It was in early July 2015 in Bonn in Germany that the 21 representatives of the State Parties to the UNESCO World Heritage Convention unanimously voted to include the Champagne Slopes, Houses and Cellars on the World Heritage List in the Living Cultural Landscapes category. The committee members recognized their Exceptional Universal Value and deemed that the protection and management conditions for the proposed property had been fulfilled.
This was an unforgettable moment for the Association des Paysages du Champagne, which has been spearheading and championing the application for eight years, for all the stakeholders and the people of the Champagne Region who have supported the application, which had close to 53,000 ambassadors. “My thoughts turn to all those who worked on the application, all the partners who supported this unique ndertaking, and the local people whose area has just received worldwide recognition. We have a date with history, our very own history!” said a delighted Pierre Cheval, the association’s president, following the official announcement.
On 4 July 2015, UNESCO’s world heritage committee met in Bonn for its 39th session, and voted to include Champagne’s slopes, Houses and cellars in its list of World Heritage sites.
The exceptional universal value of this asset was thus confirmed after eight years of work to prepare the submission. Champagne is a world asset, like the Climats of Burgundy that were listed on the same day.