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Leipzig commemorates the Peaceful Revolution with its "2009 Light
Festival" Artistic celebration of "9 October 1989" along historic demonstration route
The Light Festival is based on the theme of the 20th Anniversary of the Peaceful Revolution and European Unity. It involves architects, lighting planners, designers and artists from a number of European countries. The '9th of October' will be the central theme of the artistic activities, with around 20 creative interpretations of the Peaceful Revolution using the media of light, audio and video. Musically, Light Festival will be accompanied by a choir, orchestra and soloists under the direction of Jürgen Wolf, Cantor of St Nicholas's. The 2009 Light Festival is a commemorative event, but it also goes well beyond this in acting as a symbol for unity, peace and the breaking down of borders. The route of the demonstration is divided into stages: from Augustusplatz Square it continues along the inner ring road to the former headquarters of the State Security Police, today a museum at the "Runde Ecke". The stations along the route are dedicated to the themes of uncertainty, breakthrough, passage to freedom and revolution. In addition to the Peaceful Revolution and its significance for Leipzig, the
thematic content of the Light Festival also covers the European dimension
of the autumn of `89, and Leipzig's twin cities have therefore been invited to
participate with their own projects. The cities of Frankfurt am Main,
Hanover, Lyon, Krakow, Brno and Travnik are contributing to the
commemoration with their own events. The general artistic direction will be
in the hands of Jürgen Meier who has, together with the participating artists,
dedicated himself to the themes of freedom, democracy, non-violence and
civic commitment. The background After prayers for peace in four Leipzig churches on 9 October 1989, some
70,000 people gathered in the city centre carrying candles in order to
demonstrate for their human rights and more freedom in the GDR, in spite
of the threat that police would be ordered to open fire on them. Thousands
of police and soldiers were in position, ready to break up the demonstration
by force, but everything proceeded peacefully. As a result these events,
which came to be described as the Peaceful Revolution, became a major
milestone on the way to the fall of the Berlin Wall, to German reunification
and to a unified Europe. Statements at the press conference Burkhard Jung, Mayor of Leipzig: "This year we have put together an ambitious programme centred around "9 October". The highlight and closing event of the programme will be the Light Festival, which aims at creating an emotional experience that will, above all, appeal to young people. After all, we now have a whole generation who did not experience the autumn of `89 and have no active memories of it. In addition, with the Light Festival we hope to create a fitting commemoration which will attract attention both at home and abroad. For this reason we have invited, among others, representatives of the LUCI network to Leipzig as well as 35 mayors from all around the world. I'm sure that the Light Festival will be well received by the people of Leipzig and all our guests." Volker Bremer, Manager of Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH (LTM): "The success of the 'Night of the Candles' in 2007 and 2008 confirmed our intention to apply a similar concept for this anniversary year. Last year up to 10,000 visitors came to St Nicholas's Court yard and encouragingly many of them were young. Nevertheless the Light Festival still represents a quantum leap compared to previous years. We are opening up the historic demonstration route and expect thousands of visitors from the whole of Germany to join us along the city-centre ring. From a tourist point of view the "9 October" is of great significance, and many hotels are already fully booked for the occasion." Marit Schulz, City and Location Marketing Manager at LTM: "For us it's important to ensure that the Light Festival is not a copy of any other event. One feature of the Leipzig concept is that it is thematically focused, in that all the artists have been given clearly defined instructions - their interpretations will revolve around the themes of freedom, democracy, non-violence and civic commitment. At the same time the active participation of all those involved is an important factor. The Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH is responsible for the organisational management and the largest part of the tasks to be carried out - at the same time, however, many other sections of the city and even our twin cities are also closely involved. And finally we are stressing the active part to be played by the people of Leipzig and all our visitors, who are being encouraged to really participate and not just to stand and watch." Jürgen Meier, Artistic Director of the Light Festival: "For the Light Festival we have approached well-known international artists who all have a connection with Leipzig or have already worked in Leipzig. Their projects will all focus on light as a medium and on communication by means of light. Only in this way can the Light Festival provide a stimulus for our visitors to involve themselves more closely with the theme of Peaceful Revolution." Prof. Rainer Eckert, Director of the Forum for Contemporary History: "What happened in Leipzig on 9 October 1989 is of significance for the whole of Europe - and it proved to be an entirely positive development. For this reason I regard it as very important that our anniversary programme should at the same time be a commemoration and a celebration! The Light Festival is therefore accompanied by a rich variety of events, including the inauguration of the Freedom Bell, prayers for peace at St Nicholas's Church, the festive ceremony at the Gewandhaus and the festival concert in St Nicholas's"
Light Festival "Leipzig Celebrates the 20th Anniversary of the Peaceful
Revolution and European Unity": new artistic concept The projects, activities and installations which make up the Light Festival will provide a multi-facetted commemoration of the Peaceful Revolution in the autumn of `89. For the anniversary year of 2009, invitations were sent out to prestigious international artists who were working in Leipzig before 1989 or became involved with Leipzig in the Nineties. What all the projects have in common is their relationship with the events which took place 20 years ago. At both the informational and the artistic level the artists who are taking part aim to go well beyond the event in itself in reinforcing awareness of the Peaceful Revolution and the impact which civic action can have. The main protagonists of the Light Festival will therefore be the citizens themselves, who will play an active role in the city when they march from Augustusplatz Square to the "Runde Ecke". "The aim of the Light Festival is to actively involve sections of the city and to create a relationship with the historical events of '89. The Leipzig Light Festival is to create a new format, whose content and aesthetic impact will change the way the inner-city is lit once and for all," confirms Artistic Director Jürgen Meier. The impact of the artistic intervention in the structure of the city will last well beyond 9 October 2009 and leave its traces in the Leipzig city centre. For example in an accompanying workshop students from Leipzig's College of Technology, Business and Culture (HTWK) are working on projects for illuminated objects which will become part of the Light Festival and then remain in the location where they are displayed, while for the lighting installation at the Wintergarten high-rise building the lighting planner Uwe Knappschneider has developed a sustainable design. Programme of events on 9 October 2009 in Leipzig Time schedule: Light Festival Daten und Fakten zum Lichtfest Contact persons/contacts for representatives of the media Roland Stratz Leipzig Tourismus und Marketing GmbH Stadt- und Standortmarketing Richard-Wagner-Straße 1, D-04109 Leipzig Fon: +49 (0)341 1246890 Mail: r.stratz@ltm-leipzig.de attachments  Pressemappe_Lichtfest2009_de.pdf Pressemappe_Lichtfest2009_cz.pdf Pressemappe_Lichtfest2009_en.pdf Pressemappe_Lichtfest2009_fr.pdf Pressemappe_Lichtfest2009_it.pdf
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