Open Access

Helmut K. Anheier, Janet Merkel, Katrin Winkler

• Prolonged restrictions on public life and the closure of many cultural activities during the COVID-19 pandemic affected urban cultural ecosystems profoundly. Cities worldwide responded to this challenge with a variety of policy measures. Yet how do the cultural policy responses to the COVID-19 pandemic compare across major cultural capitals, and what have been the experiences so far? Which cultural policy developments and frameworks helped or hindered their responses? How did the various governance arrangements affect cultural policy agendas and strategies during the crisis? In this study, we review the cultural policy responses of Berlin, London, New York, Paris and Toronto during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic through the lens of their respective governance capacities. Specifically, we seek to identify initial insights and lessons learned for more effective and resilient urban cultural policies in future.