The year that has just begun—perhaps as a counterweight to the calamities it inherits in 2023—is full of cultural and sporting celebrations in Europe.
These are some of the events to keep in mind in the coming months.
All of them reasons that could well be the trigger for an escape.
1. Olympic France
After several years of absence, France is once again present at this edition of the Madrid International Tourism Fair.
It arrives to show, among other things, that the 2024 Olympic Games will not be “the Paris Olympics”, they will be those of France.
From all over France.
The capital already hosted these games just 100 years ago, and this time it wants to distribute cards to all of France.
Including overseas territories;
Polynesia, without going any further.
The country wants this world event to be more than just sport, it wants it to be a window open to the world to show history, cultural and natural heritage, and even something as French as
l'art de vivre,
with all its derivatives.
More information
Photogallery |
This is Fitur 2024: a trip around the world in nine pavilions, in images
This desire for dispersion and diffusion begins in the capital itself.
In Paris there will not only be one Olympic stadium: the Stade de France, the main one, will be joined by others such as the Parc des Princes, Saint Dénis, Roland Garros, etc.
Some test locations will be such emblematic points as the Eiffel Tower, the Grand Palais, the Invalides, the Place de la Concorde, Versailles or the Seine.
Precisely the Seine River will be the open stage of the grand opening ceremony of the Olympic Games, on July 26.
The opening of the Paralympic Games (August 28) will also be “open”, along the Champs-Élysées.
Event on the Seine River to promote Paris' candidacy to host the 2024 Olympic Games JACQUES DEMARTHON (AFP / Getty Images)
The Parisian party will be joined by stadiums or competition grounds in cities such as Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseille (its marina), Nice, Nantes, Lille... even Tahiti, in French Polynesia, to surf the Teahupo'o wave.
In figures, it is estimated that around 13 million tickets will be sold, plus around three million viewers.
There will be 10,500 Olympic athletes, and 4,400 Paralympic athletes.
We want to pay the greatest attention to the latter, as well as taking care in all cases of aspects such as accessibility, sustainability or gender parity.
There will, without a doubt, be a breath of youth and renewal with breaking as a new Olympic discipline, and sport climbing, surfing and skateboarding will be consolidated.
If the Huguenot Henry of Bourbon said that “Paris is well worth a mass”, on this occasion it is all of France that will deserve all our devotion.
The Phryges, the mascots of the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
2. A capital without barriers
Something similar to France's Olympic explosion occurs in Austria, on account of the European capital of culture.
Together with the cities of Tartu (Estonia) and Bodø (Norway), Bad Ischl will be the European Capital of Culture in 2024.
But the title, in the latter case, falls to Bad Ischl Salzkammergut.
That is, for the first time in the almost 40 years that the cultural capital has been celebrated, it extends to an entire region, the Salzkammergut, with 23 municipalities or communities belonging to two federal states (Upper Austria and Styria).
The program covers nearly 200 projects, integrated into four basic lines:
Power and tradition
, with special attention to salt mining, which gives its name to the region, 700 years of struggles for control of the territory, but also a source of wealth. ;
Culture in movement
, music, theater, visual arts, without forgetting popular crafts, youth culture or queer diversity;
Share Salzkammergut,
travel to discover the beauty of the region;
Globalocal
, building the new.
The range of cities and places to discover includes, of course, the historic city of Bad Ischl (the Kaiservilla was the summer retreat of Emperor Franz Joseph I for more than 60 years);
the picturesque Hallstatt, a UNESCO world heritage site, nestled between the lake and the mountains;
Gmunden, city of porcelain;
Bad Aussee and Altaussee, with splendid Alpine panoramic routes... A highlight of celebrations throughout the territory will be the Bruckner Year, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the musician's birth in Ansfelden, a town in Upper Austria.
3. Football and romance
The final phase of the UEFA European Championship will be held in the summer in Germany, from June 14 to July 14.
And, as in the case of the Olympic Games in France, the sporting event will expand to 10 host cities: Berlin, Cologne, Munich, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Dortmund, Leipzig, Gelsenkirchen, Stuttgart and Düsseldorf.
That is, the German map from end to end.
As far as the Spanish men's team is concerned, there will be three key matches, in 10 days of the qualifying phase.
June 15: Spain-Croatia, in Berlin.
It will be held in the Olympic Stadium, a monument built for the 1936 Games. It has been the scene of historical episodes, a fundamental piece in the identity of the capital and a unique architectural work, due to the preserved ancient elements and modern adaptations.
The city has a lot to offer fans.
June 20: Spain-Italy, in Gelsenkirchen.
In the Ruhrgebiet or Ruhr basin, which covers 53 cities (such as Essen, Dortmund, Bochum, Duisburg, Oberhausen...) and brings together several UNESCO heritage sites, such as the old Zollverein mine.
You can travel along the Industrial Culture Route, which reveals an essential chapter in the future of modern Germany.
The old Zollverein mine, in the town of Essen, (Germany).Wirestock (GETTY IMAGES)
June 24: Spain-Albania, in Düsseldorf.
Next to the Altstadt or old town (where the bars and nightlife are concentrated) fans can contemplate from a bird's eye view, from the Rhine Tower, the elegant tree-lined promenades or the neighboring river port Medienhafen, with notable examples of architecture of avant-garde, by Frank Gehry, among others.
In addition to football, the country will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Caspar David Friedrich (1794-1840).
A painter who may not appeal to everyone, but who is, without a doubt, the greatest exponent of German romanticism.
Some of his landscapes have become true icons: cliffs and mountainous places, solitary, coasts battered by storms, ice, ruins... and, sometimes, a silent, enigmatic observer with his back turned.
For some, Friedrich would be (in a twist) a precursor of modern environmentalist currents.
'Moon rising over the sea', work by Caspar David Friedrich.Photos.com / GETTY IMAGES
4. Scrapbook
If in Austria they remember Bruckner and in Germany Friedrich, in other parts of Europe they do not forget other important anniversaries either.
A Spanish saying goes: “Leap year, sinister year,” and, in a way, this fits 2024. There are numerous anniversaries, in round numbers, of the deaths of writers, musicians and painters.
In Flanders, for example, the Ensor Year is celebrated for the 75th anniversary of the death of the artist, who was born, lived and is buried in Ostend.
The house of this “mask painter” who opened the way to expressionism is preserved there, a house now expanded with some adjoining homes.
Not only his hometown: Antwerp is also projecting four large exhibitions of the painter in separate museums.
In the Czech Republic they remember the centenary of the death of Franz Kafka (1883-1924), its most universal writer;
So much so that many may use the Kafkaesque adjective without having read a single line of his.
Another date that Czechs will remember is the birth of Bedrich Smetana (1824-1884), the father of Czech music.
Sculpture by Franz Kafka in Prague (Czech Republic).Cristi Croitoru (Alamy / CORDON PRESS)
Also in Italy, two musicians, Giacomo Puccini and Ferruccio Busoni, gain prominence on the centenary of his death (curiously, the two wrote an opera
Turandot
, although Puccini left it unfinished).
The 101st Verona Opera Festival (June 8 to September 7) will be especially dedicated to Puccini.
The 700th centenary of the death of one of the most famous travelers of all time is also remembered in this country: Marco Polo, who died in Venice after having described his more than 20 years in the Far East, then unknown, in
The book of wonders
The famous carnival of the city of canals will this year focus on his figure, a large exhibition will be dedicated to him at the Palazzo Ducale from April 6 to September 29, and on April 21, at the Teatro La Fenice, An opera about this universal traveling figure will be premiered.
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