Altogether 350 cultural programmes are planned in Pécs and surrounding communities in 2010, said Ruzsa. Another hundred civil programmes and 80-100 regional partnership programmes will round out the year, he added.
Among the city's partners are Budapest and Debrecen, which competed with Pécs to take the European Capital of Culture title in 2005. The city of Szeged, in southeast Hungary, will also have a special place in the programme for 2010.
Pécs will host a Fringe festival, showing off fresh talent, in April, and it will host Europe Mania, a weekend series of light music and theatre programmes, together with diplomatic bodies in May. At the PanBalkan Art Picnic, artists from 8-10 countries will transform old pianos to be put on display in Pécs's public places in August.
The entire Pécs2010 programme, including venues and dates, can be seen at
www.pecs2010.hu and printed programmes, in both Hungarian and English are in the making.
The city's Regional Library and Knowledge Centre, one of the main investments for the Pécs2010 programme, had a topping out ceremony in December and is expected to be completed on time in June, or even earlier, weather permitting. The Zsolnay Cultural Quarter, Museum Street and the Grand Exhibition Square, are all moving ahead on schedule, and the Conference and Concert Centre could be finished in the autumn of 2010, even though the general contractor asked for a three-month extension of the deadline for completing the project. "There could very well be concerts there in November and December of 2010," said Ruzsa.
The Conference and Concert Centre will cost an annual HUF 700 million to operate, which has some people worried, but Parliament decided last year to support the venue with an annual HUF 300 million, which should make things easier from 2011, Ruzsa said.
Worries about the pace of preparations for the Pécs2010 programme were dispelled in the summer as the city inaugurated several public squares. Improved confidence could also be seen in the growing number of participants at events.
The Pécs2010 programme is expected to boost the number of tourists in the city by 20pc. Most will come from other places in Hungary, but tourists will also arrive from neighbouring countries as well as other countries in Europe and even the United States, Ruzsa said.
Everybody involved with the Pécs2010 programme is prepared, but that isn't really the point, Ruzsa said. "It's far more important that the citizens of Pécs feel their city is a European Capital of Culture from now on. And to achieve this, visitors to the city have to take away a positive picture that will be very important after 2010 in regard to returning travelers."
Pécs will launch its programme for 2010 with a gala event to be broadcast live by Magyar Televízió on January 10.
Photo: MTI, Máté Nándorfi
