The latest World Cities Culture Summit, hosted in Amsterdam as part of the city’s 750th anniversary celebrations, brought together deputy mayors, policymakers and cultural leaders from 55 cities across the globe to discuss how culture can shape the cities of the future.
Over three days, more than 200 cultural leaders, including representatives from the creative industries, government, and urban policy sectors, shared insights and strategies on strengthening culture in a rapidly changing world. The Summit, established under the World Cities Culture Forum (WCCF), continues to serve as an important global gathering dedicated to advancing the role of culture in urban life.
Founded in London in 2012, the World Cities Culture Forum connects more than 45 cities worldwide, uniting local governments and cultural sector leaders in a shared mission to champion culture as a central pillar of sustainable urban development. The Forum also coordinates research and produces the World Cities Culture Report, a leading international publication on cultural policy and practice.
This year’s Summit marked the release of the 5th Edition of the World Cities Culture Report, offering a comprehensive overview of how cultural policy contributes to urban resilience, innovation and community wellbeing. Featuring data and analysis from over 40 cities and more than 125 city projects, the 2025 report highlights how creative policy and cultural infrastructure are shaping the world’s most dynamic urban centres.
Key sections of the report include:
- Key Findings, providing comparative city data and evidence of culture’s measurable contribution to urban life.
- Policy Insights, exploring major global trends such as protecting creative workspaces, expanding the night-time economy, addressing climate change, and supporting health and wellbeing through cultural participation.
- Regional Insights, offering a global overview alongside in-depth examinations of Africa and Latin America, where creative cities are growing rapidly.
- Data Explorer, a new interactive digital tool powered by the CREATIVE Data Framework, allowing users to explore city-by-city cultural and creative economy data.
- City Projects, showcasing practical case studies on heritage, youth and education, artist support, and cultural infrastructure.
In particular, the Data Explorer tool allows cities to track, compare and report in a more holistic fashion on the importance of culture and its changing dynamic. The World Cities Culture Report reaffirms culture’s essential role in making cities more inclusive, resilient and economically vibrant. As stated in the report’s introduction, cities are leading the way in demonstrating how cultural policy can drive innovation, social cohesion and sustainable development at both local and global scales.
For Adelaide City of Music, the findings strongly resonate with the UNESCO Creative Cities Network guiding principles. They reinforce the importance of integrating arts and culture into all aspects of urban planning, from community wellbeing and tourism to creative economy development.
As a UNESCO City of Music, Adelaide is proud to stand among global leaders advocating for a world where creativity and culture are recognised as essential ingredients of thriving cities.