Galway is tops in Europe for creativity and culture

Galway has come top of the class in a new European Union initiative which aims to benchmark the performance of European cities with their peers in terms of culture and creativity.

Of 168 European cities covered in the EU’s ‘Cultural and Creative Cities Monitor’, Galway has come out as one of the best in Europe in a number of categories.

The city has been ranked the best small city in Europe for ‘cultural vibrancy’, for its ‘creative economy’ as well as having an ‘enabling environment’.

Galway also took the top spot in the small and medium category for graduates in the arts and humanities – highlighted as a city that provides opportunities for these disciplines.

Galway fared incredibly well in the category of cultural vibrancy – described as the ‘cultural pulse’ of a city in terms of cultural infrastructure and participation in culture – ranking as the third best city in Europe.

The category of enabling environment identifies the tangible and intangible assets that help cities attract creative talent and stimulate cultural engagement.

For this, Galway took fifth place across all ranked cities – and third when the field was narrowed down to cities of a similar size.

Among the 64 ranked small and medium cities, Galway came second only to Cork in the subcategory of cultural venues and facilities.

The city also had a strong performance in the category of concerts and shows – joining Cork in first place.

Galway was also ranked the second-best city in Europe for openness, tolerance and trust.

Speaking on behalf of the European Commission Representation in Ireland, Ruth Deasy, said: “Everyone who has ever been to Galway knows what an amazing place it is.

“Galway is fifth across all the cities measured and we were competing against the best of the best here,” said Ms Deasy.

Cities were individually scored using both qualitative and quantitative data – compiled from 168 cities in 30 countries with each city shortlisted from a total of about 1,000.
For the rest of this story, see this week’s Galway City Tribune. Buy a digital edition of this week’s paper here, or download the app for Android or iPhone.