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| Pécs, March 9, 2007 - Pécs mayor Péter Tasnádi (left) and Szeged mayor László Botka sign a cooperation agreement on programmes related to Pécs's title European Capital of Culture 2010. Photo: Ferenc Kálmándy (MTI) |
Pécs mayor Péter Tasnádi and mayor of Szeged László Botka signed an agreement in Pécs on Friday outlining their cooperation.
Szeged will organise 15-20 events in six to eight highlighted areas, and a number of local events will be connected to the programme in the years up to 2010, Botka said. The two cities will coordinate these programmes each year in the run-up to 2010.
Szeged's contribution to the programme in 2010 will mainly be open air events, as "that is our strength," but this year will also see a series of scientific events marking the anniversary of Albert Szent-Györgyi's Nobel Prize as well as a performance by the Turkish Dance Theatre. (Istanbul will share the European Capital of Culture title with Pécs in 2010.)
Artists based in Szeged will also promote the title outside of Hungary. The Maszka Szeged Alternative Theatre Company will put on a performance with guitarist Dávid Pavlovics in Essen, which will also share the title European Capital of Culture with Pécs in 2010.
Pécs mayor Péter Tasnádi emphasised that Szeged would play an important role in the city's European Capital of Culture programme, in part because one of the main elements in Pécs's application for the title was the creation of a southern cultural zone opening up to the Balkans. Szeged, which is near Hungary's borders with Serbia and Romania, is a gateway to this region, as is Pécs.
Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI)
