Wrocław – The European Capital of Culture in 2016
More than 100 000 people took part in the inauguration ceremony of European Capital Culture in Wrocław. In 2016 the capital city of Lower Silesia shares the honor with San Sebastián in Spain.
At the beginning of ceremony in Wroclaw on Sunday many people brought little bells to “wake” the world to take part in the all-year-long festival. It is dedicated to the “Spirit of Reconstruction”, the “Spirit of Many Faiths”, the “Spirit of Innovation” and the “Spirit of the Flood”. On Sunday these “Spirits” walked across Wroclaw to mark the beginning of the European Capital of Culture in the city. Wroclaw will host The World Games 2017.
The spirits were invented by Chris Baldwin, the performance curator of the ECC 2016. “After hearing hundreds of individual voices and stories, I selected four essences of the Spirits of Wroclaw,” he says. He added: “Wroclaw tells the history of Wroclaw to Wroclaw inhabitants and the rest of Europe. theWhen the Spirit moves, specific buildings and places in Wroclaw come alive and begin to tell their stories.”
Every spirit had a few stops on its route, during which various surprises were prepared such as visualizations, installations and acrobatic shows. The ECC program consists of more than 1000 cultural events during the year of 2016. Local authorities believe it will attract additional 2-3 millions of tourists coming to the City.
Source: www.wroclaw.pl