The Breton city of Lorient officially supports Oviedo’s bid to become European Capital of Culture 2031

Oviedo’s bid to become European Capital of Culture in 2031 continues to gain international support. The latest to join is the Mayor of Lorient, Fabrice Loher, who has sent an official letter to Oviedo’s Mayor, Alfredo Canteli, expressing the Breton city’s “strong support” for Oviedo’s aspiration to become a European cultural reference in six years’ time.

In his letter, dated 13 October, Loher highlights the “deep ties” that unite Lorient and Oviedo, built upon their “shared belonging to the Interceltic space” and a “common vision of a Europe of culture and diversity.” The French mayor also underlines that the Asturian capital “powerfully embodies a living Celtic identity, deeply rooted in its musical, linguistic, and artistic traditions.”

Lorient is world-renowned for its Interceltic Festival, which each summer brings together thousands of musicians, dancers, and artists from the Celtic regions of Europe — including a strong representation from Asturias. In this context, Mayor Loher emphasizes his city’s commitment to strengthening the bonds between Celtic nations and expresses his willingness to take part in future interceltic initiatives arising from Oviedo’s bid. “It will be a true pleasure,” he adds in a handwritten note at the end of the letter, as a gesture of warmth and enthusiasm.

Lorient’s support carries significant symbolic and diplomatic weight, coming from one of Europe’s main hubs of Celtic culture and a city that has maintained close ties with Asturias for decades. Fabrice Loher is also a prominent political figure in France: before being elected mayor in 2020, he held various institutional posts and, briefly, served as Delegate Minister in the French Government in 2024. His endorsement therefore represents an important cultural and institutional boost for Oviedo’s candidacy, which seeks to place the city on the European map of contemporary creativity.

With Lorient’s support, the Asturian capital gains a strategic partner within the Celtic European network and fresh moral momentum for a project that aims to present to the continent a vision of Asturias as a modern, creative region proud of its identity.