Chemnitz is Capital of Culture - big celebration on January 18

The countdown is on: On January 18, Chemnitz will ring in the year as European Capital of Culture with a big celebration. Around 80,000 visitors are expected in the city center. Those responsible do not yet want to reveal any details about the big opening show at the Marx Monument with prominent guests. "It will be a big surprise," said program director Stefan Schmidtke to the German Press Agency dpa.

It is known that there will be programs on several stages in the city centre, a ceremony in the opera house and a rave at the town hall. The opening day will end with parties in the city's clubs.

More than 200 projects

The program book is to be published in the next few days. It contains 229 projects, explained Schmidtke - three times as many as planned in the original application book. On the opening day, the Stadthalle will become a living program book, with many projects presenting themselves there.

For example, an art and sculpture trail entitled "Purple Path", which connects the city with the surrounding area, an Edvard Munch exhibition, dance, music and art festivals, top-class exhibitions on the transformation of European industrial cities, European reform movements in art and mining are planned. Also planned are the world premiere of the opera "Rummelplatz" based on the novel by Werner Bräunig and summer concerts of all kinds against a historical backdrop on Theaterplatz.

The theme of war and peace will also feature 80 years after the end of the Second World War, as Schmidtke explained when asked. Cyclists will be reviving the ideas of the International Peace Ride at the cross-border European Peace Ride. A European peace ringing is planned for May 8. There will also be activities on March 5 - on this day in 1945, parts of the city were destroyed in Allied air raids. Around 2,100 people died in the process.

Preparations for the Capital of Culture year date back to 2017, when Chemnitz was awarded the title by a jury in 2020. The application is often seen as a reaction to the right-wing extremist riots of 2018, but the process had already begun beforehand, emphasizes Schmidtke. "These events were not the original reason for the application, but gave its thematic formulation another twist."