Exactly 365 after the official opening of "Luxembourg and Greater Region, European Capital of Culture 2007", the General Coordination held a press conference in the foyer of the philharmonie in Kirchberg to present the Preliminary Programme - the first tangible fruit of the combined labours of the many participants. To facilitate transparency and to continue to inform the public of all 2007 activities, a regular press conference will be held every three months for updated information and ongoing developments.

The Preliminary Programme brochure is 70 pages and is available in three language versions; French, English and German. In the presence of Luxembourg mayor Paul Helminger, President of the Luxembourg and Grand Region a.s.b.l. Guy Dockendorf and Secretary of State for Culture, Higher Education and Research Octavie Modert, Robert Garcia, General coordinator for the 2007 activities, reminded the press in attendance that it was a Preliminary Programme - only a foretaste consisting of a first selection from approximately 500 projects. Garcia went so far as to kiss the printed brochure, which he hailed as the result of "tears, laughter" but most of all, countless hours of hard work, realised with the support of two exclusive private partners, P&T Luxembourg and Arcelor.

Two firsts for Luxembourg

Luxembourg is the first European city to take the title " Capital of Culture" for the second time, and is the first European city to extend the concept to a greater region. Garcia said at the press conference that the 2007 team coined a new phrase: "glocalisation'. This refers to the fact that they have to think both globally and locally at the same time as there will be events that are regional, national, local and cross border, all which must be organised through a central coordination committee as well as through various Greater Region committees. Quoting the Preliminary Programme, "The task of the coordination team is to initiate a maximum number of projects involving all of the participating regions, mobilize citizens to go to their neighbours for the various 2007 events, and establish meetings and joint ventures between the cultural forces in the Greater Region."

The Greater Region

The numerous 2007 events will be spread out over Luxembourg, the Lorraine region of France, the Walloon Region of Belgium, and the Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland regions of Germany, a territory of over 11 million inhabitants. The transregional dimension of 2007 was the brain child of Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Junker, who felt it perfectly reflected a city where 140 nationalities are present, international residents make up over 60% of the population, and where thousands of men and women (transfrontaliers) come everyday from surrounding countries to work.

Projects were submitted and then rejected or accepted by the organisation committee based on certain criteria and those accepted will collectively be multilingual, multidisciplinary and multicultural. The coordination committee did not want to develop 2007 around one specific theme, although immigration will be highlighted, but around many themes, and around events and projects that demonstrated a potential to be sustainable or developed further after 2007. The content of the Preliminary Programme is demonstrative of the extremely ambitious and multifaceted nature of the cultural events.

The Two Rotundas

At the press conference, Garcia revealed that the epicentre of the 2007 programme will be the two "Rotunda" buildings behind Luxembourg City"s central train station. Besides being beautiful buildings, the two domed structures fit perfectly the theme of "migration' and cross border movement. Rotunda 1 will house multidisciplinary exhibitions and act as a public forum for encounters, information and events. Rotunda 2 is billed as "the first cultural venue in Luxembourg entirely given over to young audiences." Other highlights include a rollout of events under the titles "four seasons" and "four festivals".

New Initiatives

European Capital of Culture 2007 for Luxembourg kicked started new initiatives and will fuel considerable economic activity both inside Luxembourg and the greater region. While the Preliminary Programme is hailed as the first tangible piece of evidence concerning the planned events, the 2007 deadline has resulted in many other developments. Octavie Modert praised "the quality of the cultural activities in Luxembourg" but also the growing infrastructure created for 2007 and beyond which includes: the construction of the philharmionie, the construction of the Rockhal in Esch, the construction of the new premises of the Museum of Modern Art (MUDAM), the refurbishment of the Grand Theatre, and the redevelopment of the Rotunda buildings, just to name some of the extensive work completed or in progress.

New web site launched

For more information, Luxembourg and Greater Region, European Capital of Culture also has just launched their new interactive web site, which will be an ongoing source of updated information. The Preliminary Programme can be downloaded from the web site. http://www.luxembourg2007.lu/.