The relay was given them by Lithuanian Vilnius and Austrian Linz which bore this title last year. The representatives of the City of Linz symbolically gave its successors a traditional almond cake from Linz in the shape of the Ruhr country.
On Saturday, 9th January the RUHR.2010 project was launched in the area of the former coking plant „Zeche Zollverein" in Essen which has been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 2001. Among the guests there were Federal President Horst Köhler and European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso. Mayor of the City of Košice, Ing. František Knapík and director of the Košice – European Capital of Culture 2013 project, Zora Jaurová accepted the official invitation, too. Several speakers stressed in their speeches the importance of the project for bringing culture to the general public, the involvement of people in the project activities throughout the region.
„The Project Ruhr.2010 is very similar to the Košice - INTERFACE 2013 project because it understands the culture and creative industry as essential factors for the future development of former industrial sites. Thats why we signed with Ruhr a unique agreement on cooperation and transfer of experience and we want strongly to support this unique project both in Košice and Slovakia." said Director of the non-profit organisation Košice 2013.
In the evening the Cultural Festival "1,000 Fires" began whose programme was thematically divided into halls in this industrial complex. The programme presented the City of Essen as the city of options, city of science, city of creation, city of art, city of culture. It offered dance, music, theatre, creative discussions, firework to the visitors. Despite the low temperatures more than 100 000 people celebrated into the early hours. "Essen for the Ruhr" as the capital of Culture 2010 represents 53 cities, towns and districts and 5.3 million inhabitants. The Metropole Ruhr region is the third largest conurbation in the European Union after Paris and London. The title of European Capital of Culture has brought a positive transformation of the industrial Ruhr region into a cultural metropolis.
More than 30 000 people came to the solemn inauguration of the European Capital of Culture 2010 in the south Hungarian City of Pécs on Sunday. Among the guests was also Hungarian Prime Minister Gordon Bajnai who stressed the importance of the title for the entire Hungary. Istanbul in Turkey as the Capital of Culture will officially launch the project on Saturday, 16th January.
The non-profit organisation Košice - European Capital of Culture 2013 has prepared a project entitled „Košice features ECOC" which will present current capitals of culture and look for the common themes and areas for cooperation in a given year.
Source: Košice EHMK 2013
photo: http://www.essen-fuer-das-ruhrgebiet.ruhr2010.de/eroeffnung-ruhr2010/bildergalerien.html
