Europe Day to be celebrated in Georgia this weekend
Orbeliani Square will host Spanish and Swedish evenings and the festivities, including educational and entertaining activities and cultural performances, organised by the Government Administration. Photo: Nino Alavidze/Agenda.ge
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Georgia will celebrate Europe Day with events over the weekend in the country’s capital Tbilisi, the Government Administration announced on Tuesday.
Orbeliani Square will host Spanish and Swedish evenings and the festivities, including educational and entertaining activities and cultural performances, organised by the Government Administration.
May 6 will be celebrated as the Day of Spain, with the guests having a chance to attend traditional paella and sangria master classes and tasting, as well as guitar playing and dancing master classes. Cognitive installations, flower and traditional clothes exhibitions, as well as photo corners, will also be arranged.
The Spanish Day will conclude with Spanish choreographer Antonio Gadès company’s performance of flamenco choreographic scenes from various plays, with the special guests - Georgian National Ballet Sukhishvilebi.
The Day of Sweden will be celebrated on May 7 and the guests will get acquainted with the country’s traditional cuisine. The event will also include an exhibition and sale of books by Swedish authors, an interactive corner of the famous Swedish fictional character Pippi Longstocking and puppet theatre, which will perform Swedish author Astrid Lindgren’s Karlsson-on-the-Roof.
Swedish folk singer Sofia Karlsson and Stockholm-based professional a cappella group Riltons Vänner will close the event with their performance.
“I believe that European unity needs Georgia as much as we need Europe”, Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has stated, congratulating everyone on Europe Day today.
Irakli Kobakhidze, the Chair of the ruling Georgian Dream party, on Wednesday vowed the Georgian authorities’ support for the country’s European integration by saying the “march forward to Europe” would be facilitated “with Christianity”, “with sovereignty” and “with dignity”.
Georgian and European Union officials on Monday marked Europe Day, commemorating the historic 1950 Schuman declaration that laid out a vision for a peaceful postwar Europe and led to the formation of the EU.
Georgia's European integration choice is a decision of both the Government and citizens of the country and has “no alternative,” Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said at an event dedicated to celebrations of Europe Day on Monday.
Pawel Herczynski, the European Union Ambassador to Georgia, on Saturday said “European leaders have decided to expand Europe” and emphasised that Georgia was “one of the potential” candidate countries.
Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili on Saturday, at the opening ceremony of Europe Day in Tbilisi, said “it was time” for the European Union to demonstrate to Georgia, “both in word and action”, that it envisioned its future together with Georgia.
Tbilisi’s hilltop TV tower overlooking Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on Saturday was illuminated in the colours of the European Union flag to mark Europe Day, the Tbilisi City Hall said.