Marseille-Provence 2013 Capital of Culture in March 2004 and later expanded their bid to include neighboring cities in Provence. A French jury selected Marseille as its choice in September 2008. In May 2009, the European Council officially announced that Marseille would be the European Capital of Culture in 2013 in parallel with the city of Košice in Slovakia. In 2006, the official Marseille-Provence 2013 association was created under French laws for non-profit organizations. It brought together members of both the public and private sectors and was first directed by Bernard Latarjet and then Jean-François Chougnet. The association administrative council was led by
European Green Capital Award 2015.The European Green Leaf is a new competition aimed at cities, with between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants, that recognises commitment to better environmental outcomes, with a particular accent on efforts that generate green growth and new jobs. The objectives of the European Green Leaf are threefold: The European Green Leaf will be presented on an annual basis by the European Commission in conjunction with the European Green Capital Award from 2015 onwards as a stamp of approval to "Smaller Cities, Growing Greener!" European Green Capital Award The European Green Capital Award is an award for a European city based on