More than 33 countries are being represented at Galway 2020, in a programme that covers the themes of landscape, language and migration.
Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture, which launched with a free week-long festival of fire in Galway City in February, welcomed HRH Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge earlier this week.
The eclectic programme makes the most of what the Emerald Isle has to offer: for the 2020 European Capital of Culture programme mountains of Connemara in Ireland will be turned into canvas, in the largest ever light spectacle by Finnish artist Kari Kola; Irish artist John Gerrard is creating a vast mirror pavilion reflecting the environment of a 4,000-year-old bog; and Homer’s Odyssey will be staged on the beaches of Galway.
The programme is packed with music, theatre, literature, visual arts, dance, film, architecture, heritage, sport and food. Each of the four seasons will open with a fire festival, reflecting the Irish tradition of marking the new season with fire.
Galway 2020 creative director Helen Marriage said: “Galway, with its ancient landscapes and histories, its different peoples and its many languages is an extraordinary place, where artists have always led the way. It is a privilege for us at Artichoke to play a part in shaping this unique celebration of the culture of Ireland, reflecting on its importance in a European and global context. Galway 2020 European Capital of Culture is built on the efforts of those creative people who have chosen to live and work here over the last 40 years.”