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Tags: Capitals of Culture / Meltdownomics / Vilnius / Baltics / European Capital of Culture / → All Tags

Is Vilnius Too Broke To Be A Role Model?

Austrian city Linz is just one of the European capitals of culture for 2009--one's just not enough culture, apparently. The second is the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius, a place we rather like, but we're not quite sure they've got the right approach to this whole "culture" thing.

Visit their official website and you'll see the Vilnius gang are already getting worried. Headlining the site is a ramble about re-doing the Capital of Culture budget so that they can save eight million Litas (over $3 million) because of the economic crisis.

So who knows what will remain. We're figuring the New Year's Eve sound and light show is too close to cancel, but will June's culture night and next November's light festival survive the budget cuts?

The good news is we're guessing the haiku project isn't too pricey in the first place, so you'll still be able to read a few Vilnius-inspired three-liners.

Related Stories:
· Vilnius Capital of Culture 2009 [Official Site]
· No Kangaroos But Tons of Culture in Austria in 2009 [Jaunted]
· Vilnius Travel Guide [Jaunted]

[Photo: Vilnius CultureLive]

Tags: Capitals of Culture / Music Travel / Austria / Vienna / European Capital of Culture / → All Tags

No Kangaroos But Tons Of Culture In Austria In 2009

As if we were in any doubt that Austria was a mighty cultural place, the coming year of 2009 will hammer it into us completely, and we're hoping the Austrians will even get rid of those "There are no kangaroos in Austria" T-shirts.

To start out, the northern city of Linz is a European Capital of Culture for 2009 which means a major overload of stuff to see and do. The opening festival runs from New Year's Eve through to January 2 with countdowns and concerts and, well, culture.

Meanwhile, Vienna' music scene celebrates Haydn some 200 years after his death. The over-zealous Viennese have planned 1,500 different events in 2009 to celebrate Haydn's music so if nothing's happening the day you arrive, you're just not reading the schedule right.

Related Stories:
· Linz European Capital of Culture 2009 [Official Site]
· Haydn Year 2009 [Official Site]
· Austria Hearts Haydn, 200 Years On [Jaunted]

[Photo: paula moya]