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The very thought of Belfast going for the title of European Capital of Culture 2008 will raise an eyebrow or two. However, Belfast has the talent and innovation, and the pioneering spirit that once made the city the vanguard of the industrial world lives on. So why shouldn?t we go for it? asks Mike Wilson.

The European Capital of Culture title is a prestigious designation which will have a significant positive impact on ourselves, the city and the rest of Northern Ireland. Belfast is already reaping rewards from the bidding process. It is bringing together a diverse range of organisations and individuals who are working together, developing ideas, making a difference. Arts groups, organisations and individual practitioners are very much at the heart of the bid and have created closer ties between themselves and others through working on various projects.

Achieving the European Capital of Culture title will generate great interest in a different side to Belfast and Northern Ireland, which is all too often obscured from public view. It would be an opportunity to show the world the diverse cultural life and heritage that exists here. To share ideas, develop collaborative projects, and open Belfast up to the rest of Europe and the world, giving us the chance to learn from other countries.

It will also greatly improve the cultural infrastructure in all parts of the city, establishing new opportunities for artists and arts-based organisations, and providing people, from within and without Belfast, with increased access to cultural events and organisations and the chance to encounter different views and attitudes.

Imagine Belfast 2008 was recently established to put together the bid and over the last couple of months we have been talking to many organisations and individuals across the city. We aim to develop a cultural programme that will have a long lasting social, economic and cultural legacy for the benefit of all. We are not just putting together a programme for the year 2008 but an innovative and effective programme between now and 2008 which will have a legacy for years to come.

Although winning the title will bring social and economic dividends and add value to the cultural life of the city, more importantly the process that we all go through will have a profound affect on our self-confidence, our outlook for the future, reminding ourselves and the world that the people of Belfast, and the rest of Northern Ireland, still have that pioneering spirit and innovative talent that can create and implement exceptional ideas.

Mike Wilson is Marketing and Communications Manager of Imagine Belfast 2008 t: 028 9032 2008; e: mikewilson@imaginebelfast2008.co.uk