Capital of Culture Year: The Anticipation is Growing!
Copyright: Paul Kranzler
New Year’s Eve also signals the start of the Capital of Culture year. From December 31, 2008 to January 2, 2009, Linz will be one big festive celebration.
The exciting countdown to the Capital of Culture year will already be getting underway on the afternoon of December 31 with actions, music and pre-parties situated between the Old City and the Danube. The world premiere of the “Rocket Symphony” featuring 500 singers, musical artistry and fireworks will be launched shortly after midnight. Next up is the big party that will kick off downtown by 1 AM at the latest. In addition to traditional New Year’s Day activities, one of the highlights of the entire Capital of Culture year heads the January 1st lineup: the vernissage of “Best of Austria,” an exhibition assembling the most superb and most famous artworks from collections, museums and galleries throughout Austria. The big event of January 2nd will be the opening of the expanded Ars Electronica Center. Then, for the first time in this year of superlatives, Linz09 will be making its way through all the city’s neighborhoods. One of the concluding highpoints of the opening festivities is a work of musical theater to be staged in the newly-built Hafenhalle09: “Book of Disquiet” features Klaus-Maria Brandauer and the Bruckner Orchestra Linz.Complete details about the opening are online at www.linz09.at/opening.
