The figure shows the cumulative number of regions hosting the event by their structural funds eligibility. Most hosts and all hosts before 1997 belong to the more-developed regions classification (by2023 36 regions). After 2000, more and more less-developed and transition regions were awarded the European Capitals of Culture title. Less-developed regions were chosen more predominantly than transition regions. The former increased from one host in 1997 to 20 in 2923, while the latter increased from one host in 1999 to six in 2023.
The EU uses the classification into less-developed regions (GDP per capita below 75% of the EU average), transition regions (between 75% and 90% of the EU average) and more-developed regions (above 90% of the EU average) to allocate structural funds.