan-European dimension. Being a European Capital of Culture can be an opportunity for a city to generate considerable cultural, social, and economic benefits, and it can help foster urban regeneration, change the city's image, and raise its visibility and profile on an international scale. Multiple cities can be a European Capital of Culture simultaneously.

In 1985, Melina Mercouri, Greece's Minister of Culture, and her French counterpart Jack Lang came up with the idea of designating an annual City of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values.

Jean-Luc Antoine Pierre Mélenchon (French: [ʒɑ̃lyk melɑ̃ʃɔ̃] ; born 19 August 1951) is a French politician who has been the de facto leader of the movement La France Insoumise (LFI) since it was established in 2016. He was the deputy in the National Assembly for the 4th constituency of Bouches-du-Rhône from 2017 to 2022 and led the La France Insoumise group in the National Assembly from 2017 to 2021. Mélenchon was previously elected as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in 2009 and reelected in 2014. He has run for President of France three times, in 2012, 2017 and 2022. In 2022, he came within 1.2 percentage points of reaching the second round in France's two-round voting system.

After joining the Socialist Party (PS) in 1976, Mélenchon was successively elected a municipal councillor of Massy (1983) and general councillor of Essonne (1985). In 1986, he entered the Senate, to which he was reelected in 1995 and 2004. He also served as Minister for Vocational Education between 2000 and 2002 under Minister of National Education Jack Lang in the cohabitation government of Lionel Jospin. He was part of the left-wing of the PS until the Reims Congress of November 2008, when he left the party to found the Left Party with Marc Dolez, a member of the National Assembly. Mélenchon first served as party president before becoming party co-president alongside Martine Billard, a position he held until 2014. As co-president of the Left Party, he joined the electoral coalition of the Left Front before the 2009 European Parliament election in France; he was elected as a MEP in the South-West France constituency and reelected in 2014. He became the Left Front's candidate in the 2012 French presidential election, in which he came in fourth, receiving 11.1% of the first-round vote.

The Europe Theatre Prize (Premio Europa per il Teatro) is an award of the European Commission for a personality who has "contributed to the realisation of cultural events that promote understanding and the exchange of knowledge between peoples". "The winner is chosen for the whole of his artistic path among notable personalities of international theatre considered in all its different forms, articulations and expressions". The prize was established in 1986 when Carlo Ripa di Meana was first commissioner of culture. In those years a contribution to its creation also came from Melina Mercouri, who was patroness of the Prize, and from Jack Lang, then French minister of culture and current president of the Prize. The European Parliament and the European Council have supported it as a "European cultural interest organisation" since 2002.

In 1987 the prize was first awarded to Ariane Mnouchkine for her work with the Théâtre du Soleil. She received a money prize and a sculpture of Pietro Consagra. The first international jury was chaired by Irene Papas. Recipients have included choreographer Pina Bausch and stage director Patrice Chéreau.

The Fête de la Musique (French pronunciation: [fɛt d(ə) la myzik]), also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day, or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration which usually takes place in mid-June. On Music Day, citizens and residents are urged to play music outside, in their neighborhoods or in public spaces and parks. Free concerts are also organized, where musicians play for fun; no fees are involved.

The idea for the first all-day musical celebration on the day of the summer solstice came from Jack Lang, then Minister of Culture of France, and Maurice Fleuret; it was celebrated in Paris in 1982. Music Day later became celebrated in 120 countries around the world.