The Council of the European Union is the only institution that can award the title of European Capital of Culture.  
Started in 1985, the initiative has become one of the most prestigious and high-profile cultural events in Europe.  Each year, cities chosen as European Capitals of Culture – in 2011 Tallinn (Estonia) and Turku (Finland) - provide living proof of the richness and diversity of European cultures.  More than 40 cities have been designated European Capitals of Culture so far, from Stockholm to Genoa, Athens to Glasgow, and Krakówto Porto.

The European Capitals of Culture initiative was set up to:
    highlight the richness and diversity of European cultures
    celebrate the cultural ties that link Europeans together
    bring people from different European countries into contact with each other's culture and promote mutual understanding
    foster a feeling of European citizenship.

In brief, it is a large-scale cultural programme that is specifically designed for a year, but whose success is judged also on its ability to provide a positive legacy to the cities involved.

A city is not chosen as a European Capital of Culture solely for what it is, but mainly for what it plans to do for a year that has to be exceptional.  Its programme must meet some strict criteria, which are scrutinised and assessed during the bidding process.  They fall under these headings:  

European dimension
    foster cooperation between cultural operators, artists and cities from host country and other EU countries in any cultural sector;
    highlight the richness of cultural diversity in Europe;
    bring the common aspects of European cultures to the fore.

In other words, candidate cities must present the role they have played in European culture, their links with Europe, their European identity. They must also demonstrate current involvement in European artistic and cultural life, alongside their own specific features.

City and citizens
    foster the participation of citizens living in the city and its surroundings and raise their interest as well as the interest of citizens from abroad;
    be sustainable and be an integral part of the long-term cultural and social development of the city.

In other words, candidate cities must present a programme that anticipates large-scale public involvement at both local and European levels. How can the city attract not only the local and national population, but also tourists from other countries?

In selecting a city, the EC’s panel considers also other factors such as the programme’s governance, cultural and artistic programme, and communication strategy.

First, a European Capital of Culture is a high profile initiative which gives a city the chance to celebrate and showcase its uniqueness of culture, creativity, place and people, both within its home country and abroad.  It provides the catalyst for the development and flourishing of high-quality artistic and cultural events and genres.  Studies have shown that the event is a valuable opportunity also to:
    regenerate cities
    raise their international profile and enhance their image in the eyes of their own inhabitants
    foster local community participation and enable a sense of social pride
    give new vitality to their cultural life
    raise their international profile, boost tourism  and enhance their image in the eyes of their own inhabitants.

Most former European Capitals of Culture gain long-term benefits from the year, including economic activity related to the arts and culture, tourism, and local businesses.

Some ECoCs (such as Cork) were criticised at the initial bid stage for their lack of explicit strategies for exploring the European dimension.  Others, such as Liverpool, have been praised for initiatives such as expressly sharing their experiences with other European cities as part of their legacy programme.

Malta is probably one of the most inherently ‘European’ cities to be in the running for an ECoC title, but this does not mean it should assume this is understood by the selecting panel or audiences overseas.  The Valletta 2018 bid addresses specifically how its ECoC programmes will lever on its natural strengths and translate its historic Europeanness into actual events and initiatives.

ECoC Glasgow, 1990, was the first city to actively engage in an ECoC impact assessment; Liverpool, ECoC 2008, was the first to commission a longitudinal study (2005- 2010) of the economic, physical, social and cultural impact of the year.  Impact has to be measured against the ECoC’s vision and the objectives of its programmes.
A city can have various objectives, such as, if we take Liverpool as an example:
•    To positively reposition Liverpool to a national and international audience and to encourage more visitors to the city and the North West
•    To create a legacy of long-term growth and sustainability in the city’s cultural sector
•    To develop greater recognition nationally and internationally for the role of arts and culture in making our cities better places to live, work and visit
Each city will have its own set of criteria on which to judge its ECoC year.  The impact of an ECoC programme can be measured in many ways as well.  To draw conclusions about economic, social and cultural benefits of the ECoC year, it is vital a city has research methodologies and tools in place well beforehand and conducts studies over a 5-10 year period.  In the case of Liverpool, the involvement of universities working with data agencies provided a powerful mechanism for achieving an understanding of the year’s impact. The University of Malta is a member of the Valletta 2018 Foundation. We have brought a research institute on board from the outset of the ECoC process to ensure we monitor the impact of the ECoC well before, during and long after the year itself.

Primarily, an ECoC is about boosting the quality and raising the profile of cultural activities and creating a lasting legacy of high-quality, sustainable artistic and cultural events and initiatives that can help stimulate the cultural life and economy of the city, and its region.   
However, from the experiences of past  ECoCs, we find that the title has proved a catalyst to driving urban regeneration  -  the rehabilitation of disused industrial spaces or the building of new infrastructure.  Regeneration plans may already be in the pipeline or be brought on stream as a result of the title being conferred on the candidate city.
Following Glasgow 1990, Many cities, including Lille, Luxembourg and Cork, successfully used the regeneration of heritage buildings into cultural spaces as a specific strand of their urban regeneration programmes. These initiatives generally had a powerful positive impact both on the ECoC year and the subsequent legacy programmes.
Malta has already gone some way towards regenerating heritage buildings in this way and clearly there is scope to consider whether further spaces could be developed either on a temporary or longer term basis for the ECoC and beyond 2018.