ZAGREB, February 1, 2020 - Rijeka Mayor Vojko Obersnel said on Saturday, when the Rijeka was given the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2020, that this project would heighten the visibility of this Croatian seaport in every sense and leave rich heritage, including the developed infrastructure for cultural events.
On 1 February, Rijeka and the Irish coastal city of Galway take the title of European Capitals of Culture in 2020.
In Rijeka, the year-long events are to be held under the slogan "The Port of Diversity".
"The shared experience of the two capitals of culture, in terms of cultural vibrancy and historical connections, makes 2020 an exciting time to strengthen ties, create cultural opportunities and develop long-lasting relationships," reads the information published on the official website of project for Galway.
On Saturday, before the official ceremony for the inauguration of Rijeka as the European Capital of Culture this year, Mayor Obersnel held a news conference at which he expressed satisfaction with the first events within opening programmes.
Some 220 organisations and societies from 40 countries have participated in the preparations of the programmes for the project.
Commenting on the condemnation on the part of the Croatian Disabled Homeland War Veterans' Association (HVIDRA) of the display of the flag of the former Yugoslavia on posters in Rijeka ahead of the formal inauguration of this northern Adriatic city as European Capital of Culture, the mayor said that the history could not be changed.
In this context the mayor said that in Rijeka's main street Korzo there were temporarily the flags of states in which Rijeka used to be in the last 100 years. One of those state unions was also Yugoslavia, and the flags of the Kingdom of Italy and of the German Third Reich are also put on display in accordance with the timeline of how those states succeeded one another in this region, according to the mayor's explanation.
Also the perpetrator who painted in red a poster illustrating the flag of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY) in Korzo was arrested by the police. The poster was replaced by a new one in the meantime.
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