New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025

The New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 announcement has become a major highlight in global current affairs and is highly important for SSC, UPSC, Railway, State PCS, and other competitive exams. This year, UNESCO added 58 new cities to its global UNESCO Creative Cities Network, expanding the total to 408 cities across more than 100 countries.

What makes the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 list special is the introduction of a new creative field – Architecture. This addition strengthens UNESCO’s mission of promoting creative heritage, cultural development, and innovation across the world.

Why This Topic Is Important for SSC Exams

• Frequently asked under Current Affairs, International Organisations, and Static GK.

• Covers concepts related to the UNESCO network, cultural cities, and creative fields.

• Useful for descriptive writing and interview preparation.

Understanding the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 list gives aspirants a strong edge in examinations.

What is the UNESCO Creative Cities Network?

The UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) connects cities that use culture and creativity as tools for sustainable development.

Cities join under categories like:

• Literature

• Music

• Film

• Gastronomy

• Crafts and Folk Art

• Media Arts

• Design

• Architecture (Added in 2025)

The New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 reflect the global expansion of this initiative, highlighting cities that excel in creativity and cultural innovation.

Key Highlights of the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025

The biggest update in the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 is the introduction of the Architecture category. Cities like Bistrița, Quito, Lusail, and Kashan are the first to be designated under this field. This move further strengthens the UNESCO cultural designation system and encourages urban planning, design excellence, and heritage preservation.

UNESCO’s 2025 update also focuses on expanding UNESCO gastronomy cities, UNESCO music and film cities, and cities preserving traditional crafts, literature, and digital creativity.

List of the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 (By Creative Category)

Literature

• Aberystwyth, Abuja, Celje, Conakry, Dumaguete City, Gdańsk, Kahramanmaraş, Lund, San Luis Potosí, Tangier

Music

• Evian, Kisumu, Korhogo, Kyiv, Lalitpur, Liège, New Orleans, Nikšić, Wuxi

Gastronomy

• Al-Madinah Al-Munawwarah, Cuenca, Kelowna, Lucknow, Manizales, Matosinhos, Quanzhou, San Javier de Loncomilla, Songkhla, Zaragoza

Crafts & Folk Art

• Andenne, Bobo-Dioulasso, Cheongju City, Echizen City, Faenza, Hebron, Höhr-Grenzhausen, Lubango, Masaya, Nan, Ponorogo, Safi, Sarchí, Sifnos

Film

• Giza, Ho Chi Minh City, Quezon City, São Paulo

Design

• Daugavpils, Kuala Lumpur, La Spezia, Riyadh

Architecture (New Category in 2025)

• Bistrița, Kashan, Lusail, Quito, Rovaniemi

Media Arts

• Malang, Varna

Memorising this list from the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 is crucial for SSC MCQs and match-the-pairs questions.

Why These Cities Were Selected

UNESCO evaluates cities based on:

• Cultural innovation and creativity

• Community-based programs

• Education and skill development efforts

• Promotion of creative industries

• Protection of creative heritage

For example, Abuja earned recognition for its powerful literacy programmes like Creative Writers Empowerment Workshops and Literacy by Radio. São Paulo, listed under Film, is developing inclusive cinema networks, while Lucknow gains attention for promoting sustainable food culture, strengthening its position among UNESCO gastronomy cities.

All these efforts helped these places secure their positions in the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025.

Benefits of Becoming a UNESCO Creative City

Joining the UNESCO Creative Cities Network brings many advantages:

• Boost in cultural tourism

• Global partnerships and collaborations

• Funding opportunities

• Growth in creative industries

• Employment generation in cultural sectors

• Improved community participation

• Preservation of cultural identity

For exams, it is important to understand the impact of UNESCO Creative Cities on local communities and how cultural cities benefit socially and economically.

These benefits explain why the New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 are considered an important milestone for sustainable development.

Final Thoughts

The New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 list features 58 cities added to the global UNESCO Creative Cities Network, expanding it to 408 cities worldwide. This year is especially notable because architecture was introduced as a creative field for the first time, with cities like Bistrița, Quito, Lusail, and Kashan joining under this category.

The updated list also includes cities recognised for literature, music, film, design, gastronomy, crafts and folk art, and media arts.

These New UNESCO Creative Cities 2025 highlight how culture, creativity, and local heritage are driving sustainable development and shaping community growth across the world.