The verdict on whether Valletta will be the culture capital of Europe in 2018 was announced against the backdrop of Caravaggio’s masterpiece, the Beheading of St John, and the tension could be cut with a knife.

“The jury has reached a unanimous decision,” said Manfred Gaulhofer, chairman of the selection board. The suspense was palpable.

“There is the will, drive and ambition as well as the strongly needed esteem to make Valletta European Capital of Culture of Europe in 2018.”

A resounding, lengthy applause, echoed through St John’s Oratory as camera lights – usually prohibited in the room – flashed across the room as Mr Gaulhofer and Culture Minister Mario de Marco shook hands.

Taking note of Caravaggio’s St Jerome behind them, Mr Gaulhofer remarked: “This is probably the most wonderful setting ever for a Culture City press conference.”

It was a one-city race, really: Valletta had no competition from any other Maltese city. However, it was still not a straightforward win.

“It was a difficult decision because although there was only one city from Malta, it had been made clear during pre-selection that the standards and requirements still had to be met,” said Mr Gaulhofer.

Nine months ago, the selection team came over to assess the bid and made recommendations to the V-18 team in charge of promoting the city.

Four members of the jury went round the city yesterday morning to assess whether the suggestions had been taken up. They walked, they saw and they were persuaded that Valletta deserved the prestigious title.

Despite the announcement, the V-18 team still cannot rest on their laurels, for a report will be drawn up highlighting the things that still need to be worked upon. “One of the issues is that Malta is a very small country at the periphery of the EU and there is a certain tendency to be very inward-looking and focus on Malta,” Mr Gaulhofer said.

The V18 has to bring in an overall more European aspect – all in the name of improving the well-being of the Maltese people.

A European advisory and monitoring panel will monitor Valletta’s progress. If it lives up to it, Valletta will get the Melina Mercuri prize, worth up to €1.5 million.

Culture Minister Mario de Marco paraphrased John F. Kennedy in his acceptance speech: “We are all proud to be Maltese today. I’m proud of all of us.”

The nomination, which will be validated in May 2013, was not a complete surprise, although even the minister was not taking anything for granted.

“I am slightly superstitious, so I don’t take anything as a given,” he joked, adding that he was convinced that Valletta had all the credentials to be accepted as the European City for Culture in 2018.

The title won’t mean that there’ll be a few street programmes here and there, but it is all about the legacy that 2018 will leave behind it.

“What I want to emphasise is that between now and 2018 we have to invest in our infrastructure. There are various flagship projects we would like to carry outbetween now and 2018. This also includes the work that we’ll carry out with children – the human resource that will benefit from the legacy of the 2018,” said Dr de Marco.

He pledged his help to the artistic community. “It is never ‘viable’ to be an artist but we have to help them, that’s why we’ve launched so many incentives... We believe that we’re not subsidising culture but that we’re subsidised by it.”

He said that St John’s Co-Cathedral reflected the Maltese islands: “The austere facade of this building hides all the surprising riches inside.

“And Malta is like that. It is an island that surprises and defies expectations,” he said.

The news was welcomed by Labour Party culture spokesman Owen Bonnici, who pledged the party’s cooperation so that 2018 would be etched “in golden letters” in Malta’s cultural history.

He said that 2018 would show what our population could do when “it’s united in a fist for the common good”.

After 2018, Malta is scheduled to be nominated for the European Culture Capital for 2031.

Shared title

First launched in 1985, the annually-appointed European Capital for Culture initiative aims to galvanise the chosen city’s cultural output while striving to increase tourism in the region.

Valletta will be ‘sharing’ the title along with a city from The Netherlands, which still has to be selected.