Lille is a city in northern France on the Deule River. It is the capital of the Nord-Pas de Calais region. It is also the prefecture of the Nord departement. It lies near the border with Belgium. Lille absorbed Lomme in 2002, and their combined population is approximately 1,750,000 people. Lille became the center of French industry in the 19th century due to the large coal deposits nearby. It then became a central park of the country's rail network. In 1967, the Chambers of Commerce of Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing were joined, and in 1969 formed the Communaute urbaine de Lille , and thus the Lille urban community was created, linking 87 communes with Lille. Throughout the 1960s and 1970, the region faced problems after the decline of the coal mining and textile industries. From the start of the 1980s, the city began to turn itself more toward the service sector. Lille was unsuccessful in its bid to host the 2004 Games of the XXVIII Olympiad. With over 144,000 students, the metropolitan area of Lille is one of the first student cities in France. Lille was elected European Capital Of Culture in 2004, along with the Italian city of Genoa.