Certainties and doubts surrounding Palma's bid for European Capital of Culture

PalmIt has been one of the most frequently repeated concepts of the past year at any event where Palma City Council representatives have been present, both from members of the Culture Department and from the mayor himself, Jaime Martínez. 'Palma 2031' has practically become a motto around which the current administration has developed a long-term strategy that, they say, aims to transform the city through culture. With just under a week to go before the deadline for submitting applications to the selection of Spanish cities vying to become the European Capital of Culture in 2031, we update you on the project's certainties and uncertainties.

Antoni Riera, Coordinator

While it had been announced in early June – and emphasized – that Palma's bid would not be led by a single individual, but rather designed by expert panels, the role of "project drafting coordinator" has now been added to the project. Economist Antoni Riera has held this position since last August, although he was only publicly presented as a party involved in the bid this past Tuesday, December 9th. The director of the Impulsa Foundation also serves as coordinator of the Sustainability Roundtable promoted by the Balearic Government, a platform that organizations such as the Civil Society Forum, GOB, and EAPN have left, among other reasons, due to an "overrepresentation of businesses."

City Hall sources state that the economist did not receive any financial compensation for this work, as he declined it, while the 24 members of the two working groups each received 600 euros for their collaboration, which involved a total of eight in-person meetings, four for each group.

275 million in investments

In any case, Antoni Riera will accompany Mayor Jaime Martínez, who has already spoken about the city's bid for events such as the World Travel Market in London, at the first official presentation of the project at the Ministry of Culture, a milestone expected to take place in early 2026. This initial meeting will also include the presentation of the project's financial projections. According to officials, "the Palma 2031 operational program will mobilize approximately €48.5 million between 2026 and 2031, primarily focused on production, outreach, participation, and evaluation activities," while investments linked to the project could reach €275 million over the next decade. These include "the conversion of the Gesa building into the Palma Culture & Innovation Bay," as well as the new city interpretation center, located in the Plaza Mayor, among others. Furthermore, the creation of the Palma 2031 Foundation has also been announced, which will be launched once the first selection phase is completed. According to the mayor, it will be an entity "with a public majority, independent artistic direction, and transparency and evaluation mechanisms so that every euro can be tracked from the decision to the legacy."

The intention to create this foundation is one of the few pieces of information that have been revealed about the contents of the 60-page dossier to be submitted before December 19, the deadline for the first phase of applications. Palma is expected to compete with at least eleven other Spanish cities. In fact, the main argument put forward so far by both the mayor and the Councilor for Culture, Javier Bonet, as well as by Antoni Riera himself, is that they don't want to give any clues to the competitors. This explains why they haven't offered specific details about the application's contents at the press conferences supposedly convened for this purpose. The most recent of these took place at the Palma 2031 Office, a space located on Sant Agustí Street whose objective is "to answer questions and gather proposals related to the application," as well as serving as a display for the posters that have been plastered with promotional slogans for the application for months. The office, by the way, will be open to the public on Wednesday and Thursday mornings.

The involvement of the people of Palma

In any case, citizen involvement has been one of the guiding principles defining the candidacy so far, according to the authorities. "It's not a City Council project, it's everyone's project," the mayor insisted, reiterating that it's not a project "born in an office." However, the Palma Federation of Neighborhood Associations has a rather different impression. "We've met with the City Council on several occasions to discuss this issue," explains Maribel Alcázar, head of this organization that brings together some fifty associations, "but all they've done is tell us about their project. And participation means something else: it means taking part in our decisions. We don't want them coming to offer it to us, offering us choirs, theater groups, festivals, and the many other sociocultural activities we have underway. What we've seen so far is a project more linked to events, which may be more or less interesting, but which have a much more elitist, or even business-oriented, cultural conception." And although the organization hasn't signed the manifesto to show its support for the candidacy, Alcázar confirms that they are open to discussing a proposal they believe could be positive for the city. "But we have to see where the unique identity really fits into all of this. Or are we talking about a standardized culture, typical of the cultural industries, where the people either have nothing to say or are relegated to the realm of folklore?"

And the cultural sector?

Regarding developments in the cultural sector, it is worth highlighting the artistic programming that has filled museums, art centers and other spaces during the last few months, with proposals such as the major exhibition dedicated to Joan Miró and the exhibition Free access is an affront. Young Visual Artists and the renewal of the arts in Mallorca, 1969-1982The event, recently inaugurated at the Solleric community center, has been held. While it is true that the panelists include representatives from various disciplines and that numerous public and private entities have signed the manifesto supporting the proposal, several organizations have been excluded from defining the core principles of this candidacy. The Association of Writers in the Catalan Language has still not received any information, as confirmed to ARA Baleares by the association's Balearic delegate, Joan Tomàs Martínez Grimalt.

Nor will the majority of the performing arts sector in the Canary Islands be part of the process. It was at the end of October when the main professional performing arts associations signed a joint statement announcing the severing of relations with the Palma City Council (Cort) and denouncing malpractice, mistreatment, and threats by the City Council's Director General of Performing Arts and Music, Rafel Brunet. For its part, the Publishers' Guild was informed of the City Council's intention to submit the candidacy at a meeting held in May, although there has been no further communication with this organization.

In any case, an open meeting with the cultural sector did take place. It was at the beginning of July—a month after the official presentation of the Fundació Miró's candidacy—and was held at the Mar i Terra theater. It was repeatedly stated that this was an initial meeting to share the key aspects of a still-embryonic project and to begin gathering proposals and ideas. Once again, there was little concrete information regarding the core principles of the candidacy, and no further meetings have been convened at this point.

Three Ambassadors

Among the criticisms shared at that first meeting was the fact that the artistic panel was composed mostly of men—eight men and four women. Well, so far three ambassadors for the bid have been presented, and all three are men: the musician Rels B, the director of the Atlàntida Film Fest, Jaume Ripoll, and the Catalan artist Jaume Plensa. But beyond the chosen names, it's still unclear what this appointment will entail or what the role of ambassador for the bid actually involves. "It's not merely an honorary position; it involves intense activity aimed at representing our city to the world," said Mayor Jaume Martínez when presenting the latest of these ambassadors, Jaume Plensa. In explaining the motivations for this appointment, he spoke of a "human and personal" connection, as well as a professional one based on various exhibitions.

'Mediterranean in motion'

In any case, the successive presentations made so far have left little certainty regarding the content of the candidacy, whose slogan is the ruling Mediterranean in motionJaime Martínez emphasized that "this is not a calendar of events for one year, but a long-term transformation strategy." In this regard, the project coordinator, Antoni Riera, argues that the project aims to transform "the risk of decline in a city where tourism has led to both visibility and tension and pressure" into "an opportunity." However, the first official presentation of the bid for European Capital of Culture was marked by a strong tourism component. The slogan at the end of the first promotional video was, in fact, quite telling –Leave with more than a photo, leave with an idea"["Don't leave with a photo, leave with an idea"]—as were the boxes of ensaimada that were given to the attendees.