The project was named "Essen for the Ruhr", which meant that the title was held by the city of Essen, whilst involving the whole Ruhr region. 

The main four artistic themes of the programme were: 

• city of arts
• city of cultures
• city of possibilities
• city of creativity

The cultural programme of Pécs 2010 incorporated 650 projects including 4 675 events addressing the themes of: 

• cultural heritage
• education and learning
• environmental culture
• health care
• religious culture

Istanbul featured a programme on culture with many innovative elements and on renovation and refurbishment of cultural heritage sites and venues. 

The programme was focused on four elements earth, air, water and fire, which were said to have special meaning to Istanbul.