European Capital of Culture 2013 is the last link in the chain of a 30-year regeneration policy for Marseille. However, despite the fact that Marseille is the core city of the application, Marseille Provence 2013 actually gathers 130 communes. The main objective of the article is to discuss the ground roots and the challenges of the application for the city and its urban area. The paradoxes faced by Marseille Provence 2013 as well as how the bid fits in with the overall regeneration strategy of Marseille and how it rests on non-traditional cultural facilities are analysed in this paper.