Eger’s application born under a starry sky, in the shadow of legends

Eger is running for the title of “European Capital of Culture” again; the official documentation was dispatched on May 9th to the State Secretariat for Culture at the Ministry of Human Resources. In Eger, we kicked off the ECoC2023 programme simultaneously with celebrating Europe Day, a stimulating range of entertainment options kept all in a sunny mood despite the gloomy weather: local children gave a wonderful rendition of Somewhere in Europe, as well as performing well-known melodies by Zoltán Kodály. Pillars of the community and artists contributing to the ECoC2023 tender held forth at a press conference highlighting the twin concepts underpinning Eger’s approach to the tender: light and film.

 

 

Eger is a bewitching city in the heart of Europe, where traditional European values, intermingling with a multitude of different cultural influences, have been palpably present for centuries. The heroic message of the castle and 1552, immortalised in Gárdonyi’s splendid novel – the Big Read of Hungary – puts Eger into the heart of every Hungarian. Eger’s historical, cultural and architectural treasures place it on a par with any European city. The regional centre ran for the ECoC 2010 title in 2004, but was inched out at the last minute by Pécs; even so, Eger was widely hailed as a worthy candidate. Now we are poised to acquire this prestigious title and take the bull by the horns, as it were – exclaimed Mayor László Habis.