New Orleans & Company, the official sales and destination marketing organisation for New Orleans’ tourism industry, has announced that New Orleans has been designated a Creative City for Music by the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN).
The announcement, made on World Cities Day 2025, sees New Orleans join a select group of nine other US Creative Cities, giving local musicians prestigious global recognition and opportunities with other international Creative Cities, which currently number 407 cities worldwide, across 100 countries.
New Orleans & Company partnered with the city of New Orleans and a VIP advisory board throughout the application process and officially submitted the application in March 2025.
The UNESCO Creative Cities committee looks for cities that demonstrate a deep, authentic integration of creativity into their urban development – where culture is a driving force for economic, social and environmental progress. They prioritise places with a proven commitment to collaboration, inclusivity, and sustainability, showing both a rich creative heritage and a forward-looking vision that benefits the entire community.
The Creative City of Music designation recognises cities that have identified music as a strategic factor for their growth and promotes cooperation among them. This designation also allows the city and its culture bearers to be part of the UNESCO international network, while giving New Orleans a seat at the table for future UNESCO World Heritage Site designations and global events.
“I am incredibly proud of the work our team has done over the past few years to connect with other Creative Cities and advocate for New Orleans’ inclusion in the network. Not only does this UCCN Creative Cities designation fortify our seat at the global table, but it opens avenues for our culture bearers to connect with others in the industry in a way never before possible,” said Walt Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “This recognition for our music community is well-deserved and will help ensure New Orleans’ rightful place as the most unique, remarkable and welcoming destination in the world.”
“Getting this designation is a tremendous achievement for the city of New Orleans. Music and its culture bearers are a major part of the fabric that makes New Orleans so special,” said New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell. “Becoming a UNESCO Creative City of Music opens doors to our culture bearers and will help us further amplify the positive social and economic impacts of New Orleans’ music industry.”
“New Orleans, Louisiana is home to some of the world’s most unique cultural heritage elements that have created the alchemy and foundation for musical genres such as Jazz, Rhythm and Blues, Rock and Roll, Bounce, and beyond,” said Bruce ‘Sunpie’ Barnes, member of the New Orleans UNESCO Creative Cities of Music Advisory Board. “As a lifelong educator, band leader of Sunpie and the Louisiana Sunspots, Big Chief of the Northside Skull and Bone Gang, and member of the Black Men of Labor Social Aid and Pleasure Club, I’m excited and proud that our city is joining the ranks of UNESCO Creative Cities. Through Stewardship, we can perpetuate and preserve our culture heritage for future generations.”
Alyssa Phares, Focal Point of Paducah UNESCO Creative City of Crafts & Folk Art, said: “Paducah proudly congratulates New Orleans on its designation as a UNESCO Creative City of Music. This recognition celebrates a legacy that has long inspired artists and audiences around the world. As a fellow Creative City, Paducah is thrilled to welcome New Orleans into the network and looks forward to the creative connections, shared learning, and cultural exchange that strengthen all of our communities. Creativity has a way of uniting us, and few places embody that spirit more than New Orleans.”
“The magnitude of this achievement for both the city of New Orleans and our music culture bearers cannot be understated,” added Jacob Peters, Executive Director of the Bayou District Foundation.
