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In the year 2004, the subsidies that the European Community grants to its less-developed member countries in the Mediterranean basin will end, as the EC shifts its focus toward financing the development of its new members in Eastern Europe. So the elite leadership of the city of Barcelona decided that, in order to squeeze every last penny out of the EC development fund, they would have to invent a special event to justify an enormous financial investment. The Olympics had already been assigned, and for years the Barcelona City Council had been working to sell a new image of the city to the outside world, using slogans that have been growing in popularity in recent years: “The City of Peace,” “The Multicultural City,” “The Sustainable City”…Even if, among the organizers of the “Universal Forum of Cultures” in 2004, there were a group of cultural promoters that were truly committed to certain of the supposed “contents” to be discussed during the 6-month event, these cultural interests have been totally squashed by the speculative and business interests taking part in the Forum, which since the beginning of the organization of the event have doubtlessly imposed themselves above all other interests. What is left is the rhetoric of the three “axes” that the Forum turns upon, which are nothing more than buzzwords used to call for general consent: “Peace,” “Diversity,” “Sustainability.” …And a huge emphasis on “Participation,” another very popular word.
