Saturday 8 February 2025 was an incredible day for Nova Gorica and Gorizia: the two cities inaugurated the year of the European Capital of Culture 2025. The celebrations started in the morning at the train station in Gorizia. From here, the parade made up of local associations, artists, musicians, Italian and Slovenian police bands and many other participants set off: passing through the city's main streets, festively dressed in the colour of the Capital, it was greeted by a large audience of all ages. After the greetings of the mayors of Gorizia and Nova Gorica, Rodolfo Ziberna and Samo Turel, the celebration continued in Piazza Vittoria throughout the afternoon with a rich musical programme.

The procession continued through the streets of Gorizia and crossed the border at the San Gabriele crossing, thus symbolically passing the baton to the artists on the Slovenian side. After Erjavčeva, the parade moved to the Bevkov trg, in the pedestrian zone of Nova Gorica, where the audience was welcomed by the two mayors. Various stalls livened up the celebration throughout the afternoon.

The day continued in the afternoon in the square shared by the two cities, Trg Transalpina / Trg Evrope. Here the official ceremony took place, the most formal part of the day, in the presence of important institutional guests, first among them the two presidents of the republic, Sergio Mattarella and Nataša Pirc Musar. After the two Presidents, the Italian and Slovenian Ministers of Culture, Alessandro Giuli and Asta Vrečko, the President of the Autonomous Region of Friuli Venezia Giulia, Massimiliano Fedriga, and the Minister for Slovenes in the World and Vice-President of the Government, Matej Arčon, also spoke. The ceremony was also enriched by musical moments, first of all the anthems - Slovenian, Italian, European - performed by the Italian and Slovenian police bands, and the song Insieme, performed by the two singers Tish and Benko and a children's choir.

The formal ceremony was followed in the afternoon by an artistic performance on the lawn in front of the Nova Gorica town hall. Here, a taste of various projects from the official programme was presented, with dance, music, light and other performances. This moment, too, was followed by many people on the spot and was also broadcast, like the ceremony on Transalpina/ Trg Evrope Square, by the two Italian and Slovenian national TV channels.

The celebration in the two cities continued into the evening hours. The music continued, both at the Vittoria Square and at Kardelj Square. Piazza Transalpina/ Trg Evrope was the scene of an exciting DJ-set with Daddy G (Massive Attack) and Andy Smith (formerly of Portishead), with many people flocking to dance into the night.

Photogallery of the day: Bumbaca, Archive Promoturismo FVG