This year all of Spain’s candidatures – Flamenco, the Mediterranean diet, falconry, the ‘Canto de Sibilia’ from Majorca and ‘los Castells’ from Catalonia have been accepted by UNESCO for inclusion in its World Cutlural Heritage list.

The Mediterranean diet is known to be at least 9000 years old and is not just a healthy way to eat. According to experts it is also art, culture and a way of life.

The ‘Canto de sibilia’ from Majorca is still performed in churches in Majorca and in 2003 it was declared to be of special cultural interest by the regional government of Majorca.

‘Los castells’ is a typical tradition in many parts of Catalonia which consists of building human castles.

The United Arab Emirates, Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Korea, Mongolia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Morocco also included falconry on their lists of candidatures for this year’s World Cultural Heritage list.

The news that Flamenco, has been accepted by UNESCO was greeted by a standing ovation in the Andalucian Flamenco Agency and a number of flamenco artists gathered to celebrate their success.

It is the second time that the Spanish government included flamenco as a candidature for UNESCO’s World Cultural Heritage.

The Minister of Culture said that she was very proud and satisfied that Spain’s cultural heritage has gained UNESCO recognition and said that it put more pressure on governments around the world to commit themselves to preserving culture.

The president of Andalucia placed a message on Facebook and Twitter ‘congratulating the whole of Andalucia’ and said that Flamenco was not just ‘part of Andalucia’s heritage but that it formed part of all humanity’s cultural heritage’.

Depsite the fact that the UNESCO meeting where the final list was compiled took place in Kenya there were no African candidatures this year.

However, the Spanish government says that it is committed to encouraging African states to present candidatures next time around.