Estonia's second largest city, Tartu, officially started the year as European Capital of Culture 2024 – alongside Norway's Bodo and Bad Ischl/Salzkammergut. The celebrations kicked off last night with a colorful live outdoor show in freezing temperatures.
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Tartu is considered the spiritual center of the EU's Baltic country in northeastern Europe, which borders Russia. “Tartu has always been the heart of Estonia's culture and soul over the centuries,” President Alar Karis told thousands of people.
In his hometown, the head of state of the small Baltic Sea republic praised culture as the main foundation of the Estonian nation. “This is where the uniqueness of our country and our people, of our nature, manifests itself.”
Mass kissing event and sauna debate festival
The motto of the year of the European Capital of Culture in Tartu is “Arts of survival”. By the end of the year, more than 350 projects with more than 1,000 events are expected to take place in the city and the surrounding region in southern Estonia.
Highlights, especially in summer, include the “Kissing Tartu” mass kissing event, the “Naked Truth” sauna debate festival and the “Business as Usual” play about the money laundering scandal involving Danske Bank in Estonia . The organizers aim to reach the target of one million visitors from Estonia and abroad.
With the inauguration, Tartu is now the second cultural capital this year to officially begin its celebrations. In Salzkammergut, the year of the Capital of Culture was celebrated on January 20th, Bodo follows on February 3rd.