Austria
As in other European countries, in Austria the culmination of carnival celebrations falls at the end of February and the first days of March. On the streets of cities and villages people sing and dance, sometimes in very strange costumes: for example, in some cities an annual “Procession of Fat People” takes place, whose participants dress in such a way that they become enormous.
The last Sunday before Lent is called “Sparkling Sunday”: on this day, to the lively sounds of brass bands, in the villages and towns of the province of Vorarlberg, a wooden tower is burned and a straw-stuffed effigy filled with gunpowder is exploded (it is said to be a witch). This is how Austrians drive away winter.
By the end of the first week of March, less riotous holidays replace the carnivals. At this time in Vienna the season of winter balls ends, but music festivals begin. Thus, in early March, Haydn Days take place here, and from mid-March - days of sacred music.
The city of Graz, capital of the province of Styria, has been declared European Capital of Culture for 2003. Throughout the year, exhibitions, performances, and street performances take place here. In addition, from March 23 to 30, Graz will host the annual film festival “Diagonal”, which will feature contemporary Austrian films - feature and documentary, full-length and short, animated and video, as well as television works and the work of avant-garde directors. As part of the festival, a retrospective of Yugoslav director Zelimir Zilnik will be held. In addition, the festival will show films participating in Slovenian and Czech film festivals.
Great Britain
From March 1 to 30, the Jewish Culture Festival takes place in London. As part of it, until March 9, you can visit Jewish Book Week - one of the world's largest book fairs dedicated to Jewish authors. Exhibitions of Jewish photographers and films by Jewish directors, concerts by klezmer orchestras, master classes on preparing kosher dishes, children's parties, and much more are expected.
In addition, in March London hosts the Spitalfields Programme - one of the programs of the alternative arts association. It includes various events - from Alternative Fashion Week (March 17-21, Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, starting at 13:15), where 50 young avant-garde designers will show their collections, to public pancake-making competitions (March 4, Old Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, starting at 12:30).
In Glasgow, from March 20 to April 5, the first International Comedy Festival will take place. More than 70 performances will be held in various comic genres - from “character” sketches to performances by political satirists. Famous English comedians will take part in the program, including Johnny Vegas, Ed Byrne, and Jerry Sadowitz.
Finally, one should not overlook another quite aristocratic and for many extremely curious event: on March 6-9, the world's largest exhibition “Crufts 2003” will take place at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. It is called “the greatest dog show in the world”. This year the exhibition will welcome over 22,000 pedigree dogs and about 120,000 visitors from around the world. By the way, the hundredth anniversary of the “Crufts” exhibition will be officially celebrated at the show.
Germany
The annual international festival MaerzMusic in Berlin brings together all directions that can be designated as “current music”. From March 13 to 23, one can hear contemporary symphonic and chamber, folk, experimental, and electronic works here. MaerzMusic would be more correctly called a festival of contemporary culture - it combines concerts, performances, and visual art, classics, avant-garde, and club culture. This year the festival will focus on Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania: many works of traditional and contemporary Baltic music will be performed - in particular, by composers such as Arvo Pärt, Erkki-Sven Tüür, and Osvaldas Balakauskas. The festival will open with the performance “Dark Matter” - a duet by composer Richard Barrett and sculptor Per Inge Bjørlo: the auditorium and stage will be an exhibition of sculptures made of steel and glass, which will be used as musical instruments. This will be followed by joint works by composers, actors, and poets, and performances of experimental music theater, which will employ instrumental and electronic sounds, Indian chants, dances, and light effects.
The festival will feature the electronic music laboratory Sonic Arts Lounge, where noise effects will be explored - for example, the ability of umbrellas to resonate the sound of water flowing over them.
Spain
In Spain, the series of holidays rooted in paganism lasts longer than in many other European countries. In mid-March, Las Fallas takes place in the southern province of Valencia - a traditional festival of farewell to winter. Previously, on this day, wooden candlesticks “dressed” in rags were burned, which meant the end of long winter evenings. Later, the dressed candlestick began to take on human outlines, usually repeating the features of some character, and received the name “falla”. Now there is a whole industry of “falleros” - artists who make fallas. At the festival, each group of “falleros” chooses its own queen - “fallera mayor”, and the queen of the fallas of Valencia is traditionally appointed by the mayor of Valencia, who is also the president of the Central Junta Fallas. On the night of March 19, Valencians burn their creations. Only one falla is saved - the “falla indultat”, which is chosen by residents by vote. At 10 p.m., children's fallas are burned; at twelve o'clock, the large fallas perish in the fire. The city turns into a blazing bonfire. At one in the morning, the last figure is burned on the municipal square. After that, street celebrations begin with folk marches, fireworks, and music.
Of course, Spain is also no stranger to carnival. The festival in the city of Santa Cruz on one of the Canary Islands, Tenerife, is now called the second most important in the world after the Brazilian carnival in Rio de Janeiro. This festival dates back to the 14th century, but for a long time residents of Tenerife celebrated it secretly: first it was banned by church authorities, and in the last century - by state authorities, and only in 1976, after the fall of Franco's dictatorship, was it allowed and named Carnival.
This year the main theme of the Carnival will be "The Magical Charm of the Far East," and the main stage on Plaza de España will be decorated accordingly - it will feature statues of Buddha, pagodas and other oriental "decorations."
Malta
On March 13, the 2nd annual Mediterranean cuisine festival will begin on the island. It is three days dedicated to music, dance and gastronomic delights of various ethnic cultures of the peoples of the Mediterranean.
And on March 16, at Fort St. Elmo in Valletta, military history enthusiasts will be able to see the theatrical show "Alarme!", recreating the bloody battle of French and Maltese troops in 1800.
On March 31, Malta celebrates its national holiday - Freedom Day. On this occasion, a solemn ceremony will be held at the War Memorial, and in the afternoon a traditional sailing regatta will take place in the Grand Harbour.
Netherlands
March 30 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vincent van Gogh. Therefore, in the Netherlands, Belgium and France, the entire year 2003 is passing under the sign of Van Gogh.
The largest collections of Van Gogh in Holland are gathered in the Kröller-Müller Museum in Otterlo and the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. In honor of the 150th anniversary, at the end of February a special bus service began operating, allowing visitors to visit two major exhibitions and take a walk around Otterlo in one day. The bus departs from the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam every Saturday and Sunday.
At the exhibition "Vincent's Choice" in the same museum, you can learn which painters inspired Van Gogh. Works by artists the famous Dutchman admired will be gathered here. Among them are the old masters (Rembrandt, Ruisdael, Van Goyen), and Van Gogh's contemporaries - the academic painter Gérôme, Van Gogh's friends Toulouse-Lautrec, Signac and Gauguin, and those who influenced the artist's worldview, Millet and Delacroix. The exhibition features more than 200 works. Interestingly, some paintings by those who influenced him are displayed next to Van Gogh's own canvases - to emphasize the continuity. For example, Van Gogh's self-portrait is adjacent to Rembrandt's self-portrait, and Van Gogh's "Still Life with Coffee Pot" is juxtaposed with Bernard's "Blue Coffee Pot."
Norway
In the Norwegian town of Narvik, from March 8 to 16, a festival with a rather strange name for this time of year will take place - the Winter Festival. In fact, it is simply a celebration dedicated to the culture and history of Narvik. The main theme is the construction of the Ofoten Railway, so one of the highlights of the program will be the opportunity to ride on real vintage steam locomotives. In addition, the festival will include various seminars and master classes, sports competitions, fairs, concerts of sacred and classical music and jazz, and a carnival.
France
From March 24 to April 1, the 18th Paris Film Festival will take place. The president of the jury will be actor Rupert Everett; Isabelle Adjani has been elected honorary president. 2003 has been declared the Year of Algeria in France, so special attention at the festival will be paid to Algerian cinema.
From February 24 to April 6, the Festival of the Imaginary (Festival d’Imaginaire) will be held in Paris. This celebration provides an idea of various exotic cultures. Sudanese vocal music, dances of the island of Bali, Sufi hymns from Uzbekistan, Japanese Bunraku puppet theater, traditional and original music from Cambodia, Congo, Iran, Thailand and Cape Verde, spiritual hymns of the Syrian and Serbian Orthodox Church, ritual Indian performances - these are only a small part of the events announced in the program.
In addition to theatrical and musical performances, the festival will feature an exhibition of sculptures made by Mozambican artists from weapons used during the civil war, and a round table on Sufism.