Sister Cities

The City of Tacoma has 14 Sister Cities, all of which have aspects similar or complementary to Tacoma’s economic character. Tacoma’s Sister City activities are as diverse as its membership. Some examples of activities include Student Exchanges, Sports Exchanges, Performing Arts Festivals, Arts Exchanges, and the International Film Festival. Formal Sister City relationships must be adopted by the City Council.

The first Sister City Program, Sister Cities International, was created in 1956 at the request of President Eisenhower, giving national focus to affiliations between cities in the United States and in other countries. The goal of the program is to promote deeper cultural understanding, international visitation, and hospitality that leads to long lasting relationships. More recently, Sister City links have become an increasingly important conduit for people to people relationships and international diplomacy.

Each Sister City has a resident-based Sister City Committee. The Sister City Committees are all organized under a 501 c (3) called the Sister City Council of Tacoma which coordinates their efforts. Those interested in joining a Sister City Committee should work with the Tacoma Sister Cities Council to reach out to individual committees.

Those interested in establishing a new Friendship or Sister City should with the Tacoma Sister Cities Council to determine the viability of a Friendship City designation and go through the formal process of establishing the relationship and bringing it to the City Council for approval. A friendship city designation should be established first before moving to a Sister City designation. The Mayor’s Office is happy to help facilitate communications and give insight into the process for those interested.