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
UK City of Culture 2013. The working group stated in its report that the same calendar of events, such as hosting the Brit Awards, should not be staged by each designated City of Culture. Rather, they suggested that the events held in the city should be decided on a case-by-case basis. The report lists possible core events, including those run by the BBC, Sony, the Poetry Book Society, the UK Film Council, the Tate, VisitEngland, VisitBritain, the Museums Association, the Heritage Lottery Fund, English Heritage, Channel 4 and the Arts Council England. Following the report of the working group, Burnham's successor as Culture Secretary,