Magyar Posta is marking the events of the Veszprém-Balaton 2023 European Capital of Culture by issuing a stamp. The black-numbered perforated edition and the red-numbered imperforated edition of the souvenir sheet as well as the miniature sheet designed by the graphic artist Luca Lakatos were produced by Pénzjegynyomda Zrt., and will be available for sale at first day post offices and Filaposta in Hungary from 2August 2023 but may also be ordered from Magyar Posta’s online store.
The title European Capital of Culture came into being at the suggestion of Melina Mercouri, the actress and minister of culture of Greek origin, and is now a mainstay of the European Union’s cultural policy. The programme was launchedby Athens in 1985 and has gone from strength to strength ever since.
The title European Capital of Culture aims to raise awareness of the common space of European culture being created by the joint contribution of the various countries and cities. It uses the language of the arts to convey that European culture is our common value and is always the result of the cultural activity of the given region.
Through the cultural products created there, the city holding the title together with its region becomes the focus of European attention, thereby enhancing the city’s image, boosting the efficiency of the local creative industry and making the area more attractive for tourists. In addition to the Veszprém-Balaton region, Timișoara and Elefsina have also become European Capitals of Culture in 2023. The programme of the VEB2023 ECoC was devised based on a complex concept containing 9 clusters. Of these 9 clusters, MUSIC/CITY were chosen to appear on the stamp in view of the fact that Veszprém has previously won the UNESCO City of Music title. The other 8 clusters feature in the stamp designs of the miniature sheet: BRIDGES; BEYOND; THE BUSY WORLD OF VESZPRÉM; REGION, ALIVE; REFLECTION; OUT-OF-THE-ORDINARY; CELEBRATION, and FRAGILE BALATON. The first day cover (FDC) and the imprint of the special postmark on the cover bear the VEB2023 ECoC logo.
