Thursday, September 18, 2008

Airbus backs Toulouse's candidacy to be 2013 European Capital of Culture

Tom Enders will be in Paris on 16 September to support and present Toulouse's candidacy to be the European Capital of Culture in 2013. He will be part of the official delegation led by Pierre Cohen, Député and Mayor of Toulouse, to face the European jury that will decide the winning city. Airbus, Toulouse and Europe are intrinsically linked. Airbus employs some 16,000 people of more than 80 different nationalities in the city, the cradle of the European company for nearly 40 years. Toulouse provides them with a favourable environment in which they have been able to bring all their knowledge to bear for the benefit of this unique high-tech company. 

Airbus has committed itself as a Founding Member of the Toulouse 2013 Partners' Club, and Tom Enders is the Club's President. This Club, initially set up by eight Founding Members, today federates more than 1,200 companies behind the Toulouse 2013 candidacy, and they have contributed € 1.3 million in 2008 to the project's overall budget. 

Moreover, the Toulouse 2013 Partners' Club is planning to go further still: it will set up a Foundation that will contribute a total of € 25 million (28% of the overall budget), to the budget of the European Capital of Culture if Toulouse is chosen. 

"If Airbus is committing itself to this project, it is because Toulouse really does deserve to be the European Capital of Culture", said Tom Enders, Airbus President and CEO. "This label was launched to help bring the people of Europe closer together. And, for nearly forty years Toulouse and Airbus have effectively been working to give life to this visionary idea borne both by Europe's founding fathers - Robert Schumann, Konrad Adenauer, Jean Monnet, … - and the people who created Airbus - Roger Béteille, Henri Ziegler, Félix Kracht…. This is why Airbus, the first truly European company, and the other members of the Partners' Club are supporting the Toulouse 2013 candidacy", added Tom Enders. 

In support of this campaign, Airbus is using the Beluga super transporter to promote Toulouse's candidacy for European Capital of Culture. The A300-600, specially designed to transport components from French, British, German and Spanish production sites to the Final Assembly Lines located in Toulouse and Hamburg, making more than twenty flights a month. The Beluga has been criss-crossing Europe since June 2008 - proudly (15 by 3.70 metres) - sporting the colours of Toulouse 2013. 

Furthermore, on 2 September Airbus welcomed a delegation of jury members and fifty CEOs and Presidents of companies belonging to the Partners' Club to present the contribution the Club is planning to make to Toulouse 2013. 

The European Capital of Culture label would honour the close ties that exist today between economy and culture, and would encourage other European cities, regions and companies to follow the trail blazed by Toulouse and Airbus. 

Airbus is an EADS company.

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