Dear Friends of New Orleans & Company,
Exciting breaking news! New Orleans & Company is excited to announce that New Orleans has been designated a ‘Creative City” for Music by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN), joining nine other US cities and giving our musicians, music economy and our community prestigious global recognition and opportunities to connect and create impact with other international Creative Cities.
UNESCO is the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations with the aim of promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. The UNESCO Creative Cities committee looks for cities that demonstrate a deep, authentic integration of creativity into their urban development—where culture is not an accessory but a driving force for economic, social, and environmental progress. They prioritize places with a proven commitment to collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability, showing both a rich creative heritage and a forward-looking vision that benefits the entire community.
New Orleans & Company partnered with the city of New Orleans and a VIP advisory board throughout the application process and officially submitted the application in March 2025 on behalf of our city. Now New Orleans will join 407 other member cities, including only 10 US cities, spanning 100 countries in the UCCN. The Creative City of Music designation recognizes cities that have identified music as a strategic factor for their growth and promotes cooperation among them. It also allows our city and our culture bearers to be part of the UNESCO international network. This designation also gives New Orleans a seat at the table for future UNESCO World Heritage Site designations and global events.
The announcement was made today, October 31 – the Global Observance of World Cities Day – in Bogotá, Colombia, under the topic of people-centered smart cities. The day celebrates global efforts to build equitable, prosperous, sustainable, and inclusive cities that provide their communities with better living environments and quality of life. We share these values at New Orleans & Company …. one of our strategic goals is to make New Orleans a great place to live, work and visit.
I am incredibly proud of the work our team has done over the past few years to connect with other Creative Cities and advocate for New Orleans’ inclusion in the network. Not only does this UCCN Creative Cities designation fortify our seat at the global table, but it opens avenues for our community to connect with others in the industry in new and exciting ways.
To see the full press release, please click here and help us share the good news with all of your stakeholders. For more information, please see our UNESCO website at www.neworleans.com/new-orleans-unesco-creative-city-for-music.
Thanks for your partnership.
Sincerely,
Walter J. Leger III
President & CEO
New Orleans & Company
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.neworleans.com ’
