Valencia Accelerates Its Music City Strategy Through International Exchange with the Music Cities Network

In December 2025, Valencia hosted the Music Cities Network (MCN) Summit, bringing together international city representatives, policymakers, and local stakeholders for an intensive working exchange. As one of Europe’s most forward-thinking Music Cities, Valencia used this moment to connect its independently driven Music City strategy and dedicated Music City Office - working alongside the Mayor’s Office - with MCN’s global network, reinforcing its position on a highly innovative and leading path.

Valencia approached the summit as a working moment, openly addressing key challenges, including fragmented governance, pressure on public space, and gaps in coordination, representation, and economic sustainability. Through direct exchange with peer cities, it quickly became clear that these challenges are widely shared across Europe. This shift -from isolated issues to shared patterns - enabled a more focused, solution-oriented discussion grounded in tested approaches and real policy experience.

A central strength of the summit was the direct interaction between local and international actors.

Valencia’s stakeholders engaged with peers from across the network, opening new pathways for collaboration and long-term exchange. This real-time dialogue not only provided targeted input and guidance, but also actively supported and accelerated Valencia’s ongoing strategic development - demonstrating the value of continuous international exchange as part of a dynamic policy process.

The outcomes were immediate and actionable. The discussions highlighted the need for:

• more coordinated governance structures across departments and stakeholders

• stronger integration of music into urban policy frameworks and city strategy

• broader inclusion of artists, technicians, and mid-level professionals in decision-making processes

• improved use of data, shared tools, and long-term capacity building

At the same time, the summit reaffirmed the strength of Valencia’s existing approach. Its independent strategy, combined with an embedded Music City Office structure, provides a solid foundation for long-term, cross-departmental development and positions the city as a frontrunner in shaping contemporary Music City policy.

The summit also contextualised Valencia’s economic challenges - such as rising operational costs, changing audience behaviour, and pressure on mid-sized venues - within a wider European transition. This opened up new perspectives on funding mechanisms, cross-sector collaboration, and more resilient ecosystem models.

For MCN members, Valencia provided a case in progress and a path leader at the same time - a city actively shaping its strategy while setting a strong example for innovative, integrated Music City development. The exchange reinforced a key principle of the network -cities do not only share success stories, but work through challenges together, generating collective intelligence that can be adapted locally.

The summit outcomes, therefore underline Valencia’s position on a highly innovative path as one of the leading Music Cities to date - supported and accelerated through real-time exchange within the MCN network - and further strengthened by its independent strategy and the Music City Office alongside the Mayor’s Office. The following case study outlines how this trajectory is being translated into concrete next steps.