Guimarães 2012 European Capital of Culture
Municipality of Guimarães / City of Guimarães Foundation
Opium was responsible for developing the concept, strategy, and action plan for Guimarães’ candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture in 2012. The project was developed through a consultative process with stakeholders from the political, cultural, business, associative, and academic sectors in the city and region. The project involved preparing the ‘Bid Book’ and presenting it to the European Commission. Following their approval of the project, the city was awarded the title in May 2009.
Following this, Carlos Martins, founder and partner of Opium, took over as the executive manager of the event. He oversaw the overall coordination of the project’s programming, production, and communication. This included organizing over 2,000 events, catering to an estimated audience of more than 1.5 million people, all within a budget of approximately 41 million euros.