Thursday's concert opened the third Manchester International Festival, which aims to put the city on the global cultural map by hosting new works by respected performers.

BBC: Bjork opens Manchester International Festival

"The WNO really puts Wales on the cultural map and this programme and the funding that is making it possible will provide Wales with a very welcome boost on the world stage, " he said.

BBC: Welsh National Opera welcomes ?1.2m Getty family gift

Recognizing the urgency to protect and promote the invaluable cultural heritage of Pakistan, UNESCO and the Government of Pakistan have joined hands to map the cultural assets of the country.

UNESCO: CULTURE

Now in its second season, Jersey Shore not only lured 5.3 million viewers to its recent season opener (episode two shed only some 300, 000 of those viewers), but also put the once-cultural touchstone back on the map.

FORBES: Jersey Shore: The Critics Meet The Situation

The result is a new map of linguistic interweaving, of deep exchange and of mutual enrichment between two cultural areas.

UNESCO: Sharjah Prize for Arab Culture