Evil aliens have decided to kill everyone in Europe! Fortunately, they've given you 45 seconds to save as many as you can. All you have to do is name a country to save everyone in it.
Surprised that a lot of cities aren't on this list. London, Venice, Rome, Barcelona... I'd say that there are many times more culturally significant than Bergen or Reykjavik. Not that there's anything wrong with those cities.
I think the purpose of these nominations is more about promoting cities that have a rich culture but are not especially known for that, hence the absence of cities that would seem obvious.