The Genoa European Capital of Culture 2004 provides a strong example of a heritage-led redevelopment approach where the city used the event as the mechanism to implement a large urban restoration program, integrated within a broader long-term city strategy.

The Lille 2004 ECoC programme attracted around 9 million people to 2 500 events and featured around 17 500 cultural producers. One of its most iconic initiatives was the transformation of a former textile conditioning warehouse in Roubaix into La Condition publique, inaugurated during the Lille 2004 event as a dynamic cultural “manufacture” now hosting exhibitions, performances, studios, and residencies.