Europe Day – a Month of Celebrations across the UK
Europe Day, held on 9 May every year, celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the historic Schuman Declaration that set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe's nations unthinkable. Schuman's proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union.
The message of peace and unity, especially significant in times of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, was widely echoed throughout Britain thanks to a joint comment piece by European Union Ambassador Pedro Serrano and 27 UK-based EU Heads of Mission. The article, published in The Guardian, entitled First there was Brexit. Now there is Ukraine. The war has helped Britain and the EU find each other again, highlighted the areas of shared interests and common challenges facing both the EU and the UK, including the promotion of peace, security, and prosperity in Europe and around the globe.
The EU Delegation to the UK kicked-off its month-long programme of #EuropeDay2023 events from Leeds. A wide-ranging conversation with students and staff at the University of Leeds where H.E. Pedro Serrano, the EU Ambassador to the UK, discussed the EU’s role in the world and the up-turn in EU-UK relations, and shared encouraging words with those considering a career in diplomatic service. The Ambassador also met with key interlocutors in politics and culture, including the team behind the extraordinary LEEDS2023 “Year of Culture” programme.
Victor De Jesus
The pinnacle of this visit was the launch of the “In Short, Europe” festival of European short films. As in previous years, this festival was organised by EU National Institutes for Culture (EUNIC) and supported by the EU Delegation to the UK. In his opening speech, Ambassador Serrano remarked how symbolic it was to bring this festival to Leeds, the city where, in 1888, Frenchman Augustin Le Prince captured some of the first surviving moving images.
European Union
Ambassador Serrano also underscored that it was equally symbolic to kick off celebrations of Europe Day with such a quintessentially collaborative project: EUNIC members, inspired by the overarching LEEDS2023 theme – the ‘Awakening’ – proposed nearly 100 short films from across 24 European countries and regions. Leeds-based curators Ellie Hales and Alex King picked up the baton and weaved a fascinating narrative using threads of universally relevant themes: from exploring our identity to yearning for a brighter future. A film trailer and a recent review offer further glimpses into the festival’s rich programme. Having premiered in Leeds, the film festival showed at the French Institute in London on 12 and 13 May. The festival also included Q&A sessions with film-makers from across Europe.
9 May started with uplifting speeches on trust and friendship at a high level reception and ended with exuberant renditions of Europe’s immense musical heritage at a full house for Europe Day concert (you can watch the recording here). The concert was performed by Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra – Britain’s leading orchestra for young musicians on the threshold of their professional careers. The EU Delegation to the UK and the Cultural Relations Platform have supported mentorship programmes for these young musicians (e.g. see here or here for more) over the past year.
Underlining European solidarity with Ukraine, our events outside London continued with a special event on “Eurovision as a tool of diplomacy” on 11 May at Tate Liverpool. Renowned speakers explored the cultural power of Eurovision while highlighting EU-UK cooperation and solidarity with Ukraine. The panel was moderated by Dr Dean Vuletic, the author of a book “Postwar Europe and the Eurovision Song Contest” and included contributions from Jean Philip De Tender, Deputy Executive Supervisor of Eurovision, Claudette Buttigieg, Deputy Speaker of the Maltese Parliament and Eurovision contestant in 2000, Sarah Sands, Acting Chair of the British Council, and Alevtina Kakhidze, a multidisciplinary artist from Ukraine. To explore further, see a comment piece by Sarah Sands and tune into our “London Calling EU” podcast with key voices on Eurovision here.
Returning to London, the British Library hosted a special celebration of outstanding European poetry and prose on 20th and 21st May. “The Stories We Tell: European Writers Festival” featured 29 outstanding European authors – see the full line-up here. This EUNIC-led festival offered six riveting panel discussions, readings and book signings and unique opportunities to exchange thoughts with such remarkable voices as the International Booker Prize winner Georgi Gospodinov from Bulgaria, TS Eliot shortlisted, British-born Cypriot poet Anthony Anaxagorou, award-winning Scottish journalist Chitra Ramaswamy, bestselling Czech author Kateřina Tučková, Ingeborg-Bachmann-Prize-winning Austrian novelist Raphaela Edelbauer or the Brazilian-born Hungarian novelist Zsófia Bán.
To launch this literature festival, the EU Delegation to the UK together with the European Parliament Liaison Office organised a Rhythm and Poetry Party aka R.A.P. Party. This fringe event was a unique blend of music and story-telling. It was curated by Inua Ellams, the prolific artist and performer, and featured a constellation of nine other outstanding European poets and performers gathered together specially for this occasion.
Equally importantly, Europe Day celebrations across the UK extended beyond those led by EUNIC or the EU Delegation to the UK, as Ambassador Serrano’s drop by the picnic organised by the3million, Settled and Coalición de Españoles en Reino Unido at St James Park and this Twitter thread would attest.
