Galway Bay fm newsroom – There are concerns in various parts of the county that promotion of Galway’s bid for European Capital of Culture in 2020 is not widely known.
The Galway 2020 team gave a presentation to members of the county council at a meeting in Abbeyknockmoy this week. (23/5)
Mark O’ Donnell told councillors that if Galway is successful, visitor numbers could increase by up to 40 per cent, with 25 per cent being retained after the title year in 2020.
The final bid book must be submitted by June 17th and the jury will visit Galway from July 11th.
Galway is competing against the ‘Three Sisters’ of the south-east and Limerick for Ireland’s Capital of Culture.
Councillor Michael Connolly welcomed the presentation but said he didn’t want to see it become ‘another Volvo Ocean Race’ which saw the city benefit but not the county.
Councillor Peter Feeney says we don’t have enough infrastructure in the city or county, stating that ‘we have a half-built arthouse cinema, no concert hall and no real museum to talk of.’
Councillor Tim Broderick says he was concerned that many parts of East Galway were left out of the promotion of Galway as EU Capital of Culture.
Patricia Philbin from the Galway 2020 team said the team has been very focused on finishing the bid book but once that’s done, resources will be focused on towns and villages to spread the word.
She added that bunting is available at the Galway 2020 office in the city for towns or villages that want to display it.
All councillors unanimously backed the bid, which will be formally included in the bid book.
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