Baku to host cultural heritage festival

By Azernews

By Laman Ismayilova

The EU Delegation to Azerbaijan will host FantazEU Cultural Heritage Festival on March 1-18. 

The festival aims at promoting European cultural diversity, with particular focus on European cultural heritage in Azerbaijan, including demonstrating links between European and Azerbaijani cultural heritage.

The event is organized in partnership with the EU Member States, with the active participation of Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, France, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia and Sweden.

The Arts Council of Azerbaijan is providing organizational support under a contract financed by the European Union Delegation to Azerbaijan.

The FantazEU festival is the successor of the Fantazia Cultural Heritage Festival, which has been organized by the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan since 2018.

The festival took its name from the Fantazia Hamam, which was built in Baku at the end of the 19th century and featured European and local architectural elements.

A press conference has been held ahead of the festival.

Speaking at the press conference, the head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan Peter Michalko stressed that the European Union and its member states are committed to supporting and preserving cultural diversity.

He noted that the festival in Azerbaijan has turned into a creative platform for demonstrating cultural diversity.

Peter Michalko emphasized that the FantazEU festival provides an opportunity to demonstrate  Azerbaijan's cultural diversity.

The head of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan expressed his confidence that the project will also contribute to a strong partnership between the EU and Azerbaijan.

Lithuanian Ambassador to Azerbaijan Egidijus Navikas underlined that the festival's program i very interesting and diverse. He added that an exhibition of the Lithuanian artist will open in Baku within the festival

Further, the representative of the Latvian Embassy in Azerbaijan Via Busha, the cultural adviser of the French Embassy Jerome Kehl and the representative of the Hungarian Embassy on Culture and Tourism Mihai Gruber, as well as the head of the NGO Arts Council Azerbaijan Dadash Mammadov provided insight into the festival's program.

The festival will feature numerous indoor and open-air photo exhibitions, concerts, literature evenings, workshops, film screenings and guided tours.

FantazEU Cultural Heritage Festival will take place at various cultural and educational venues in Baku, including the International Mugham Center, ADA University, Nizami cinema, the Baku Book Center, Art Tower Gallery, as well as the Landmark Hotel and Business Centre.

The full programme of the FantazEU Festival is available at the website of the EU Delegation to Azerbaijan.