Berlin: A World City of Culture
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(© Colourbox)
Berlin is well known as a top international city, a reputation that is reinforced by the recently released World Cities Culture Report 2012. The report examines 12 world cities on the basis of 60 cultural indicators and is a “celebration of world cities as crucibles of human creativity and endeavor.” With 3.5 million inhabitants Berlin is the smallest of all the cities examined, however it packs plenty of culture into its space and population.
It is estimated that nearly 40 percent of all Berliners attend its main cultural festival, Carnival of Cultures, each year, a higher percentage than any of the other cities profiled. Berlin is a top destination for international tourists. According to the report, the number of international tourists per year equals nearly 83 percent of the city’s population, putting it behind only London and Paris. Berliners also like their movies, with 77 cinema screens per million population. Only Paris has more screens. The population of Berlin takes full advantage of public libraries with 6.81 book loans per capita per year. Only Tokyo and New York have a higher number of book loans.
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(© Land Berlin/Thie)
The report is not meant as the last word about the cultural importance of world cities. As Berlin and other world cities continue to grow and their cultural offerings evolve, they will have the World Cities Culture Forum as a platform to exchange ideas, highlight their own cultural contributions and help define future cultural research.
Berlin Highlights in the World Cities Culture Report 2012
* Number of national museums – 18 (3rd place)
* Number of other museums – 140 (2nd place)
* Number of UESCO World Heritage Sites – 3 (2nd place)
* Number of admissions at main film festival – 484,860 (1st place)
* Number of cinema screens per million population – 77 (2nd place)
* Number of foreign films given theatrical releases in country per year – 315 (3rd place)
* Number of international tourists per year as percent of city population – 82.99 (3rd place)
* Number of book loans by public libraries per capita per year – 6.81 (3rd place)
