Romania will be the guest country of Europalia arts festival in 2019, which means that the country’s cultural heritage will be promoted in Belgium and other states in Europe between October 2019 and January 2020.

A Memorandum of Understanding to organize Europalia Romania Festival was signed at Romania's National Library on Tuesday, October 4. Foreign minister Lazar Comanescu, culture minister Corina Suteu, and Romanian Cultural Institute president Radu Boroianu signed the document on Romania's behalf.

The signatories from Europalia International were Count Georges Jacobs de Hagen and Baroness Kristine De Mulder.

“Romania’s participation as guest country at Europalia 2019, the year when Romania will also hold the presidency of the European Union, has symbolic and practical meanings that are very important for the Romanian and European culture,” said the Romanian culture minister.

Established in Brussels in 1969, Europalia is a biennal international arts festival that highlights the heritage and cultural diversity of a guest country. Most of the festival’s editions welcome more than one million visitors. According to information posted on Europalia’s website, each festival is co-financed by Europalia and the guest country.

Some of the previous guest countries were Italy (1969 and 2003), France (1975), Spain (1985), Portugal (1991), the Czech Republic (1998), Poland (2001), Russia (2005), China (2009), Brazil (2011), India (2013), and Turkey (2015). Indonesia will be the festival’s guest country in 2017.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com