Common roots – diversity of voices. Europe Cultural Days come to a close

In order to mark the tenth anniversary of the ECB and showcase Europe’s common roots and diversity of voices, this year’s Cultural Days of the European Central Bank were dedicated not to a single country, but rather to the whole European Union (EU) and its 27 Member States. The programme covered music, dance, literature, film and photography, and thus provided a forum for artistic and cultural dialogue between the 27 countries, as well as a contemporary snapshot of what “Europe” means from different perspectives.

The three-week programme of events included over 50 performances. Talented young artists, such as Nemanja Radulovic (music) and Jacek Dehnel (literature) provided a glimpse of what the future has to hold.

The new arrangement of folk songs from all 27 countries, which was performed at the opening concert, as well a broad range of films shown by the Deutsches Filmmuseum, offered a kaleidoscopic view of Europe’s cultural wealth. The open air concerts at the Palmengarten-Musikpavillon staged world-famous musicians, such as Christof Lauer (jazz), and young singers drawing on folk traditions to create contemporary mixes. Three European orchestras were involved in the series of classical music concerts, including the Chamber Orchestra of Europe, which ended the series with a sell-out concert on 2 June 2008.

There were also fairy tales for children and discussions on the founding myths of Europe for adults. Fairy tales from Portugal and Poland, Sweden and Slovakia (to name but a few) were read, told, acted and presented using puppetry in the city of Struwwelpeter, while Homer and Tacitus were discussed in the Historisches Museum and the Liebieghaus.

The series of events was organised in cooperation with the 27 national central banks of the EU, the city of Frankfurt and many partners and sponsors. Next year, the European Cultural Days of the ECB will be dedicated to Romania. More detailed information about the events will be posted on the ECB’s website ( www.ecb. europa.eu) nearer to the time.