The International Europeade Committee announced on Monday the upcoming Europe 2020 – Together Virtually project – the new, and hopefully, temporary format of the Europeade of European Folk Culture. Europeade is the largest folklore festival in Europe, bringing together over 5 000 dancers, musicians and singers from all over Europe every year in a different city to showcase their countries’ unique cultural and historical heritage.
22 countries were involved in the 2019 edition of the pan-European festival, which was launched in 1964 thanks to the pioneering efforts of Mon De Clopper (1922-1998), the founding chairman of the Movement for Flemish Folk Culture. In 2020, the annual event was scheduled to take place in the Lithuanian city of Klaipeda on August 5-9, had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic. Therefore, organizers decided to set up a remote “Europe 2020 – together virtually” event in its place.
Unity in diversity
This project will consist of the usual 5-day programme – performances, parade and parties. Hundreds of folk ensembles and bands from Portugal to the Baltics, from Cyprus to Scotland will share their cultural experiences and moments of friendship, inviting everyone to join and watch together. So, although the intimate contact may be lost, attendance will surely be much greater. Despite the pandemic, Europeade will stay true to its logo “Unity in Diversity”.
“Europeade is a unique phenomenon in the lives of art lovers. We, the performers of Lithuanian folk dance and music, feel free and united together with various communities in European countries by participating in the events of Europeade. It is a wonderful feeling to see a lot of European flags flying in squares and stadiums and happy people of different nationalities raging in the creation of dance,” reminisces Nijolė Ritvienė, the head of the folk dance ensemble Neris, quoted by the Klaipėda city website. The ensemble represents Lithuania at all Europeade festivals since 1997.
Detailed information about “Europe 2020 – together virtually” will be published shortly before the event on the Europeade website and on the festival’s Facebook page.
Source: TheMayor.EU
