Today, 9 May, is Europe Day, and Brno is celebrating 18 years since the Czech Republic’s accession to the EU, as well as the Czech presidency of the Council of the EU later this year. A special exhibition to mark the event shows what this partnership has brought to the city and the region. Photo credit: Zdenek Kolarik, Brno City Municipality
Brno, 9 May (BD) – What do the reconstruction of Villa Tugendhat, trolleybuses of the Brno Transport Company (DPMB), and the modernisation of the burns unit at the Bohunice hospital all have in common? In each case, funding was provided by the European Union. The City of Brno’s exhibition on Moravské náměstí summarizing EU-funded projects in Brno and surroundings will be open to the public from 9 to 22 May. An accompanying program awaits visitors on the opening day, which falls on Europe Day.
“The exhibition prepared on the occasion of Europe Day brings information on more than 20 projects co-financed by the European Union on several panels,” said Tomáš Koláčný (Piráti), Deputy Mayor of Brno. “In the cultural sphere alone, we could mention the renovation of the Löw-Beer and Tugendhat villas, the construction of a lapidarium in the former water reservoirs at Špilberk or the extension of public services at the Jiří Mahen Library. Outside of Brno, we also built a cultural site at the castle in Uherčice and archaeological parks in Pavlov and Mikulčice. In my opinion, the whole exhibition is a nice way to symbolically celebrate 18 years since our accession to the EU, and all this on the eve of our Presidency.”
On Europe Day, there will also be a cultural programme by the statue of Jošt on Moravské náměstí, culminating in a concert by the Brno City Theatre. “The event will also be attended by the team preparing Brno’s candidacy for the European Capital of Culture,” added Brno City Councillor for Culture Marek Fišer (Piráti). “The whole day will be themed around France, because together with the Czech Republic, French cities will be running for the title in 2028. In addition, it is France that will hand over the Presidency of the Council of the EU in the middle of this year.”
The full programme of Europe Day, which includes performances, a chillout zone and presentations by organisations involved in foreign cooperation, can be found here.
