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Located two hours from Amsterdam, the Dutch city of Leeuwarden is popular for its lakes and canals as well as its coastline, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In addition, it is the capital of the province of Friesland and from next year it will also be the European capital of culture 2018. But the title will not fall only on this northern city but will share it with the city of Valletta, in Malta. Definitely a formidable opportunity to visit Leeuwarden and Valletta next year.
To win the capital, the candidates had to present an interesting cultural program capable of attracting tourists from all over the world and favoring the local economy. The one in Valletta and Leeuwarden was so attractive that the other cities that entered the contest had no choice.
Leeuwarden, The Netherlands
The one in the Dutch city is a very complete cultural program. Its theme is "Open Community", which refers to the Frisian term Iepen Mienskip whose origin dates back to the times when the Frisians had to put aside their differences and unite to face the floods that devastated the province.
The Leeuwarden 2018 cultural program aims to reinvent that local feeling as the city prepares to welcome four million people eager to soak up culture. For this, more than sixty events have been programmed that will include exhibitions, theater, opera, landscape art, concerts or sports.
With all that is planned for 2018, we will start warming up with the largest exhibition organized to date on the figure of Mata Hari, a native of Leeuwarden. The exhibition "Mata Hari: the myth and the young woman" at the Fries Museum brings together images, letters and military archives, scrapbooks and personal belongings that will help us meet Margaretha Zelle, the young Friesian behind the iconic character of the sensual spy. This exhibition will take place from October 2017 to April 2018.
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Between April and October 2018, the Fries Museum will present to the public another great exhibition on MC Escher, another of the most internationally known Leeuwarden artists.
Entitled "Escher's Journey", the exhibition will delve into the mental and physical path traveled by one of the most relevant graphic artists of the last century through nearly eighty important works, various sketches and notes that the artist took during his travels. to Spain and Italy, two countries that were great sources of inspiration in his career.
Starting on May 11, tourists will be able to admire eleven fountains that have been designed by international artists to honor each of the eleven historic cities in the province of Friesland. The Spanish Jaume Plensa has been commissioned to create the Leeuwarden fountain, a design with two children's heads on a cloud of mist.
In August 2018, for the summer, the mythical street theater company Roya de Luxe will bring its iconic giants to Leeuwarden who will walk through the streets of the Dutch city to represent its history and folklore.
Other notable events are the theatrical show "De Stormruiter" with more than one hundred Friesian horses or the exhibition "Sense of Place", right in the heart of the Wadden Sea coast (Unesco World Heritage Site since 2009), in the that different artists will create more than fifty works in twenty different towns along the coast.
As if that were not enough, Leeuwarden has around six hundred interesting architectural monuments to see on a walking route, such as Oldehove, the Dutch tower of Pisa. Also, those who like to go shopping cannot miss the Kleine Kerkstraat, one of the most charming shopping avenues in the Netherlands.
Valletta, Malta
From next January 20, when the 2018 European capital of culture is inaugurated, and throughout the rest of the year Valletta will become the European cultural headquarters alongside Leeuwarden.
Throughout the year, Valletta is a major cultural epicenter in Malta, with a calendar of events ranging from religious processions and jazz and opera festivals to the famous Maltese carnival and theatrical performances.
Precisely, its theme will be the Maltese 'Festa' and the program will be structured around four themes: cities, islands, itineraries and generations.
Around a thousand local and international artists will participate in the more than 400 events and 140 projects that have been organized to celebrate this special honor.
During the official ceremony there will be multiple open-air shows such as the Triton Fountain, the Plaza de San Juan, the Plaza de San Jorge (which will become a floral carpet) or the Castille Square. In addition, on the opening weekend, performances by La Fura Dels Baus, the dancers of? FinMalta from, as well as digital projections throughout Valletta, have been prepared.
Other very interesting activities will be an opera season, the Malta Film Festival, the Mediterranean Literature Festival, the second edition of the Valletta Pageant of the Seas, an event that will transform the Grand Harbor with nautical shows and fireworks, and the Altofest Malta, Maltese edition of the Naples art festival.
But in addition to soaking up the culture in the activities scheduled for the 2018 European Capital of Culture, you can also get to know Valletta by walking through its cobbled streets. and knowing its historical buildings as well as the spectacular landscapes that surround it, such as the views from the Grand Harbor or the Buskett Gardens nature reserve, made up of 30 hectares of gardens planted by the Knights Hospitallers.