During the opening weekend of the European Capital of Culture Timisoara 2023, more than 130 events took place in the city in the Banat region. More than 800 people were involved in the organisation and implementation of these events, 500 of them volunteers from home, Serbia and Japan.
"We are proud of all the communities in Timisoara: Hungarian, German, Jewish, Serbian, Bulgarian, Roma and many others who have lived here for centuries and in constant constructive dialogue," said Dominic Fritz, the German-born mayor of Timisoara, in Hungarian, before switching back to Romanian and later explaining in German how proud he was to celebrate the title of European Capital of Culture 2023 as a community.
Two years ago, the project seemed unfeasible to many, but the local community believed strongly in it all along. The mayor said:
"During these three days we have shown that the things that bind us together are more valuable than those that divide us. The defining values of the city - innovation, multiculturalism and diversity - have become visible across Europe."
Source: www.transtelex.ro; Dominic Fritz, Facebook