Get-together at Patras” “

“European Capital of Culture” provides an occasion for a different European city to enter the limelight for a whole year, not only to show off its own beauties, cultural specialities and monuments, but also to host tourists from all over the continent, proposing concerts, exhibitions, conferences and other events. “European Capital of Culture” is a project of the EU that fosters, and has fostered for the last twenty years, the meeting between various “spirits” of the “common home”, to help define – an operation more than ever necessary – the Union’s identity. POINT OF ENCOUNTER OF VARIOUS TALENTS. The organization of Patras 2006 “intends to encourage the European peoples to come into closer contact with each other”: CHRISTOS ROILOS, director of the whole event, has defined the programmes that the capital of the Peloponnese (Western Greece), chosen as “capital of culture” for the next twelve months, will offer to the large numbers of visitors expected to come. “In 2006 Europeans – continues Roilos, who is acting in liaison with the Greek government and with EU experts – will celebrate contemporary cultural diversity in a great festival that will take place in Patras, point of encounter of talent, art and cultural diversity”. TWENTY YEARS OF EVENTS. The European Community project of “European city of culture” began in 1985; in 2000 it was transformed into “European capital”. The cities chosen for this honour have included Athens, Florence, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Glasgow, Madrid, Antwerp, Lisbon, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Krakow, Rotterdam, Bruges and Graz. Last year the choice fell on the city of Cork, in Ireland, while Luxembourg and Sibiu have already been designated for 2007: so the Romanian city will be European capital of culture in the same year in which it will be hosting the third European Ecumenical Assembly. MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES. Various objectives are officially posed by this annual event: “fostering mutual understanding and the cultural features common to the citizens of Europe”; promoting “cultural events and creations that involve protagonists in other cities of EU member states, thus helping to establish lasting forms of cooperation and encouraging the circulation of citizens in the EU; “facilitating the mobilization and participation of large sections of the population in the project”; “contributing to the diffusion of the planned events with multi-media means and a multilingual approach”; enhancing the historical heritage, urban architecture “and the quality of life in the city”; and, last but not least, “promoting dialogue between the cultures of Europe and those of the rest of the world”. 150 EVENTS. Patras has therefore drawn up a programme to showcase the best of herself: the municipal administration and the government of Athens don’t intend to cut a poor figure. The intention is to highlight the millennial history of the city that was founded by the Achaeans and is now a large industrial centre, with 140,000 inhabitants, a modern port, airport, and university. Famous for its carnival, Patras wants to amaze tourists: no less than 150 events have been planned for the months ahead and 54 projects adopted for the restoration of the city’s monuments and architectural heritage. The overall investment – financed thanks to the Culture Programme 2000 of the EU – is over 150 million euros. It should also be recalled that since 1990, the year following the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the EU has also funded “European Cultural Month”, a project that preserves the spirit of “European capital”, though aimed more specifically at the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. EMBARRASSMENT OF CHOICE. Opportunities will not be in short supply for visitors to the Greek port city: the calendar of events includes concerts, seminars, exhibitions of contemporary art, historical publications, performances by street artists and specific events for children. The traditional carnival of course forms part of the programme. But celebrations will also focus on history, traditions, visual arts, cinema, poetry, music for every age and taste, and religions (the updated calendar is available on the official websitehttp://patras2006.gr). “The public – adds Roilos – will have an embarrassment of choice and be able to discover fascinating aspects in every expressive form of art and culture”. VOLUNTEERS AND TOURISTS. In a difficult phase for the Union, when the enlargement eastwards and the stalled ratification of the Constitution seem to be placing in question the whole concept of the EU, the aim of banking on culture means “starting out anew from the identity that links together people and states of the continent, in full respect for their diversities”. It is in this spirit that Patras has mobilised large numbers of volunteers, even from abroad, who will act as support staff for the various events. The city has also asked for the involvement of its citizens, in the consciousness that its return to visibility will be good for tourism and business in a maritime city so rich in history. A clear message has also been sent out from the Peloponnese to the rest of the Union: “Our invitation – explain the organizers – is to delay no longer and come to visit us, for an exchange of experience and friendship”.