The consumption of culture – the case of European Capital of Culture Wrocław 2016

The aim of this paper is to analyse the participation in culture from a perspective of the urban consumption system and urban cultural policies. The participation in culture is interpreted, both in a descriptive way as a categorial collection of practices of spending leisure time, as well as from a functional point of view – an aspect of city-ness. This article examines results of the study employing the CATI research method, conducted with the participation of citizens of the Wrocław agglomeration. It explored the influence of the mass distribution of cultural events, linked to the European Capital of Culture celebrations, on widening the access to culture and on the aims of cultural policy