ESU Submits Application to UNESCO for Recognition of European Funfair Culture

At the end of March, the European Showmen‘s Union (ESU) submitted an application for recognition of the European funfair culture to UNESCO after several years of work, as the international association now announced. The European showmen‘s representatives worked with international cultural experts to prepare the application documents, which include a comprehensive justification as well as a video documentation financed by the ESU on the cultural-historical significance of showmanship and funfairs in Europe. “There is a long way behind us, we can be very proud of our work,“ emphasises Albert Ritter, president of ESU.

In Belgium and France, funfair culture has already been included in the UNESCO national register, so these two countries submitted the application on behalf of the association. “This is a a prerequisite for the nomination of a cultural form, such as the European fairground culture, for one of the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage Lists. Countries where fairgrounds culture is nationally recognised at a later stage can be integrated into the multinational application,“ explains Steve Severeyns, ESU general secretary. The ESU expects a final decision by the end of 2022. (eap)