European Heritage Congress 2016 attracts widespread media coverage in Spain
The European Heritage Congress held in Madrid on 22-27 May 2016 received extensive media coverage in Spain. The premier daily newspaper ABC published an extended interview with Europa Nostra’s President Plácido Domingo, who addressed cultural heritage topics of relevance to Spain, Europe and the world, in its Sunday edition of 22 May, while the principal daily newspaper El País issued two major articles about the Congress and the Awards Ceremony on 18 and 25 May, respectively. The national public radio station RNE conducted interviews with top-level representatives from Europa Nostra, the European Commission and Hispania Nostra, broadcasting six news pieces about the Ceremony, the Congress and the proposed European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018. Spain’s international news agency EFE released three news features about the Congress, the ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ debate and the Ceremony on 22, 23 and 24 May, respectively.
In addition to the two-page interview published on 22 May, ABC posted the complete interview given by the President of Europa Nostra on its website the same day. In this, Plácido Domingo spoke of his dedication to the heritage cause; condemned the deliberate destruction of heritage sites in the Middle East and other places across the globe, reiterating Europa Nostra’s strong support for UNESCO’s Unite4Heritage campaign; and talked about ‘The 7 Most Endangered’ programme, run by Europa Nostra in partnership with the European Investment Bank Institute, mentioning the sites listed in 2016. The President of Europa Nostra spotlighted the main events of the Madrid Congress, including the presentation ceremony of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2016 with the participation of EU Commissioner for Culture Tibor Navracsics; stressed the multiple benefits of cultural heritage for Europe’s economy, society, culture and the environment, referring to the ‘Cultural Heritage Counts for Europe’ Report; and enthusiastically championed advocated the European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018.
“The European Year of Cultural Heritage offers us all an incredible chance to revive and renew our European ideals through the sharing of our formidable cultural heritage. It is a great opportunity to celebrate and reflect on those inextricable cultural and historic ties which connect not only us – the Europeans – with each other, but also Europeans with the rest of the world,” stated Plácido Domingo.
The national public radio station RNE conducted interviews with Europa Nostra’s President Plácido Domingo and Secretary General Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic, the Director for Culture and Creativity at DG Education and Culture of the European Commission Michel Magnier and Hispania Nostra’s President Araceli Pereda Alonso during the Congress, broadcasting six news pieces. The interview with Plácido Domingo, recorded at the Zarzuela Theatre immediately before the Ceremony, was broadcast on 24 May at 19:00 during the cultural programme El Ojo Crítico. An extended news item about the Awards Ceremony, featuring an extract from the speech made by Commissioner Navracsics at the event, the Congress and the proposed European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018, comprising extracts from the interviews given by Sneška Quaedvlieg-Mihailovic and Michel Magnier, was aired on the afternoon of 27 May during the programme Europa Abierta.
The national private radio station Antena 3 broadcast an interview with Europa Nostra’s Vice-President Álvaro Fernández-Villaverde y Silva about the Awards scheme and the Ceremony in Madrid, on the evening of 24 May. On 2 June, the premier daily newspaper ABC also published an important interview with the Secretary General of Europa Nostra, who spoke about the main outcomes of the Madrid Congress, the collaboration with Hispania Nostra, Spain’s leading role in the heritage field at the European level, the Spanish site included in the 7 Most Endangered list 2016 and the proposed European Year of Cultural Heritage in 2018.
A selection of articles issued by Spanish media outlets can be accessed here
The presentation ceremony in Madrid and the winners of the EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Awards 2016, in particular the 7 Grand Prix laureates and the Public Choice Award winner, also received news coverage from many media outlets in various European countries.