Oviedo 2031 Submits Its Final Bid Book and Shares the Project with Asturias’ Cultural Community
Oviedo’s bid for European Capital of Culture 2031 has reached a decisive milestone with the submission of its final Bid Book to the Spanish Ministry of Culture on 3 November. The document sets out the cultural project with which Oviedo hopes to secure the European title in 2031, under the motto Amabilidá. Choose Utopia.
The submission marks the beginning of the final stage of the selection process, with the winning city expected to be announced in December. The Bid Book expands on the proposal presented during the first phase, further developing the artistic programme, European dimension, citizen participation, management model and funding strategy.
The project is the result of an extensive process of dialogue and collective work involving more than 1,000 people, over 200 interviews and nearly 100 meetings. It is a bid that extends beyond Oviedo, bringing together Asturias as a whole, its cultural sector, institutions and citizens around a shared vision.
The day concluded at Kuivi Almacenes, where the Oviedo 2031 team brought together artists, cultural professionals, institutional representatives and people involved in the bid to mark this important milestone and thank them for their contributions.
The gathering featured speeches by Rodolfo Sánchez Farpón, Director of Oviedo 2031, and Zoe López Mediero and PAula Mota, Co-Artistic Directors, who highlighted the work carried out over recent months and acknowledged the many individuals and organisations that have helped shape the proposal.
The event also included a speech by Lofacil and concluded with an informal gathering accompanied by music from DJ María Mieres, bringing together many members of the cultural community involved in the project.
The final Oviedo 2031 proposal places Amabilidá at the heart of its cultural vision: an approach to living together based on listening, care, dialogue and collaboration. Through the invitation to Choose Utopia, the bid presents culture as a means of imagining and building new ways of living together.
The transformation of the Fábrica de Armas de La Vega, one of Oviedo’s most emblematic industrial heritage sites, embodies this ambition: turning a former arms factory into a space dedicated to culture, creativity, knowledge and community life.
With the final Bid Book now submitted, Oviedo 2031 enters the last stage of the competition alongside the three other finalist cities: Cáceres, Granada and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. Regardless of the outcome, the project aims to leave a lasting legacy for Oviedo and Asturias by strengthening the cultural sector, encouraging citizen participation and deepening connections with Europe.
