Closing of the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS of the ECB– France 2012

The EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS OF THE ECB – France 2012 came to an end yesterday evening with a grand closing event at the Gesellschaftshaus im Palmengarten in Frankfurt in which Compagnie XY performed its show “Le Grand C”.

Organised in close cooperation with the Banque de France, this year’s CULTURAL DAYS focused on French art and culture, with events ranging from concerts, literary events and exhibitions to dance, films and culinary events taking place at various locations in Frankfurt am Main between 17 October and 14 November.

For the third time in the history of the CULTURAL DAYS, a charity concert was organised in close cooperation with the City of Frankfurt. On this occasion, the French orchestra Le Cercle de l’Harmonie performed at the Hermann Josef Abs Saal on 10 November. Following the concert, a total of €6,000 was donated to the FRANKFURTER LESEPATEN, an initiative that offers learning assistance to primary school children from families with different cultural backgrounds by helping them to improve their reading skills.

For almost four weeks, the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS have provided a unique and exciting insight into France’s cultural life, including its strong traditions and the artistic innovations of the present day. Mario Draghi, the President of the ECB, said: “I would like to thank all the artists and performers for taking part, as well as the City of Frankfurt and all our sponsors and partners for their commitment and support. They have all been instrumental in making the CULTURAL DAYS a success”. And Christian Noyer, the Governor of the Banque de France, added: “The past four weeks have been filled with “fabulous events”. I hope that audiences in Frankfurt were able to make the most of these Cultural Days and that they were fascinated, like I was, by the multidisciplinary nature and quality of the programme. It allowed us not only to travel in time, but also to experience the diversity of French culture”.

The country to be featured in 2013 will be Latvia. The grand opening event will take place on 16 October 2013.

Detailed information about the EUROPEAN CULTURAL DAYS OF THE ECB – Latvia 2013, which will be organised in cooperation with Latvijas Banka, will be available on the ECB’s website nearer the time.