December 13, a capital celebrates!

December 13 is fast approaching, and as it has done every year since that historic moment, Bourges 2028 has decided to celebrate its anniversary with you all in 2023! How will we celebrate this collective adventure? By creating, sharing, and dancing… a day designed just for you. A taste of what 2028 will be like: festive, participatory, popular, and creative.

In the morning: the CR!EUSES and CR!EURS take the stage

10 a.m.
We start the day at La Mère Poule with the long-awaited announcement of the first CR!EUSES and CR!EURS graduates.
This is an opportunity to recall the enthusiasm generated by this first edition, the uniqueness and innovations of this one-of-a-kind call for projects, and to introduce the faces of those who will set the region alight with their creativity… starting in 2026.

12h00
This announcement will be followed by a social gathering at the Halle au Blé, where attendees can meet and discuss issues related to creativity and food with local merchants, in the presence of the Bourges 2028 team.

Afternoon: Europe in creative mode

14h30
Come to the Bourges 2028 headquarters at 36 rue Moyenne for participatory art workshops based on the European flag, led by Frédéric Terrier and his incredible team from Les Mille Univers. It will be a fun and creative event where everyone, young and old alike, can discover Europe through art and creativity in a cheerful atmosphere.

In the evening: Place Gordaine, your new favorite dance floor

19h30
And because a Bourges 2028 anniversary without a party… isn’t really an anniversary, Place Gordaine will be transformed into an open-air stage. On the program: a committed, sunny, five-star lineup mixing softness, pulsating rhythms, and raw energy: O C’EST NOUS, Nerlov, and Good Berry!

An anniversary that already feels like 2028!
From creative mornings to nighttime dancefloors, December 13 promises one thing: to show that Bourges 2028 continues to move forward, to invent, to take us on a journey…

The Bourges 2028 team tells you more about this crazy day

Caroline Peigney, Rural CR! Project Manager:
“For this first edition of CR!, we received 185 applications from across the Centre-Val de Loire region, covering a wide variety of projects ranging from music and dance to ceramics, photography, scientific research, and more. Amateurs, professionals, associations, independent artists—all kinds of people responded to the call with ambitious, exciting projects that will have an impact on our region! Determined to join us in inventing and creating our territories of the future.”

Pascal Keiser, General commissioner :
“The Halle au Blé is an iconic site in our CEC, so it was important for us to meet the people who bring it to life today and who will continue to do so tomorrow. We are delighted to have shared this convivial lunch together.”

Louise Tournillon, International relations manager::
“Few people know this, but December 13, 1955 marks the official inauguration of the European flag. To celebrate our second anniversary, we wanted, together with Les Mille Univers, to pay tribute to this symbolic anniversary, which reminds us how central Europe is to the Bourges 2028 project. That’s what being a European Capital of Culture is all about: showing that Europe can be close, concrete, tangible, and that everyone can connect with it through creativity.”

Frédéric Hocquard, General delegate::
“We invite you all to join us in blowing out the two candles of Bourges 2028. And starting on the evening of the 13th, we will begin writing the next chapter together. This Capital will be festive and popular. And it starts now!”