Sustainability and Sustainability Marketing in Competing for the Title of European Capital of Culture

Background and Purpose: An analysis of the dimension of sustainability in the context of competing for the title of the European Capital of Culture (ECoC) is included in the article. The authors of the research agree that the proper integration of cultural policy into the social system impacts and changes cultural values and beliefs, shifting them towards sustainable behaviour and sustainability. Many authors analyse the interrelation between culture and sustainability, thus defining the role of culture for sustainability. However, few discuss possible approaches or tools, which may offer assistance in the matter of how to reach sustainability in the context of culture.Design/Methodology/Approach: Research is based on the comparative analysis of the applications of the respective cities. The TBL methodology is implemented using the content analysis method as a tool. The outcomes of the content analysis are then used for the elaboration of the qualitative multi-attribute model using the DEX methodology.Results: While analysing bidding documents for the ECoC we: a) define the importance of the marketing plan (described as a comprehensive action) and b) argue that ECoC marketing needs to be turned to “sustainability marketing” as it is described and defined by many authors.Conclusions: The ECoC Commission should consider the importance of culture for sustainable development and, respectively, should evaluate the marketing plan of applicants under the sustainability framework.