Santa Marta Balances Tourism & diplomacy as it Hosts EU-CELAC Summit
Santa Marta, Colombia is experiencing a surge in visitors as it hosts the European Union – Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (EU-CELAC) summit. While accustomed to welcoming tourists, the city is navigating the logistical demands of hosting a large influx of heads of state, government officials, and business leaders alongside its regular stream of vacationers.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro deliberately chose Santa Marta, the oldest city founded by European colonizers in Colombia and the site of Simón Bolívar’s death, for the summit. He emphasized the city’s symbolic importance,repeatedly referring to it as “the heart of the world” in connection with the worldview of the local Kogi indigenous people,before whom he took his oath of office. Petro celebrated bringing 60 delegations to the city, highlighting its anthropological, geographical, energetic, and scientific beauty, and reiterating his slogan of “Colombia, the country of beauty.”
The Colombian government has paired the official summit agenda with a public-facing cultural program titled “Reunion in the heart of the world,” featuring concerts, conversations, and film screenings. This initiative, a collaboration between the Ministry of Culture, the city’s Mayor’s Office, and the Department’s Government, presents a critical perspective on the colonial past, contrasting with a more commemorative approach favored by the Mayor’s Office. Events included academic discussions like “The colonial turn,” moderated by National Archive director Francisco Flórez, alongside performances by artists such as Puerto Rican Andy Montañez, Dominican Vicente Martínez, and Colombian Nidia Góngora.
Alongside the main summit, Santa Marta is also hosting a business forum convened by the EU, the Colombian Government, CAF, and the IDB group. A civil society forum of Latin America,the Caribbean and the European Union also took place,welcoming European Commissioner for Equity Hadja Lahbib,Oxfam’s director for America and the Caribbean Gloria García Parra,and Colombian Vice Minister of Multilateral Affairs Mauricio Jaramillo. These events, combined with the summit, have pushed the city’s hotel capacity to its limit, with officials mingling with tourists and retirees along the beach stretching from the airport to the city center.
