Eurostat still applies the definition of cultural field which was agreed in 2000 by the European Leadership Group (LEG). It was decided to restrict the field to activities that were recognised as cultural by every Member State. For this reason, sports and tourism, for example, were excluded. The field of culture was then broken down into about sixty activities, cross-relating eight “domains” (artistic and monumental heritage, archives, libraries, books and press, visual arts, architecture, performing arts and audiovisual/multimedia) with six “functions” (conservation, creation, production, dissemination, trade and training).
The field of culture defined in this way does not equate to any particular economic sector and therefore is not covered by sectoral surveys. It includes activities in numerous areas of social and economic life, which are not always easy identifiable in economic classifications. However, new NACE Rev.2 and ISCO-08 classifications allow better distinction of cultural items even if very detailed level is sometimes needed.
