Skopje is starting to patch itself up ahead of 2028, when it will carry the title of European Capital of Culture. Through a rebalanced city budget, adopted at a session chaired by mayor Orce Gjorgjievski, the city is funding the reconstruction of several neglected cultural venues - and one new fire station.

On the list are the "Millennium" cinema, the "Brakja Miladinovci" library and the planetarium at the Youth Cultural Centre. Buildings that generations of Skopje residents remember, and that stood in the half-shadows for years, now get a shot at renewal - precisely because the city has to look the part when Europe comes to visit.

And here lies a quiet question. Why do cultural institutions get attention only when there's a foreign deadline and foreign guests? The cinema, the library and the planetarium were needed by the public long before the "capital of culture" title showed up. If a European label is what finally unlocks the money, fine - but what happens to them after 2028, when the floodlights go out?

For now, what matters is that things are moving. The new fire station promises a faster response and greater safety, while the renovated cultural venues can breathe life back into the city. The question isn't whether Skopje will be ready for the guests - it's whether the renewal will still be there once the guests have left.