Austria
The annual Vienna autumn fair Wiener Herbstmesse will be held from October 23 to 26. As always, visitors will find games, competitions, contests and - for many most importantly - wine and beer tastings. Here you can also try national dishes of different peoples of the world. The Vienna fair offers guests a wide range of goods related to various areas of life: sports (including extreme sports), fitness, entertainment. In addition, furniture, interior items and folk crafts will be presented.
United Kingdom
The Goose Fair in Nottingham will be held from October 1 to 4. It has been held since 1541, making it one of the oldest and most important fairs in England. According to one legend, a long time ago several hundred geese were brought for sale, and the sight was so impressive that the fair has since been called the Goose Fair. Nottingham Forest will be full of fun and noise - an extensive cultural program is planned there, including rides, concerts, art events and lotteries.
In Kent, in the town of Tenterden, a folk festival will be held from October 3 to 5. This weekend will be dedicated not only to music, but also to dances, parades, children's competitions and theatrical performances. English folk songs, interesting guests, picturesque landscapes of Kent - all this creates a most favorable atmosphere for the festival.
In Cheltenham, a literary festival will be held from October 10 to 19. Founded in 1949, it gained real popularity only in the last eight years. More than 400 poets, writers, philosophers and journalists will come to Britain. Special events for children are planned, aimed at discovering young literary talents. In addition to fiction itself, much attention at the festival will be paid to the art of book design.
An international music festival will be held in Whitby. The weekend of October 24 and 26 will be dedicated to music and dance. Musicians, dancers, listeners and spectators from around the world will gather at the Whitby Music Pavilion.
On October 11, John Lennon Day will be celebrated in Liverpool. In the evening, a memorial concert in honor of Lennon will be held at the famous Clubmoor Hall, where John and Paul first played together. Some travel agencies specially organize tours that include attending the concert and a tour of "Lennon's Liverpool".
Hungary
The autumn Budapest festival will be held from October 17 to November 2. It is one of the most important international events dedicated to contemporary art: masters of music, dance, theater and painting take part in it. Giving guests the opportunity to get acquainted with new trends in art, the organizers in no way fixate solely on Hungary - most artists will come to Budapest from abroad, so even if local performers perform here, they will be at the same world level.
Germany
In Hamburg, from October 25 to November 2, a boat show will be held, combining an exhibition and demonstration performances. The event will take place in the exhibition center and in the "sports harbor" of Hamburg, respectively. The atmosphere promises to be friendly and the performances interesting. Every year, about 145,000 tourists come here to see the Hanseboot exhibition, which marks the start of the new water season. And it is here that industry leaders present their new products.
In October, you can still catch "Oktoberfest" - the largest beer festival, which will last until October 5 in Munich.
In October, Germany will delight not only fans of beer and spectacular events, but also art connoisseurs. The largest event in the art world will be the Art Cologne fair in Cologne, which has been attracting visitors from all over the world since 1967. This year, 20th-century art will be represented by 250 galleries from 22 countries. Particular attention is paid to the end of the last century. In addition to viewing the exposition and business agreements, the organizers have also provided a special program - discussions between gallery owners, artists and art experts "from the audience". Special guided tours will be held for fair guests, and separate tours are provided for children over five. Art Cologne will start on October 29 and last until November 2.
And finally, another important event in Germany's cultural life is the international book fair in Frankfurt. Founded after World War II, it has long become the main book forum in the world and, as it were, a symbol of modern book trade. Writers and poets, journalists and publishers, booksellers and representatives of leading branches of the book business travel to the Buchmesse in Frankfurt every October.
Buchmesse Frankfurt 2003 will present not only books, atlases, magazines and other periodicals, but also electronic media. A special festival program has been developed, which includes concerts and theatrical performances. This year, Russia will be the honorary guest of the exhibition-fair: readings of works by Russian writers will be arranged, Russian stars will also take part in concert and theater performances. A separate program will be dedicated to the 300th anniversary of St. Petersburg. The exhibition-fair will be held from October 8 to 13.
Netherlands
The largest Dutch fair Pan Amsterdam will be held from October 19 to 26 in the capital of the Netherlands. The national exhibition-fair of art and antiques is intended so that every visitor can find something for themselves. There is always a huge selection of antique and modern tableware, glass, silver, clocks, furniture, modern painting and photography, ethnographic art and icons.
From October 11 to 18, the only festival in the world dedicated to silent cinema will be held in the town of Pordenone near Venice. This year it will feature films by Marion Cooper, Ivan Mozzhukhin, and many other silent film stars. The specificity of this film festival attracts spectators from around the world every year. Screenings of rare, little-known films will be accompanied by silent cinema hits, and the festival will open and close with musical shows styled according to the early 20th century.
Another unique event: from October 3 to 5, the world's only exhibition of summer toys and games, Gio-sun, will be held in Rimini for the 18th time. According to statistics, interest in this exhibition grows every year. Last year Gio-sun was visited by more than 27,000 people. Both simple toys and boats and other sports equipment will be presented.
Spain
From October 15 to 18, Madrid will host SIV-2003, the international wine exhibition. Although this year's SIV is only the third, it has already gained popularity among both producers and tourists. And for good reason. For although SIV is declared as an exhibition, in fact it is also a fair. Simply put, guests of the exhibition have an attractive opportunity not only to see but also to taste wines of new collections. Last year, the exhibition, where buyers and tasters were offered wines from Italy, France, Great Britain, Mexico, New Zealand, Panama, Portugal, and Spain, was visited by more than 47,000 people from 29 countries. This year there will likely be even more guests.
And from October 5 to 9, Barcelona will host the ninth art fair Artexpo. Its organizers speak of a desire to introduce visitors to new trends in contemporary art. Not only paintings will be presented, but also sculpture, photography, ceramics, and the latest achievements of graphic art from Spain and other countries of the world.
But the main thing that those who come to Spain in October will see is the autumn holidays that will be celebrated everywhere. October 12 in the Spanish calendar is a double holiday: the feast of Our Lady of the Pillar and the national holiday of Hispanidad. The cult of Our Lady of the Pillar is one of the most widespread and beloved in Catholic Spain. As for the Hispanidad holiday, the birthday of the community of Spanish-speaking peoples and the day of Spanish civilization, it is met with a rather skeptical attitude by many modern Spaniards.
Spain will also please with a seafood festival - on October 6, the annual festival will take place in the town of O Grove (Galicia). This is the most grandiose event of its kind in Europe; all avid lovers of seafood will gather here. In addition to tastings, there will be sculpture exhibitions, folk dance festivals, concerts, and sports competitions. Particularly popular in O Grove is the local dish viera - baked scallops prepared in a special way with bread and herbs.
Moldova
One of the largest and most resounding wine festivals this October may be the annual wine festival in Moldova, which will take place on October 11-12 in Chisinau. Dedicated to the National Wine Day, the festival is designed to raise the culture of winemaking and viticulture and support the prestige of Moldovan wines. The program includes a parade of winemakers, a wine fair, tastings, as well as contests and lotteries, consultations with experts, and performances by creative groups. In addition to the wine fair, a souvenir fair will also be open, and on the closing day, October 12, at 8 p.m., a festive fireworks display will boom over the city.
Poland
An international theater festival will be held in Wrocław from October 1 to 12. It consists of four parts, each organized as a kind of dialogue between contemporary theater and the contemporary spectator: first, performances will be shown (16 are planned, both Polish and foreign), followed by meetings and conversations with festival participants, directors and actors, and master classes for young theater critics. The festival will end with an international conference "Are we witnessing the birth of a new theater?" The texts of the performances, meetings, conversations and the conference will be synchronously translated into Polish, English and Russian.
France
Those who come to the traditional Salon du Chocolat will feel Parisian life in all its glory. Dark and white chocolate is presented here not as a delicacy, but as... clothing or its elements. Extravagant evening dresses decorated with chocolate tiles, French models dressed in seductive chocolate "outfits," and much more will be presented in Paris from October 29 to November 2.
Well, you can not only see but also taste French life at the international gastronomic fair in Dijon, which has been held annually since 1921. However, here not only food and drink (first of all, of course, wines) will be presented, but also furniture and the art of leisure. The exhibition-fair will take place from October 31 to November 11 at the Dijon Parc des Expositions.
And from October 8 to 13, FIAC 2003, the international art fair, invites you to Paris. This is an anniversary year - FIAC is celebrating its 30th anniversary. FIAC-2003 will bring together an exhibition of 174 art galleries from around the world, and for the first time in 30 years, works from Canada, Japan, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Cuba will be presented. The works of painting, photography, sculpture, and video art gathered here date from the birth of the avant-garde to the latest masterpieces of contemporary art.