Tens of thousands of guests expected at the Capital of Culture launch

After 15 years, Germany is once again hosting a European Capital of Culture. Under the motto "C the Unseen", Chemnitz is offering more than 200 projects and 1,000 events for a whole year. Tens of thousands of visitors are expected to attend the kick-off this Saturday.

There will be programs on several stages, a ceremony with Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and a grand opening show at the Marx Monument. A rave is also planned at the town hall and 120 people want to pull a historic steam locomotive through the city to commemorate its rich industrial history.

"With this impressive program, Chemnitz and all 38 participating municipalities have the potential to create a cultural beacon that will be perceived throughout Europe," explained Minister of State for Culture Claudia Roth (Alliance 90/Greens). The program appeals to a broad audience and presents culture as a space of diversity, vibrant democracy, close European cooperation and openness to the world.

Programme aims to attract two million visitors

Like the whole of East Germany, Chemnitz also has to contend with prejudice and stigmatization, especially after the riots of 2018, explained Carsten Schneider (SPD), the Federal Government Commissioner for Eastern Germany. In the late summer of 2018, the city made negative headlines due to right-wing extremist excesses. At the time, there were racist attacks and talk of hunts for foreigners.

"I hope that the Capital of Culture Chemnitz will arouse supra-regional interest and invite West Germany in particular to discover many unseen things, true to the motto "C the Unseen"," said Schneider. The Capital of Culture year offers the opportunity for a new, differentiated view.

Chemnitz, which was called Karl-Marx-Stadt in GDR times, is the fourth largest city in East Germany after Berlin, Leipzig and Dresden. It is the fourth time that a city in Germany has held the title of Capital of Culture - after West Berlin (1988), Weimar (1999) and Essen (2010). Around two million visitors are expected over the course of the year.