Official opening
MEGA EVENT
The Opening of European Capital of Culture Aarhus 2017: Unique, luminous and absolutely magical
Official opening, Saturday 21st January 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The night of the 21st January 2017 will be filled with magical moments, with angelic sounds and songs lifted by the wind to soar above the crowds as we welcome 2017. With one of the largest community participation events ever held in Denmark, Aarhus 2017 invites the world to join us in a year full of spectacular cultural events.
Setting sail from Musikhuset Aarhus at 7:00 pm, several thousand lanterns, six large Viking ships, almost a thousand choir singers, musicians and several thousand citizens carrying many thousands of illuminated ships, will transform Aarhus City Centre into a floating sea of people, music and epic scenarios.
The light procession through the city will involve more than 5,000 participants from across the region, who will walk, sing and have fun, accompanied by lur players, Faroese singer Eivör, Aarhus Jazz Orchestra, Aarhus Symphony Orchestra and other orchestras, humming, singing and playing to the sound of sea and waves.
The procession will culminate in an epic show, projected as tableaus on the big buildings in the Aarhus Harbour. The opening ceremony is expected to finish at 9:00 pm.
The opening ceremony is created by artistic director, Nigel Jamieson, one of the world’s leading creators of theatre and large-scale events. Nigel Jamieson is known for his direction of the iconic ”Tin Symphony” for the opening of The Olympic Games in Sydney in 2000, the closing ceremony of Manchester Commonwealth Games and the opening ceremony of the European Capital of Culture Liverpool 2008.
In the weeks leading up to the opening, we will share more information on the route, spectator spots, transport and parking etc.
Learn more at http://www.aarhus2017.dk/en/official-opening/ or on Facebook.
The Opening is supported by Købmand Herman Sallings Fond and Bestseller.