From left: Kuba Wojewodzki, Krzysztof Materna, Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski and Warsaw Mayor Hanna Gronkiewicz-Waltz present plans for the opening gala on 1 July. Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymanski
The concert billed for 1 July, when Poland takes over the rotating presidency, is entitled “Tu Warszawa – Warsaw Calling”, and is to feature Polish and international stars, a giant fireworks show, a living carpet comprising 14,000 pots of flowers, as well as 200,000 masks inspired by the art of Picasso as well as many more attractions.
At a press conference detailing the cultural programme during the presidency, celebrity journalist and talk-show host Kuba Wojewodzki, who has been billed as one of the hosts for the four-hour gala opening alongside satirist Krzysztof Materna, told journalists that the event should be “metaphorically and literally a concert which transcends borders between Poland, Europe, and the world.”
It will be a concert during which “the meeting of Polish artists with performers from across the globe will be a proud moment for us, and not an occasion to observe our national complexes,” Wojewodzki added.
The gala concert will also feature music from Wojciech Kilar’s Orawa for string orchestra, as co-host Krzysztof Materna underlined, a prime Polish and European chamber composition.
Speaking of plans connected to the presidency, Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski added that the grand launch was also to signify investment into Poland’s image.
The six-month presidency will be accompanied by 2,500 cultural events in Poland and abroad, mainly in European capitals but also further afield, such as in Beijing and Tokyo.
Presidency in a foul mess?
Meanwhile, not everyone is pleased with the choice of hosts for the opening event. Prominent conservative politician, Ludwik Dorn, who used to be a member of Law and Justice, has slammed the decision to choose Kuba Wojewodzki as one of the hosts.
Ludwik Dorn, a former Parliamentary Speaker, was quick to write on his blog soon after the announcement was made that Wojewodzki would be co-hosting the opening event.
“Culture Minister Bogdan Zdrojewski may not remember, but I do: In March 2008, during one of Mr. Wojewodzki’s programmes, the host and his guests took miniature Polish flags and stuck them into fake dog excrement,” Dorn exclaimed.
Dorn continues on his blog that “[in the view of the ruling Civic Platform], such a choice of host is a clear signal which shows the deepest ideal sense of Poland’s EU [Council] presidency.”
The conservative politician’s blog calls for a picket during the opening gala, with an idea to hire out a large screen with a loop of the television clip of Wojewodzki sticking the Polish flag into dog poo “to the tune of the EU’s anthem, Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, of course,” quips Dorn. (jb/ek)
Source: IAR/PAP/onet.pl/niezalezna.pl