Marseille-Provence 2013 of Marseille. "The New York Times" cited Marseille as number two on the places to visit in 2013 after Rio. Marseille also won the award for Best City in 2014 from "Wallpaper" magazine (along with San Francisco). Marseille was named ‘European City of the Year 2014’ by The Academy of Urbanism in London, a professional association of more than 500 British designers. An exhibition based on the Albert Camus archives was supposed to be organised in Aix-en-Provence by the sociologist and historian Benjamin Stora. However, Stora was removed from the project which led the French Ministry of Culture to withdraw
European Capital of Culture of designating an annual Capital of Culture to bring Europeans closer together by highlighting the richness and diversity of European cultures and raising awareness of their common history and values. It is strongly believed that the ECoC significantly maximises social and economic benefits, especially when the events are embedded as a part of a long–term culture-based development strategy of the city and the surrounding region. The Commission of the European Union manages the title and each year the Council of Ministers of the European Union formally designates European Capitals of Culture: more than 40 cities have been designated so far.