The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, designated Bogota (Colombia) as “City of Music” on 7 March 2012, as part of the Organization’s Creative Cities Network.
Bogota is recognized foremost for its fast growing musical sector and dynamic music scene as a major centre of musical creation and activity in Latin America.
In accordance with the mission of the Creative Cities Network, the city promotes music as a tool for socio-economic improvement and cultural diversity. With its unique profile as a cultural exchange hub on a national and regional level, Bogota is expected to strongly increase international cooperation opportunities for the Network.
In addition, the city boasts an outstanding infrastructure for the creation and promotion of all music genres from classical music to popular music as well as the many public and private cultural spaces provided for performing music. It clearly demonstrates solid experience in hosting a wide range of events from festivals to international business meetings for music professionals equally engaging the public and private sectors in the music industry.
With Bogota, the Creative Cities Network now has 30 members. As the fifth City of Music, the city joins Seville, Bologna, Glasgow and Ghent in enriching the Network with its best musical practices.