August 27, 2019 - The fourth edition of 'Light is Life' will be held in Šibenik on August 28, 2019.

Goran Rihel of HRTurizam writes that apart from knowing their date of birth, every Šibenik citizen should know and be proud of another date, namely August 28. It was this date, back in 1895, that marked the first day of the Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant being commissioned, the day when Šibenik, as one of the first cities in the world, received public lighting on alternate current. 

And it happened just two days after one of the most renowned AC power plants, Niagara Falls in the US, was built. However, the residents of Buffalo only started using its electricity a year later, while it came to Šibenik the same evening.

The Jaruga Hydroelectric Power Plant was also the first power plant in the world with a complete closed system for the production, transmission and distribution of AC power. The electricity was first used for public lighting, then for business purposes and production, and only later entered households and was widely accepted by the inhabitants of Šibenik. The credit for hydroelectric power plants with an AC system belongs to Nikola Tesla, who invented the AC system and transmission line, and was built at the initiative of Šibenik Mayor Ante Šupuk, his son Marko and engineer Vjekoslav Meichsner.

Thus, it would be foolish not to exploit this story and fact, not only through tourism, but through the entire branding of the city. Šibenik - a city of light, with its phenomenal fortresses and history, through the play of light and shadow, can be a stage and an art installation.

This is exactly the vision of Zoran Lučić Luca, the author of the project 'Light is Life', which, with the support of the Tourist Board of Šibenik and sponsors, is held for the fourth time in Šibenik on August 28. 

The light spectacle 'Light is Life' marks the day when, more than a hundred years ago, Šibenik, as one of the first cities in the world, received public lighting on alternating current, and the festival celebrates light as a source of life and electricity as a source of light.

In addition to the basic idea and commitment to 'Light is life', renewable energy sources and the rational use of energy potential, this year the theme is family and life in the old town, which is slowly dying out due to modern lifestyles and tourism trends. Thus, light installations are adapted to the theme, and the original motif of this year's poster was the original 1895 street lamp for public lighting.

This year, as part of the Šibenik event, the city will become an outdoor gallery through various light installations and events that will be spread throughout the city.

Rihelj writes that the “Light is Life” event can be a top event in Croatia and a direction for the future development of Šibenik - not only through tourism, but also through the overall economy.

As the world turns to renewables and ecology, Šibenik can and should rightly lead the story. With two UNESCO monuments, fortresses, Fraust Vrančić, the inventor of the parachute, and the story mentioned above, Šibenik has something to be proud of.

Rihelj adds that the event must receive much more attention and support in order to accelerate its development, since it is a manifestation that makes Šibenik globally recognizable and is certainly a motive for arrivals.

He says that this must be one of the "bright" directions for the future development and branding of the city, as a boutique destination for a unique cultural and historical tourism product for year-round tourism.

In addition, with all strategic preconditions, with strategic and smart development, Šibenik can stand by the side of Dubrovnik. 

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Ten European cities have united in the RetaiLink project to revive their historical core by strengthening retail sales. They include Fermo (Italy), Pecs (Hungary), Bistrita (Romania), Liberec (Czech Republic), Hengelo and Hoogeveen (Netherlands), Basingstoke and Deane (United Kingdom), and Croatia’s Šibenik, reports Goran Rihelj for HRTurizam on February 19, 2019. 

The vast majority of small and medium-sized cities have trouble keeping retail shops alive within city centers. The causes are different for individual cities, but the common themes run along the lines of shopping centers opening in the suburbs and beyond the borders of cities, offering a unified retail offer along with entertainment, easy access to cars and free parking, growing online sales and consumer changes.

The city of Šibenik is primarily affected by the decline in retail sales, because, in addition to the common problems of small and medium-sized cities in the EU, they have additional issues of traffic, especially in the number of parking places in the city center, the lack of large sales spaces, expensive reconstruction of protected objects and the pressure to apartmentize the area, which takes up space and raises rent for traders.

An action plan that focuses on the cooperation of city administration and retailers, incentives for businesses in the old city core, encouraging traders to increase competences, reducing the seasonality effect, marketing activities to increase the attractiveness of the city center and measures to improve the accessibility of the city center, has been made.

The town of Šibenik has already defined some of the measures for facilitating business for entrepreneurs operating in the area of the old city core, and now, as part of the entire project, has the desire to revitalize the old city core through manifestations.

Thus, the project "Idemo do Grada" (Let's Go to the Town) was created, which aims to stimulate the manifestation and organization of cultural-entertainment and eno-gastronomic content exclusively in the area of the old city core as a cultural and historical complex. 

Focusing the content on the old town, a public call for non-refundable funds from the Šibenik Tourist Board was also announced and relates exclusively to events in the pre-season, i.e., in March, April, and May, and in the post-season, respectively in October and November.

This is an interesting initiative and project of the Šibenik Tourist Board, because the old city core is one of the most valuable resources of the city itself. If the town is deserted and does not offer content within the old city center, then there is a massive flaw in the development of Croatia’s tourism. 

The old city core should be the pulse of every tourist destination, shouldn't it? 

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