The voices of Veszprém region
We are a group of international volunteers, and over the last two weeks we have been gathering feedback and public comments. In this article you can read about the European Capital of Culture year from a local point of view.
Sziasztok!
We are a group of international volunteers, and over the last two weeks we have been gathering feedback and public comments about Veszprém and the impact of this year’s European Capital of Culture celebration! We decided to carry out this activity to get the people’s opinion on their region, and to get an insight into their hopes for the future of Veszprém and the Balaton region.
Throughout this time, we interviewed 15 people. The purpose of this experiment was to find out if the European Capital of Culture programme had any effect on the lives of the citizens.
The outcome is that everyone noticed some kind of change in their everyday life. University students were more interested in the variety of events throughout the year while locals appreciated more the infrastructural work in the city.
The environment of the city is absolutely great, and the summer programmes and events are really good too. Since the start of the European Capital of Culture in 2023 I have noticed a lot of changes, such as new buildings and improvements to areas in the city, and much more events and programmes.
I really like living here and since the start of the ECoC I have taken part in many events as a citizen and as a teacher and I enjoyed all of them. Our school and students took part in exhibitions and activities by the ECoC and it certainly changed our lives.
They also proposed their ideas regarding to the future such as developing the public transport or improving the nightlife opportunities for university students.
Since ECoC we have a new park and many artists came here to perform concerts there. Tickets for the events were affordable, which we appreciated. Also road infrastructure has improved.
Since the ECoC started I have witnessed the city flourishing with improved road infrastructure, more events and tourism.
Overall, the people of the Balaton region and Veszprém collectively felt that the title of European Capital of Culture really enabled the region to flourish culturally, with the inclusion of many more events, infrastructure improvements and projects. Locals have expressed their hopes for further improvements for the region, and for such events to continue into the upcoming years.
Here you can find more responses from people we talked to in the nearby village, Szentkirályszabadja, Veszprém, and the University of Pannonia.
Events are easier to find because of ECoC. There were many more events this year. Also, more venues have been created, which has been good for the city.
Since the start of the ECoC, all these events, concerts etc, have attracted tourists from other Hungarian cities but also from other countries and it's great for the city.
I can’t compare it now to how it was before the introduction of ECoC, since I haven’t been living here before, but from what I’ve seen I feel like the city has a lot to offer and most of it is because of the European Capital of Culture.
Written by the international volunteers of ECoC - Anna Szychulska, Marios Xentidis, Karlis Kazakupcs, Charlie O'Meara
