Opening
The Opening of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025
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 Offical Protocol Opening in the opera house
At the official protocol opening, Lord Mayor Sven Schulze will welcome Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, Saxony's Prime Minister Michael Kretschmer, the EU Commissioner for Intergenerational Justice, Youth, Culture and Sport, Glenn Micallef, as well as the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and the Media, Claudia Roth, and other guests from politics, business, culture and society. Andrea Pier and Stefan Schmidtke, Managing Directors of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH, will also accept the Melina Mercouri Prize, which is endowed with 1.5 million euros. This prize, named after the former Greek Minister of Culture and initiator of the European Capital of Culture programme, will be awarded to Chemnitz following the jury's recommendation to the EU Commission for the successful third monitoring.
The ceremony for invited guests will be broadcast live on MDR television.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
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
