Swiss Capital of Culture 2030
The City of Lugano had submitted its candidacy with the support of Locarno and Mendrisio. The winning city is Aarau. In 2027, La Chaux-de-Fonds will be the first capital as a pilot project.
Lugano took part in the bid process to become Swiss Capital of Culture 2030, with an open and collaborative project involving local institutions, cultural organizations, communities, and businesses from the region. The City Council, coordinated by the Culture Division, prepared the bid dossier, which was submitted with the support and cooperation of the cities of Locarno and Mendrisio.
The announcement of the winning city, Aarau, was made in June 2026. The joint project of Lugano, Locarno, and Mendrisio was not the only bid from Italian-speaking Switzerland, as Bellinzona had also submitted its own candidacy. In German-speaking Switzerland, Schaffhausen, Thun, and Zug were also among the candidate cities.
The bids were evaluated by a jury of ten experts from the fields of culture, business, and media.
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- Cultural and linguistic uniqueness (investments to activate a new tourism- and culture-based economic development model)
- Presence of centres of research, start-ups and as many as three academic institutions well connected internationally (for example the Swissnex network)
- Central position on the north/south axis easily reachable thanks to a state-of-the-art rail network
- Profiles professional of high quality
- Italian-speaking border region with Italy (numerous active collaborations also in the cultural field)
- A privileged landscape setting
- A City and a region attractive (political stability and geographic location)
- Widespread well-being and longevity of the population
- Consolidate the institutional cultural trajectory launched in 2015 with the creation of the cultural hub (Lugano Arte e Cultura, Museo d'arte della Svizzera italiana, Fondazione culture e musei), which has positioned Lugano nationally and internationally
- Support culture-based development, generating well-being and new opportunities through the arts and the cultural and creative industries, including for cultural tourism and new entrepreneurship
- Develop sustainability and social innovation through the arts and culture
- Strengthen networks and collaborations with Swiss cities, universities, research centres and innovative enterprises, and enhance the identity «from the south» and national cohesion
- Support cultural professionals and the cultural and creative industries by creating more favourable framework conditions thanks to an overall project
- Promote creativity, innovation and participation in culture among citizens and the new generations
Decentralisation, collaboration, complementarity:
- three «from the south» visions capable of enriching and contributing to the challenges of today's Switzerland
- three border cities in dialogue with the Insubric region
- three lakeside cities: water as a means of communication and transport
- three cities that make education and research a priority
- common foundations at the geographical, historical, cultural and economic levels
- increase the critical mass to attract innovation, creativity and investment
- move beyond a dimension of self-sufficiency and self-referentiality
Objective: broaden geographical and mental horizons to overcome parochialism, creating a testing ground for new possibilities of interaction
The questionnaire for artists, institutions and citizens
Between October and early November 2025, the City published online questionnaires to gather ideas, observations and proposals to enrich Lugano’s application, from citizens, artists, professionals in the field, amateur organisations, cultural and academic institutions, public bodies and businesses.
What is the Swiss Capital of Culture
The title of Swiss Capital of Culture is awarded to a city with at least 20,000 inhabitants, ideally alternating between the four language regions. For one year, a city or a region becomes the cultural heart of the country. It is a nationwide event designed to bring people together, during which artists and people from across Switzerland can meet, exchange ideas and foster diversity.
The Swiss Capital of Culture Association was founded in 2020 on the initiative of Daniel Rossellat (president of the Paléo Festival Nyon and former events director of Expo 0.2). Following the model of the European Capitals of Culture, the intention is to designate a Swiss Capital of Culture every three years, with the aim of involving the Swiss population in cultural life, encouraging creativity and exchange. The first Capital will be La Chaux-de-Fonds in 2027, as a pilot project.
Last update: 4 June 2026
The English version of this page was created with the aid of automatic translation tools and may contain errors and omissions.
The original version is the page in Italian.