許多歐洲城市日益將文化視為促進地區經濟、文化與社會發展的重要資產。在歐洲聯盟的框架下，文化政策最重要的實踐之一乃是文化節慶的舉辦，其中又以歐洲文化之都計畫最具代表性。始於1985 年，截至今日已有超過40 座城市獲得歐洲文化之都的頭銜。本文選取了2008 年歐洲文化之都英國利物浦作為研究個案，旨在探究以節慶為主導的區域發展策略以及相關議題。本文以官方研究報告 - Impacts 08 的分析為主，並輔以相關學術研究論文。研究結果從三個構面分析歐洲文化之都對於區域發展之貢獻，包含：（一）經濟層面：體驗經濟、都市再生與城市意象之發展；（二）文化層面：文化參與、文化供給與文創產業之成長；（三）社會層面：可及性與社會融合、地方感與認同、社會資本之強化。

Across Europe, many cities are considering culture as essential asset toboost their economic, cultural and social development. One of the majorpractices of cultural policy within the EU context is the staging of culturalevents, with the European Capitals of Culture (ECOC) as the most prominentexample. Started in 1985, more than 40 cities have been designated as ECOCso far. In this article, the 2008 ECOC Liverpool is selected as case study todemonstrate some of the key issues surrounding the event-led strategy ofregional development. The research is based on analysis of official documents -the Impacts 08 research program, supplemented by academic publications. Theresearch findings point to three dimensions in which the ECOC constitutes aboost for regional development: (1) economic dimensions: the development ofexperience economy, urban regeneration and city image; (2) culturaldimensions: the growth of cultural participation, cultural supply and creativeindustries; (3) social dimensions: the enhancement of accessibility and socialinclusion, sense of place and local identity, as well as social capital.