How can countries select one city per year for the International Cultures Celebration?
Each participating nation runs an annual national City Showcase Competition to choose the one city that will represent it on the New York City stage. The process is intentionally flexible — designed to fit each country's institutional framework — but always includes four core elements:
1. Candidate city applications. Cities apply directly, or are nominated by tourism boards, chambers of commerce, ministries of culture, or cultural federations.
2. Public Voting. Eligible voters worldwide — including diaspora communities — cast verified votes to demonstrate national, diaspora, and international enthusiasm.
3. Qualification review. Candidates are evaluated across cultural heritage, tourism readiness, government support, pavilion concept, business engagement potential, education and diaspora capacity, Passport to the World activation plan, S.E.E.D. organization capacity, and Country Star availability.
4. Official national selection. The national government, ministry, or authorized national body formally selects the winning city — taking into account qualification review, Public Voting, and strategic considerations.
What is the role of Public Voting in the national selection process?
Public Voting helps demonstrate national, diaspora, and international enthusiasm for candidate cities. It is verified one-vote-per-individual (by email or phone) with duplicate detection. It produces a credible signal of public support that the national selecting authority can take into account.
Final recognition of the winning city remains subject to qualification review and official national approval, independent of public vote totals. Public Voting is one input among several — not an override of the official national selection authority.
Voters who participate are invited to register as Passport to the World traveler participants, beginning their journey in the cultural ecosystem regardless of which city is ultimately selected.
What is the national qualification review?
The qualification review assesses each candidate city across the dimensions that determine a strong NYC showcase:
• Government and municipal support
• Cultural heritage and performing-arts depth
• Tourism infrastructure and destination readiness
• Trade, business, and chamber engagement potential
• Education exchange and academic partnership capacity
• Diaspora community ties in NYC and North America
• Local Passport to the World activation plan
• S.E.E.D. Member Organization capacity
• Country Star availability and confirmation status
• Media and communications readiness
The review can be conducted by a national committee, ministry team, or authorized cultural/tourism body — the structure is up to each country.
When is the 2027 cycle calendar?
For the 2027 founding cycle:
• City applications open: now, worldwide
• Public Voting opens: 2026
• Application deadline: September 15, 2026
• Winning cities announced: September 21, 2026
• City preparation window: September 21, 2026 through June 5, 2027
• NYC International Cultures Celebration: June 5–12, 2027
For 2028 and every year thereafter: the competition opens January 1 and closes March 30; winning cities are announced April 7. This gives selected cities more than one year to prepare their local Celebration, activate Passport to the World, mobilize S.E.E.D. Member Organizations, secure sponsors, confirm Country Star participation, build media campaigns, and prepare delegations.
