O Governo foi recentemente a Guimarães realizar um conselho de ministros. Na oportunidade, a ministra da cultura, que pode até ser excelente pessoa mas que tem um terrivel ar de desmazelada, tornou público que a aposta de Portugal para a candidatura a capital europeia da cultura em 2012 será a cidade-berço. Para os lados de Coimbra e Braga, a coisa azedou porque também concorriam ao evento. Mas, afinal de contas porque haverá tanto interesse em organizar estes eventos? A questão merece a atenção de um artigo do European Urban and Regional Studies (Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 41-57) que se debruça sobre o impacto económico em Salamanca, no ano 2002. O artigo intitulado "The Economic Impact of Cultural Events: A Case-Study of Salamanca 2002, European Capital of Culture" é da autoria de Luis César Herrero, José Ángel Sanz, María Devesa, Ana Bedate, e María José del Barrio.
"The artistic and cultural activities have not only a key cultural and social value, but also an undeniable economic impact. Indeed, it is a fact that the cultural sector represents a productive branch which is growing in importance. The cultural factor is frequently used as a key element for regional and/or economic development. In this vein, this article aims to estimate the economic impact of Salamanca 2002 as the European Capital of Culture, using the methodology provided by the impact studies in two stages: first, through estimating private spending generated by the event's cultural tourism; and second, through calculating the overall economic impact, including the private spending on cultural consumption, public spending directly related to the cultural programme, investment in new equipment and facilities, along with the estimate of the multiplying effects on the overall regional and national economies."
