Our Warmest Welcome to the New Cities of Literature
Publicerad 3 november 2025
Along with the other 52 designated Creative Cities of Literature from 39 countries across the globe, Gothenburg City of Literature is delighted to welcome ten additional Cities of Literature to our literary family. We extend a special welcome to our new sister city, Lund.
Ten New Cities of Literature included in the Creative Cities Newtork
On 31 October, UNESCO announced the designation of 58 new Creative Cities in total across eight artforms to join its Creative Cities Network, making for a total of 408 Creative Cities from more than 100 countries worldwide.
Among these new Creative Cities, ten have been designated in Literature: Aberystwyth (Wales); Abuja (Nigeria); Celje (Slovenia); Conakry (Guinea); Dumaguete City (Philippines); Gdańsk (Poland); Kahramanmaraş (Türkiye); Lund (Sweden); San Luis Potosi (Mexico); and Tangier (Morocco).
The UNESCO Creative Cities of Literature extend their congratulations and a warm welcome to their new sibling Cities and look forward to collaborating to promote the power of literature for sustainable and inclusive societies.
Kjartan Már Ómarsson, Program Manager of Reykjavík UNESCO City of Literature and Creative Cities of Literature Network Lead welcomed the new members:
“We warmly welcome the new Cities of Literature to our global network. Their creativity, diversity, and commitment to the written word will strengthen our collective mission to place culture and storytelling at the heart of sustainable and inclusive urban development.”
Gothenburg City of Literature Welcomes Lund as its Sister City
As a City of Literature, Gothenburg joins the Unesco network in its welcome, and look forward to sharing, collaborating and working together in a network of cities that spans the globe, for literature and a more sustainable future.
Among the new cities of Literature, we find Sweden's second City of Literature, Lund. Gothenburg already enjoys a close relationship with the university town, known for its strong academic foundations and rich literary heritage, a special relationship we are glad to continue to develop in the wake of these news.
Joakim Albrektson, Focal Point, Gothenburg City of Literature:
"Lund and Gothenburg have so much in common, not least our dedication to supporting democracy and freedom of expression. I look forward to collaborating around artistic freedom of speech issues. In a time when 72% of the world's population live under autocratic conditions according to the latest V-dem report, the issue seems important to say the least."
Read more about the Cities of Literature
Unesco's Creative Cities Welcome New Members