Bucharest City Hall, through the Center for Creation, Art and Tradition – Creart, has awarded a contract worth RON 1.5 million (some EUR 321,000), without VAT, to a local company for the organization of this year’s Christmas Market, local Digi24 reported, quoting data presented on a Facebook page called Banii nostri (Our money). The contract was awarded directly, without a tender.

Bucharest-based company Multimedia Film SRL got the contract. The company had previously won similar contracts with the City Hall, for the organization of events such as festivals and fairs.

This year’s Christmas Market in Bucharest is to be organized between November 30 and December 27 in Constitutiei Square.

The Bucharest City Hall is also willing to spend RON 100,000 (some EUR 21,000) on 10,000 Christmas greeting cards. This procurement procedure is nearing completion, according to Digi24, with local company DNS Birotica SRL being the one to provide the Christmas cards. Clotilde Armand, a local councilor from the opposition party USR, said DNS Birotica is controlled by runaway businessman Sebastian Ghita, who fled the country in December 2016 amid several corruption investigations targeting him.

Meanwhile, local Hotnews.ro reported that the events organized for the Bucharest Days cost the Bucharest City Hall a total of some RON 20 million (EUR 4.3 million). Most of the money, namely RON 16.5 million (EUR 3.5 million), was used for the organization of the three major events in Constitutiei Square in September, namely the concert of famous Romanian pan flute maestro Gheorghe Zamfir, the video mapping competition iMapp, and the concert of British singer Rod Stewart.

City Hall representatives said such cultural events are needed because they represent "an important component of the cultural life of a capital city, giving the community a sense of social, cultural and geographical affiliation."

Bucharest City Hall allots more money to its culture & events centers

Bucharest authorities spent over EUR 6 mln this summer on festivals and fairs

Irina Marica, irina.marica@romania-insider.com