ABSTRACT
Culture is a sector that has become more prominent in urban development strategies in recent years. A culturally driven growth strategy was visible in the northern Swedish city of Umeå when it served as the European Capital of Culture in 2014. The choice of Umeå as the Swedish ECoC was heavily dependent on its focus on Sami culture. Single events within the yearlong programme were mostly to be found within the city of Umeå, while Sami culture and other regional cultural expressions were part of representations of northern spaces transcending the place space of urban Umeå. This spatial duality, reflected in the Umeå2014 programme, is partly reproduced in Umeå’s general promotion endeavours. The city is branded as a young, open, growing city and as part of a larger regional setting containing natural and regional resources, including Sami culture. This chapter is based on literature review, thematic analysis of websites for Umeå2014, documents from the Umeå municipality, and on the author’s direct observations. Analysis of the spatial dimensions expressed through single events included in the Umeå2014 programme year reveals mixed spatial references, with a particular focus on northern spaces.
