Although the organizers of Tartu and south Estonia's year as European Capital of Culture can be largely satisfied with the final results, the effort must continue in order to ensure a lasting impact.

Almost 3,100 events were organized as part of Tartu's year as European Capital of Culture, attracting more than 1.3 million visitors. While the planned budget for the Capital of Culture project was €24.5 million, the actual budget ended up being over €12 million higher than that.

The main reasons behind this difference came down to the need for certain projects to source their own additional funding or co-financing.

This included €2.6 million in external funding. According to the organizers, this may be a small amount in the European context, but the impact of that amount on southern Estonia has to be taken into account.

"You always have to understand the context. Clearly, for a small country, these numbers are smaller. I think we have to think about what it gave us as a whole, what was done with that money. These are the numbers we can present today," said Erni Kask, European Commission expert on Capitals of Culture.

According to a Norstat survey, 68 percent of residents in the south of Estonia attended events that fell under the Capital of Culture umbrella. The survey does not provide data on visitors from other parts of Estonia.

According to Jorma Sarve, program director of the cultural management curriculum at the University of Tartu's Viljandi Culture Academy, one of the most notable findings in the report is that the public gave the Capital of Culture program an average rating of 8.9 out of 10.

"Considering our introverted nature and Nordic calmness, I think that no matter how you look at this number, it is a high score," Sarv said.

"Visitor satisfaction depends very much on when you ask people. If you ask right at the door, for example, whether they liked it, the response may be positive; if you ask later, it could be different," explained Kristina Kuznetsova-Bogdanotitš, lecturer in cultural management at the University of Tartu.

"We should move beyond the numbers and also consider that even if we find out that these numbers paint a picture that raises certain questions, we need to investigate them further and deal with them in order to understand how to use this information," Kuznetsova-Bogdanotitš added.

According to experts, the broader impact of the Capital of Culture comes down to contacts made elsewhere in Europe, as well as the work that continues to be done in the cultural field thanks to the experience of having been Capital of Culture.

"The mindset and the contacts established with Europe will remain. You have many people and team members who are now part of the international community. We now have more knowledge about Tartu in Europe," said Beatriz Garcia, an expert on large-scale projects.

The main points from "Tartu 2024: A Story of Survival" can be found here.

The full report is available here.

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