Veszprém city is a real gem of the Balaton Uplands, referred to often as the city of queens. The city government recognised that Veszprém stands out in the region as the capital of culture and music. Hangvető has long been cooperating with Veszprém, developing cultural strategies and managing the entire process from tender writing to implementation.
With a tender managed and curated by Hangvető, Veszprém city has won the European Capital of Culture 2023 title. Local institutions, formal and informal cultural centers, outstanding figures and influencers, civilians and culture industry specialists were all involved in the tender writing process, resulting in a truly multifaceted proposal. An ambitious team has assembled to implement the ECoC project year. They work tirelessly to build Veszprém’s community through culture, and to produce sustainable and innovative activities that are also rooted in local traditions and safekeep and boost the region’s living cultural heritage.
Let’s Play! Festival
Nobody is too old to play – this is the core idea of our festival, launched in 2022. Játékfesztivál (‘Let’s Play Festival’) takes place in two tiny villages of the Balaton Uplands region, Vöröstó and Barnag. Our goal is to help adults (re)discover the joy of playing while engaging a younger audience as well: at Let’s play, both E-sport and petanque have their place. Játékfesztivál is organised as a part of Veszprém ECoC 2023.
Expect a bolder and bigger event next year!
The goal of Veszprém is to become the most musical city in Hungary, with the highest number of residents making music in some form. Hangjáték – ‘Soundplay’ in English – aims to manifest this ambition in line with UNESCO’s City of Music title, through a varied and eclectic offer of programmes: workshops, drumming and singing circles, community events, and a brand new (pop) music school named Hangár.
At Hangvető, we take great pride in organizing InterUrbán, a flagship event of Veszprém ECoC 2023: during its lifetime, this intercultural bazaar of events will bring 150 programmes to the Veszprém and Balaton region. Offering cultural delicacies from cities like Bologna, Chemnitz, Ghent, Sevilla, Tartu, with InterUrbán you can go on a round the world trip without even leaving the country!
The closing event of the 4-year-long MOST – The Bridge for Balkan Music project is BALKAN:MOST Showcase and Conference, in cooperation with WOMEX, located in Veszprém. The three-day event is planned to feature the best and brightest of Balkan world music, illustrating the success of MOST. Planning with 25 performers – both renown and upcoming – and over 200 world music industry experts invited from all around the globe, World Music Capital will be a true celebration of all the untapped potential of the Balkan region’s world music scene.
It’s a cliché for a reason: young people are the future. It’s up to them what our lives will look like in five, ten, fifteen years. But being active in local issues isn’t always that easy, and motivation can get lost during the process. How do we get from idea to project anyway?
These internal and external blocs are exactly what Veszprém’s European Youth Capital tender wants to target. Good news is, the bid, managed and curated by Hangvető, was selected amongst the four best. The final round will happen in November 2021 in Brussels, where two young Veszprémers, Noel Simon and Barbara Hegedűs will represent the youth of the city. Fingers crossed!
Veszprém following the cultural strategy created by Hangvető, has become a part of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network in the music subcategory. Veszprém, needless to say, loves music – from big names who can fill the greatest stadiums all the way to enthusiasts and street music performers, Veszprém welcomes music in all shapes and forms. The city has dedicated special attention to music and dance education as well, organises an outstanding number of musical events, and actively promotes music-related tourism as well. After having joined the Creative Cities Network, Veszprém later won the UNESCO – Music City title as well.
