2024-01-27 11:12:37

Hundreds of events are planned for the next few months: Estonia’s second largest city Tartu has now officially started the year as European Capital of Culture 2024 – alongside Norway’s Bodø and Bad Ischl – Salzkammergut 2024. The celebrations opened on Friday evening with a colorful live show in the open air in freezing temperatures . The central element of the opening ceremony was a multimedia performance entitled “All is one” on the banks of the Emajõgi.

Theater, music and dance were on display. Tartu is considered the spiritual center of the Baltic EU country in northeastern Europe, which borders Russia. ​“Tartu has always been the heart of Estonian culture and soul throughout the centuries,” President Alar Karis told thousands of spectators. In his hometown, the head of state of the small Baltic republic praised culture as the main foundation of the Estonian nation. ​”This is where the uniqueness of our country and our people, our nature, manifests itself.”

Mayor Urmas Klaas said in his speech: “We have been waiting for this moment for a long time.” Tartu’s Capital of Culture year will be “a positive year for Europe”. “This year is regarding survival skills, regarding freedom, regarding our differences and our strengths,” said the mayor of the city of 100,000 inhabitants, which is sung as “Young Blood City” in a specially composed Tartu 2024 anthem.

After the open-air show, despite subzero temperatures, many spectators marched in a techno parade-style procession to the followingparty at the Estonian National Museum, where Culture Minister Heidy Purga also performed. “It’s like an Estonian version of a party that starts quite slowly but gets more and more crowded towards the end,” said Tartu 2024 director Kuldar Leis, describing the opening ceremony, which was also attended by the culture ministers of neighboring Finland, Latvia and Lithuania.

The motto of the European Capital of Culture year in Tartu is “Arts of survival”. By the end of the year, more than 350 projects with over 1,000 events are expected to take place in the city, located around 180 kilometers southeast of the capital Tallinn, and the surrounding region in the south of Estonia – a region with its own charm and character.

Highlights, especially in summer, include the mass kissing event “Kissing Tartu”, the sauna debate festival “Naked Truth” or the play “Business as Usual” regarding the money laundering scandal involving Danske Bank in Estonia. The organizers want to reach the goal of one million visitors from Estonia and abroad.

With the opening, Tartu is now the second of this year’s cultural capitals to officially start their celebrations. In the Salzkammergut, the Capital of Culture year was rung in on January 20th, Bodø follows on February 3rd.

(S E R V I C E – https://tartu2024.ee/en/)

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