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Very important for us is our return to the streets

About the forthcoming 33rd volume of festival Summer of culture Bratislava 2008 we talk with its main organizer and dramaturgist Ing. Vladimír Grežo - Director of BKIS

The Summer of Culture Bratislava – the biggest festival with longest tradition in the capital draws nearer. Its grandiose opening will this year provide a rock legend – Lenny Kravitz. Why did you choose this star?
In the past years our festival was opened by Sting and Tori Amos, this year comes Lenny Kravitz. Grandiose opening concerts help us to focus a huge number of visitors. And its important to say, that Lenny Kravitz finally chose Bratislava what is a great news. In general we try to keep the opening megaconcert as a grandiose event to gain people’s attention. And this is why our shining sun – a symbol of the festival – will welcome summer and right by such a legend like Lenny Kravitz. Our sun will then shine from thousands of places from our invitation posters.


Can you tell us what can we look forward in the beginning of festival – except the grandiose opening?
Opening week will last as long as 11 days – from June 11 till June 30 will take place 18 concerts with performers from 9 countries. If you are interested in genres, so in the opening part lasting more than a week we want to start with children programs. There is a children’s country festival with international participation - HEEL & TOE SHOW, a great concert of flamenco group FLACO DE NERJA BAND, The Bratislava City Choir will also perform; 33rd volume of Guitar festival of Johann Kaspar Mertz will start with many excellent musicians and last but not least the „Statue and object“ project starts. We think that this selection will be great start and invitation to The Summer of Culture, beside the already mentioned concert of Lenny Kravitz.


Why did Celtic Korzo Party, such a successful event previous year, not get into the program of opening week?
Maybe it is because of this successful event was part of a the festival for 10 years and after agreement with group The Cassidys and dance group Petronella we are looking for new form and place of Celtic Korzo Party. Such form and place that will please visitors and which would change its shape, because it deserves it after 10 years. Right now we are talking about event, which could take place on Devín castle in only one date, when they can perform – in September.


How did the membership in IFEA (International Festivals and Events Association Europe) influence the organization and dramaturgy of this year’s The Summer of Culture?
During the organization and the realization of the festival we kept in mind that authorities of IFEA Europe will visit us in summer, because we are in the final round of city selection for the annual IFEA Europe conference. There is just last competitor left – The Canary Islands. But honestly, the dramaturgy wasn’t dramatically influenced. Our biggest challenge was the fact that the 33rd volume is coming.


Forthcoming reconstruction of the Old Town Hall seriously affected one of the most stable stages in downtown, where the most popular cycles are placed. How did you solve this situation?
I think that excellently, because this situation forced us to find and prepare other stages which actually mean that we managed to “occupy“another two squares. In that moment city entered the problem which returned us also this beautiful courtyard. So now we have three stages instead of one.


After three decades of the existence of festival are citizens of Bratislava used to many cycles and festival which are steady part of its dramaturgy. But it is well known that every summer the festival offers some novelties and innovations that refresh and support new cultural trends. What can we expect this year?
We have great new theatrical project in which we cooperate with Prague. It’s called - Leto hereckých osobností Bratislava – Praha and will last from July 20 till July 31. This theatrical festival will offer great plays but mostly unique casts you can really look forward to. New test and pilot project is a dance-theatrical project – Art festival New Europe which will take place in the heart of the city on the Main Square. And last but not least we’ve got some one time events which will mainly enrich our main project – Oživené ulice (Lively streets). It’s a project we don’t want to reveal too much about it yet and that’s why I would like to invite you to the press conference to The Summer of Culture Bratislava 2008 held on June 20. Conference will begin only for journalists but will end in a happening for visitor to let them know, what will happen during The Summer of Culture Bratislava 2008.


One of the favorite features of the festival is its price availability and frankness to the general public. Will The Summer of Culture Festival Bratislava 2008 be as broad and generous as usual?
Yes, it will and I can confirm that it is a rule for us. Most of the events are open, and they take place on open stages. New projects, we bring and prepare, also require highest quality and at the same time we want to match them to the visitors needs and wishes. To be open for everyone means to be open for Slovak visitors and we know, of course, that one of the conditions is the price, so for sure yes.


The festival got many fans and visitors by rich and various offer for families with children. How will you delight children this year?
Children are for us one of the most important visitors for us and that’s maybe why we will pay more attention to them this year. Free Saturday afternoons in ZOO, and cycle „Rodinné Zoologiády“ from 3 o’clock PM in renewed amphitheatre in ZOO are staying unchanged. Children festival Heel&Toe show is prepared (with participation of more than 350 dancers accompanied by country groups), which is in Bratislava for the first time. For children was always cheerful and successful the Fairy Town Hall. So the Fairy Mondays will continue and we hope that they will be as successful as they used to be. Attractive sailings for families with children will take place once a month and maybe this year children will be delighted by the St. Lawrence Celebration (the patron saint of cooks, confectioners and pastry chefs) that will take place on June 16 on the Main Square.


Big events, like Bratislava pre všetkých or first volume of the city Majáles showed, that a good program can bring together all generations and surprisingly attracted great number of young people. How want The Summer of Culture Bratislava 2008 attract this group of people?
The summer events are a bit different than those you mentioned, they do not take place in summer months. Summer evokes need to travel. There are many festivals in Slovakia but despite it I don’t think that we omit this group of people even if it isn’t the main group. We’ve got events like <inline-bratislava> or Letný Bažant kinematograf, but also new projects like Arena of Young European Festivals which are set for young people. Of course, we take into consideration the fact, that we are a city festival and therefore we want to satisfy every visitor coming to our festival.


Did the Bratislava Culture and Information Centre, as the main dramaturgist, choose some special strategy within the process of „approximation of people with culture in streets of the city“? Where can we meet cultural events except downtown? Are there any places according to you that are worth bigger attention?
We try and test every year new scenes in order to be closer to the visitor and this year, I have to say, we found unexpectedly a new and interesting stage for our Summer Shakespeare Festival, which will take place as usually on the castle but it will be moving. A very good stage is the scene at The Red Crayfish or Devín castle. Very important for us is our return to the streets. In previous years we tried wandering theatrical fencing events, now we are coming with more modern surprise, that will be mobile, dynamic...and again I will not tell more...visit our press conference on June 20 and you will get more of it.


The Summer of Culture festival is celebrating its respectable 33rd birthday. How will you celebrate this symbolic volume? Are you preparing some birthday surprise?
We are preparing something, but you know how it goes...you don’t speak about surprises because then they are no surprises. But I don’t want to avoid answer to this question. We are preparing for the 33rd birthday a gift to all those loyal visitors, that keep the interest about our festival and thanks to them the attendance raised to respectable number – more than 100 000 visitors. Important and interesting places, where the surprise will happen will be streets of the city where will irregularly appear unusual programs and those you will recognize by our symbol – shining sun. We also prepare one megaproject that will be organized on the Devín castle. All these things should be gifts to the 33rd birthday and if we would be successful in the IFEA selection...that would be another great gift for our festival.


Do you have some personal favorite event or performer in this year’s program that you are awaiting the most?
Personally I am looking forward to the Summer Shakespeare Festival, this year with extraordinary cast and I hope that all four prepared plays will satisfy every visitor. This year is dramaturgically very well prepared the and if I should choose some concert, so besides Lenny Kravitz it will be concert of Jan Fabrický or Stano Palúch, who’s coming with a jazz band.


In 2007 reached The Summer of culture festival great success – more than 100 000 visitors. What are the ambitions of this year’s festival? Is the festival prepared for such a huge success?
The true is that you can’t be well prepared for success and for problems. But for sure, we don’t want to disappoint our visitors and we want to bring them new stages, new projects and so shows our program. We want to provide them better service and more accessible information and all this is joined with our wish that everybody will be able to find at least one program. I believe that it isn’t just a question of dramaturgy but also a matter of accessibility of information and in this aspect we want to do this year some extra steps. And finally we’ve got few surprises, and that „few“ can reach number up to twenty so it is a reason to pay more attention where our symbol, shining sun, will appear and maybe you will experience something unusual.


Thank you for interview