Initial Recap: Linz09’s Opening was a Blockbuster Hit

05.01.2009

An initial assessment of the Capital of Culture year yields a positive picture across the board! The audience of 130,000 that gathered to witness the “Rocket Symphony” on New Year’s Eve exceeded all expectations.

More than 205,000 visitors including many international guests attended the Capital of Culture year’s opening lineup of events that ran from New Year’s Eve to Sunday, January 4th. Top attraction was the world premiere of the “Rocket Symphony” by Orlando Gough and Tom Ryser—a crowd of 130,000 assembled on Hauptplatz and along the banks of the Danube, and 270,000 viewers saw it on TV.
Finding a vacant hotel room on New Year’s Eve in Linz was a tall order. Virtually all accommodations were booked in the newly-crowned Capital of Culture.
Journalists from Austria and abroad displayed tremendous interest in Linz09. More than 200 media outlet representatives were on-site to report live from Linz.
The Linz09 film screened by the ORF – Austrian Broadcasting Company during the intermission of the Vienna Philharmonic’s New Year’s Concert on January 1st also got rave reviews. An average of about 900,000 viewers in Austria saw the concert, which was broadcast in more than 40 foreign countries.
Linz09’s opening program continued to shine on January 2nd. The premiere of “The Book of Disquiet” starring Klaus Maria Brandauer was a sellout in the newly-opened Hafenhalle09. And there was an enormous turnout for the open house at the newly expanded Ars Electronica Center.