Graz, Austria's second city, and this year's Cultural Capital of Europe, wins the British Guild of Travel Writers' coveted Globe Award

10 November 2003

PRESS RELEASE London, 10 October 2003

At their gala dinner held at The Savoy last night on the eve of World Travel Market, the British Guild of Travel Writers announced that Graz, this year's Cultural Capital of Europe has won the coveted Globe Award.

The Award is given to the best major tourism project worldwide that attracts over a quarter of a million visitors a year. Graz was nominated by Paul Wade and Kathy Arnold, who applauded the project organisers for fulfilling their promise to show that 'art and culture are the lifeblood, and the means of survival for enlightened and democratic societies.'

As Paul Mansfield, who supported the nomination, wrote in The Times, "It's the first time in several years that the title has been given to one city alone, and Graz is rising to the occasion with style and panache." In their nomination, Paul Wade and Kathy Arnold praised the city's multicultural approach, as well as its imaginative urban renewal projects. They said, "This year, Graz has staged everything from grand opera to a world street football championship for the homeless. Only hours from Hungary, Italy and the new nations of old Yugoslavia, Graz has always been a cultural melting pot."

An emotional Hansjürgen Schmölzer, Director of Marketing for the Graz 2003 campaign collected the commemorative plaque.

Previous winners of the Globe include: the Eden Project in Cornwall and the Balearic Eco-Tax.

10th November 2003

For further information and for images, please contact:
Mary Anne Evans
BGTW, T: 0778 6081 274
020-7242 5222
e-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

For details of Graz 2003, Cultural Capital of Europe, contact:
Karin Mrkvicka
Austrian National Tourist Office, London
Tel: 020 7629 6146
Web: www.graz03.at

Photographs of the Award Presentation are available from: www.simply-photography.co.uk. View Events.