Activiteiten in diverse Poolse steden rond EU-voorzitterschap (en)
Concerts, parades, classic cars, sailing ships and exhibition of passports appeared in Polish cities to celebrate the beginning of the Poland’s EU Presidency.
Under EU colours in Szczecin
The celebrations got under way the earliest in Szczecin on the night of 30thJune. At the stroke of midnight, to the strains of Dabrowski’s Mazurka (the Polish national anthem) and the Ode to Joy Szczecin townsfolk rang in the Presidency with a star-studded, attraction-filled multimedia, musical event titled ‘Poland leads - Szczecin plays’. that launched a series of events — ‘Under EU colours’ and ‘River Odra Days’.
The musical event was preceded by a multimedia mapping presentation on the building of the National Museum, directed by Piotr Szablinski. The concert was attended by Poland’s tallest sailing ships. The ships Dar Mlodziezy, Zawisza Czarny and Fryderyk Chopin were docked alongside the Waly Chrobrego.
At midnight, white and red ensigns were hauled up their flags, as fireworks lit up the sky. Actors of the Ocelot Theatre staged a sketch involving the flags of Poland, Hungary and the EU. A European relay took to the streets of Szczecin. Following the symbolic hand-over of the Presidency, Hirek Wrona’s list of European hits was heard. Performers included Sebastian Karpiel-Bulecka and Zakopower, Blendersi, Ray Wilson and Halina Mlynkova.
Eve of the Presidency in Krasnogruda
Events of a different nature took place in Krasnogruda on the Polish-Lithuanian border on 30th June, the eve of the Polish Presidency. The President of the Republic of Poland Bronislaw Komorowski, accompanied by the Culture Ministers of Poland and Lithuania officially opened an International Dialogue Centre. The 17th-century manor house, housing the centre, had belonged to the family of Poland’s Nobel Prize-winning poet Czeslaw Milosz. The centre’s grand opening ushered in a three-day series of debates and symposia devoted to ‘Visions of the European Homeland’ in which Zygmunt Bauman, Adam Zagajewski, Irena Grudzinska-Gross and Marek Zaleski plan to participate.
Ode to Joy on the pier
Residents of the seaside resort of Sopot marched across town from St George’s Church down Monte Cassino street to the pier that juts out into the sea. There the Ode to Joy was sung to the accompaniment of waves breaking on the shore and the sounds of an orchestra. The Sopot town fathers then passed round servings of cake adorned with the Polish Presidency logo to participants who were entertained by singer Piotr Lempa and the Marine Division of the Border Guard Orchestra. A philatelic exhibition devoted to the city was opened at the Main Post Office in Kosciuszki street. Historic post cards and postage stamps connected with the resort were also on display.
Parade in Bydgoszcz
Kujawsko-Pomorskie province marked the start of Poland’s Presidency of the European Union Council with a parade comprising a marching band of the Pomeranian Military District, a classic-car motorcade, cavalrymen and footballers who set out from the Bydgoszcz Old Town Marketplace at 11.45.
After the parade had past the Office of the Provincial Governor, the winning poster of the Polish Presidency was unveiled. The work of junior secondary school pupil Karol Switala, it depicted a space rocket sporting the flags of the EU states. ‘Today we begin Poland’s first - ever Presidency of the Council of the European Union. Over seven years of our membership of the European Union we have achieved a great deal together, and during our chairmanship we will show all Europe our best side,’ said Governor Ewa Mes. At noon a trumpeter played the Bydgoszcz trumpet call, followed by a rousing performance of Dabrowski’s Mazurka and Ode to Joy by the combined choirs of Casimir the Great University, the University of Technology and Natural Science and the Youth Palace. Entertainment was provided by the acrobatic gymnasts of the Arabeska Club, and artists from the Dar Pantomime Theatre who performed a sketch titled ‘Bydgoszcz Personalities’. A thousand balloons sporting the colours of Poland and the European union were released into the heavens.
The Presidency in ‘the city of inspiration’
Punctually at the stroke of noon, from the balcony of the Lublin town hall the city’s traditional trumpet call issued forth to the four corners of the earth, followed by the Ode to Joy. A moment later, some 500 blue balloons were released to signify Lublin’s joy that Poland had taken over the EU Presidency. The festivities ended when the people standing beneath the balcony created a formation spelling out the letters PL - EU.
‘The city of inspiration’, as Lublin calls itself, also offered its citizens a cultural programme connected with the Presidency. ‘We have attempted to diversify it sufficiently so everyone could find in it something of interest,’ explained Pawel Markiewicz, Deputy Director of the Mayor’s Office in charge of Presidency-related affairs. ‘Together with one of the local newspapers we are hosting a family fest on the shores of Lake Zemborzyckie for those who enjoy popular music.’
There the star of the evening was the Afromental group, and various contests were also held to entertain the public. Aside from the fest, the town fathers also arranged a concert by the Kairos choir at the Dominican Church. The choir’s repertoire alludes to various traditions from the West and East alike. Ancient Polish and West European hymns were performed as were Eastern Orthodox and Hebrew music as well as Armenian and Georgian hymns.
Coloured balloons in Poznan
In Poznan, representatives of the town fathers, provincial authorities and the regional marshal’s office gathered outside the Wielkopolska Governor’s Office. To the strains of the Polish and EU anthems, pupils from Poznan Secondary School No. 8, Wielkopolska’s first school to set up a European Club, raised the national flag and released coloured balloons into the sky.
New Europe House in Wroclaw
The city of Wroclaw has opened its Europe House — the joint seat of the European Parliament’s Information Bureau and the Regional Office of the European Commission. ‘This has been an amazing day. I recall how long we had to wait to become a free country and later to join the family of European states. Now we are guiding those states,’ remarked European Parliament Chairman Jerzy Buzek who attended in the inauguration festivities together with deputy European Commission Chairperson Vivian Reding. Also in Lower Silesia, the Paper Industry Museum at Duszniki health resort has opened an exhibition where the passports of the European Union countries are on display.
St John’s parade in Torun
Just before noon, a colourful parade of storybook characters led by the city’s patron saint, St John, set out from Torun’s New Town Marketplace down Szeroka and Królowej Jadwigi streets. Actors of the Pomeranian Baj Theatre, attired as sorceresses, elves and queens, passed out sweets to onlookers, as children for the Baba Jaga and Mala Rewia dance groups performed. Following in behind were the city fathers, uniformed services and a folk ensemble from the Slovakian town of Cadca, Torun’s partner city. After arriving at the Old Town Marketplace, everyone broke into a chorus of the Ode to Joy. When the first chords of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony were heard, scores of blue balloons sporting the European Union logo were released from the balcony of Artus Manor.