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Respected lovers of art, This year again, on 21st July - the World Day of Music and the first day of summer, I am formally annoucing the opening of the Skopje Summer Festival which for the twentieth time will be the main spiritual rejuvenation of the citizens of Skopje and its guests during the hot summer months. On this occasion allow me to express the beautiful side of the life in our city - its culture. Although it still does not have an objective material valorisation, it remains to this day one of the most affirmativve symbols of the City of Skopje and the Republic of Macedonia. The Skopje Summer Festival which is under the patronage of the City of Skopje and the Ministry of Culture and Arts, and ubder the organisation of the Directorate of Culture and Arts of Skopje, has asquired a reputation of the most massive and most varied, and according to competent options, it is a festival with the highest quality in the country. As a member of the internacional Associations of Festivals, it has been put on the map of the Europian cultural manifestations. The wide spectrum of content of all types of art, the emphasis on a variety of cultural sensibilites, the discovery of new attractive urban venues for artistic presentation, the numerous foreign artists, together with the attractive printed material and the massive interest of the public have made the summer in Skopje dynamic, attractive and a season of high quality cultural manifestations. This is something worth staying in Skopje beside the scorching sun and the burning hot asphalt. The level and quality which this festival nurtures, as well as the developed cultural climate in the city based on the rich historic cultural heritage, along with the creators, institutions and the consumers, combined with the rhytm and the style of European cultural trends, presents a foundation which inspires us to consider the City of Skopje to become a candidate for the Europian Capital of Culture at the beginning of the new millenium, after all it is one of the rare cities in the world which has a history long two milleniums. It is a distinguished honour greeting you, and at the same time I invite the citizens of Skopje aand the guests to enjoy the programme which this festival is offering. Thank you. Mr. Risto Penov |
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