The all-day programme for the residents and visitors of Rijeka will launch Rijeka’s year as European Capital of Culture. Starting in the morning, and spanning the entire day, evening and even late night, more than 30 locations in Rijeka city centre will welcome more than 70 events, involving thousands of performers and organisers.
Free city and suburban bus routes, streets closed to traffic, a big party in the city centre, and the unique Opera Industriale, which will be performed in the Port of Rijeka on Saturday, 1 February are but a few of the events that are bound to attract thousands of people to the opening ceremony of the European Capital of Culture. To help everything run smoothly, some basic instructions for anyone planning to attend the celebration were given out at today’s media conference.
A Map containing service information for the audience can be found at the following link.
Information for the audience on the central part of the opening programme in the Rijeka Port
The central opening programme entitled Opera Industriale will take place in the Port of Rijeka starting at 7.30 pm, but the audience is advised to be on location much earlier, preferably by 7.00 pm, and in some locations of the port, such as the Molo Longo, as early as between 6.00 pm and 6.30 pm.
“Opera Industriale, as the central opening programme in the Rijeka Port, will be performed at several locations, while the audience area will span a part of De Franceschi Pier, Adamić Pier, Karolina Riječka Pier, Riva Boduli Street, and the Molo Longo. Due to the multiple locations of the programme performances, a series of video displays will be installed in all the audience areas inside the Rijeka Port so that people can watch the entire performance,” said the Mayor of Rijeka, Vojko Obersnel.
Members of the audience who want to participate in the performance will be situated at the Molo Longo. “This location is primarily intended for parents with children, high school and university students, and due to the limited capacity of this location, they are advised to be on location between 6.00 pm and 6.30 pm. The audience will be directed to other programme viewing locations once the capacity of the location reaches its maximum. At the entrance to the Molo Longo, bells will be handed out to the audience, which they will be able to use at certain points of the programme and thus participate in the performance,” Emina Višnić, Director of RIJEKA 2020, pointed out.
An entertainment programme with the participation of magician Andrej Škedel, Marko the clown, the Red Rays juggling group, and DJ Sun Matt will be available for children and all other visitors.
Višnić also said that part of Adamić Pier will include areas for people with disabilities, to make sure they have a great viewing experience of the central opening programme event. In order to avoid crowd jams, people with disabilities are advised to arrive at the port between 6.00 pm and 6.30 pm. Organised transport for persons with disabilities will be available at a location in Žabica, where passengers will be disembarked, and the volunteers of the European Capital of Culture will assist them in their arrival at Adamić Pier.
Mayor Obersnel also added that in the event of rain, the programme will still be held, except in the event of a strong thunderstorm accompanied by gale-force Sirocco or Bora winds, in which case the programme will be postponed for 24 hours and the public will be informed in a timely manner. Moreover, the audience is advised to use raincoats instead of umbrellas.
Visitors outside of Rijeka who are coming to the European Capital of Culture opening programme are advised to head for Rijeka as early as possible so they can find a parking spot in a timely manner and then peacefully enjoy the extensive all-day programme in the city centre, as well as the central programme going on in the Port of Rijeka.
Given that a large number of people are expected to flock to Rijeka on the day, many public services will be specifically involved in the organisation of the events, including the police, the fire brigade, city traffic management services, city public transport services and many others.
Info Points
According to the words of Mayor Obersnel, starting from Thursday, 30 January, Info Points will be set up in multiple locations throughout the city, where residents and visitors of Rijeka can find all the information related to the all-day programmes, the central opening programme, and all other necessary service information regarding road closures, parking lots and the city public transportation services.
From 30 January, the Info Points will be set up in the Jelačić and Jadranski Squares, while on Saturday, 1 February, additional Info Points will be set up at the following locations – Žabica, The Bazarig Passage, Tito Square, in front of the CNT Ivan pl. Zajc, the Rijeka Railway Station, 111. Brigade Square, Korzo (in front of the City Clock) and in Riva Boduli Street.
Road closures and parking lots in the city centre
The European Capital of Culture opening day will see road closures starting from Saturday at 2 pm to Sunday at 4 am when all the roads in the immediate city centre will be closed to traffic, bar emergency services vehicles. The following streets will be closed to traffic Riva, Riva Boduli, Demetrova St., Wenzelova St., Ivana Zajca St., Ribarska St., Fiumara St., Scarpina St, Adamićeva St. all the way to Trpimirova St., Zadarska St., and vehicle traffic will also be suspended in the area between Korzo, i.e. Scarpina St. and the coast. During that time, traffic will be redirected to the northern corridor – via F. la Guardia St., Pomerio St. and Žrtava Fašizma St.
Regarding parking lot closures in the city centre, from 29 January to 2 February, the parking lot at the Passenger Terminal near the Molo Longo will be closed, while those in Riva Boduli, and Putnička obala will be closed starting from 30 January to 2 February.
Residential users of preferential parking tickets and parking subscription holders who usually park at Putnička obala and Riva Boduli, will have the option of parking at the Delta, as well as in the following parking lots: HŽ Brajdica, HŽ Žabica, and at the parking areas surrounding the Marketplace (Verdijeva St., Matačićeva St., Zagrebačka St., Senjsko Pristanište St., Wentzelova St.), Ivana Zajca St., at the Gomila, Školjić, in Matije Gupca St. and Veslarska St. except on 1 February when besides those in Putnička obala and Riva Boduli, the following parking lots will also be closed for all users: Žabica (HŽ Žabica); the parking lots in Zanonova St., Splitska St., Zadarska St., Riva St., along with the ones in u Verdijeva St., Zagrebačka St., Demetrova St., Wenzelova St., Senjsko Pristanište St., Ivana Zajca St. and the one in Grobniča Riva St.
The Zagrad B garage will also be closed, as these parking spots will be used by guests attending the opening programme.
Free public city and suburban transport
On the European Capital of Culture opening ceremony day, 1 February, the city and suburban public transport routes will be completely free of charge throughout the entire day. Autotrolej buses will follow the workday schedule, while additional departures will be introduced for lines 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 7A and 8 from 6 pm to 12 am. Therefore, the timetable of that day will be extended, moving the last departures of the city lines to 12 am, while the night lines will follow the existing timetable.
During the traffic ban in the immediate city centre, public transport buses will also run along the northern corridor – via F. la Guardia St., Pomerio St. and Žrtava Fašizma St. Buses will stop for passengers at all the marked bus stops on this route, and for all the running buses, a bus stop will be available in Rade Šupića St. (the lay-by on the bridge at the Kont).
The start and end stop of the suburban lines will be at the “Delta” bus terminal, and during operation, the buses will also use the bus stops marked on the northern traffic corridor.
During the city centre traffic ban, the bus station in Žabica Square will remain available for intercity bus lines.
When it comes to taxi stops, those in Jelačić Square, the Passenger Terminal and in Žabica will not be available during the city centre traffic ban, so a temporary taxi stop will be available in the south lane of Ivana Pavla II Street, directly across from the Zagrad garage.
Filming and photographing the programme and the ban on the use of drones
A ban on the use of unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones, will be in force on 1 February from 12 pm to 12 am. Exceptional permission to use drones was granted to HRT (Croatian Radiotelevision) as the official broadcaster. The central opening programme at the Rijeka Port will be recorded by HRT in a multi-camera production, and it will also be recorded and photographed by other media from home and abroad, as well as by the organisers.
A warning to persons with particular medical conditions
The opening programme at the Rijeka Port includes special light effects, strobe lights and light installations, along with powerful sounds and performance noise created by the audience and by the performers themselves. The above warning is intended for anyone who, for specific reasons, or due to a particular medical condition, should not be present at events featuring such light or sound sensations/effects.
