Logo of the Capital of Culture 2025

Opening

The Opening of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025

Foto: Peter Rossner

The opening programme offers a first glimpse of the European Capital of Culture year: Chemnitz will open the year as European Capital of Culture with an all-day programme on Saturday, 18 January 2025. The Saxon city shares the title with 38 municipalities from the Ore Mountains, Central Saxony and the Zwickau region.

Under the motto "C THE UNSEEN", Chemnitz 2025 will show previously unseen sides of an East German city and region that are characterised by change, resilience and reinvention. The roots of Chemnitz's forward-looking European identity lie in its rich past. With over 1000 events in the Capital of Culture year, the people of Chemnitz and the Capital of Culture region are locating their regional stories in a European context.

Theatre-maker Lars-Ole Walburg and a three-person team consisting of Timo Martens, Robert Schweer and Maria Walter are responsible for the artistic programme of the opening ceremony.

  • 11:00 - 18:00 "Programme Showcase"

In a "programme showcase", more than 60 of the 160 Capital of Culture projects will present themselves on three stages in the Chemnitz Stadthalle throughout the day with brief individual insights into their projects. The tourism organisations will also be presenting attractions from the region.

  • 14:00 - 18:00 "Cuisine of the Nations" in the Rosenhof

  • 14:00 - 18:00 Stage programme in the city centre

Around Neumarkt, Düsseldorfer Platz and Jakobikirchplatz, three open-air stages invite you to enjoy a programme that changes every half hour.

  • 16:00 - 17:30 Chemnitz 2025 opening ceremony in the opera house

Participation in the ceremony is by personal invitation. The ceremony will be streamed live.

  • 18:00 "Pull along"

120 volunteers have come together in eight teams to pull the historic steam locomotive "Hegel", built by Chemnitz mechanical engineer Richard Hartmann, through the city centre in several stages. This is a reminder of the city's industrial past, when the locomotives were transported to the railway station by horse and cart due to a lack of railway sidings.

  • 19:00 Opening show on Brückenstraße

  • 20:00 Rave on the Neumarkt

  • 20:00 After-parties in Chemnitz clubs

  • 11:00 - 14:00 Stage programme in the city centre

  • 12:00 - 14:00 European policy dialogue in the Hartmannfabrik

European Capital of Culture The Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media Free State of Saxony European Capital of Culture

This project is cofinanced by tax funds on the basis of the parliamentary budget of the state of Saxony and by federal funds from the Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media), as well as funds from the City of Chemnitz.