The series of international presentations of the Rijeka ECoC project resumes today in Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, with a presentation of Rijeka 2020.
Following an invitation from the Croatian Embassy in the Kingdom of Sweden and the Croatian National Tourist Office in Stockholm, the Director of the Partnership and Communication Sector at RIJEKA 2020, Irena Kregar Šegota, presented the European Capital of Culture programme to the media, travel agencies and cultural institutions in the Stockholm area today at Europe House, the office of the European Parliament in Stockholm.
At the beginning of the meeting, Vedran Sušić, Director of the Croatian National Tourist Office in Stockholm, addressed the audience with a welcome speech, while Irena Kregar Šegota announced the Rijeka ECoC project and its three thematic segments: water, work and migration during the introduction. This was followed by an overview of the culture and arts programmes, with highlights including the large-scale Gustav Klimt exhibition “Unknown Klimt – Love, Death, Ecstasy”, the gala concert performances by the opera divas Karita Mattila and Elina Garanča, a festival by the world-renowned theatre company Needcompany, a performance by the first-ever robot band Compressorhead and much more. The attendees were also shown the eye-catching promo video “Port of Diversity”, directed by Dalibor Matanić, which portrays Rijeka as a meeting place for diversity, open-mindedness and freedom.
In addition to the programme announcement, the Lungomare Art exhibition was held as part of the eponymous flagship. The exhibition showcases the formation of the Kvarner culture and tourism route, which consists of permanent sculptures made by European and globally renowned artists. The sculptures will be placed at 10 locations around Kvarner in order to form a new culture and tourism route as part of the European Capital of Culture programme. The Lungomare Art exhibition will be open to the public at Europe House until 15 November 2019.
After Paris, Ljubljana, Rome and the immensely successful presentation at the WTM tourism show in London, this presentation in Stockholm is another in a series of international activities promoting Rijeka, as the first to Croatian city to hold this coveted title, and its ECoC project, which will officially commence with an opening ceremony on 1 February 2020. With over 600 cultural and art events organised in cooperation with more than 250 cultural institutions and organisations from 40 countries in Europe and the rest of the world, Rijeka will become the hub of European culture next year.
It should also be noted that in the same year that Rijeka becomes the European Capital of Culture, Croatia will also hold the presidency of the Council of Europe, which is a unique moment in the history of the European Union that will make Rijeka and Croatia the cultural and political centre of Europe.
