There was a rousing party yesterday to conclude the European Capital of Culture in Linz - first at the Hafenhalle and later on the city’ s main square where the year 2009 was coming to a close. The pictures screened on the wall showed the highlights of last year with Parade definitely one of them. On behalf of Linz09 the director Martin Heller thanked all artists, partners, funders, staff and other stakeholders involved for the great achievements: “together we have made it to change Linz”.
There were also congratulations and greeting messages screened from the upcoming Cultural Capitals of Europe in 2010, Essen for the Ruhr area in Germany and Istanbul in Turkey. Tamas Szalay, the director of the third Cultural Capital 2010 Pecs in Hungary, was attending the function and brought across his warm welcome to visit the neighbors during these coming months.
Everybody agreed that Linz will remain a Cultural Capital of Europe since it has achieved so much especially in terms of self confidence and a wider horizon.
A number of projects will have lasting effects and build on the connections established like Parade which is stimulating further cultural exchange.