The city of Essen
Essen is a forward-looking business, trade and service centre in the heart of the Ruhr metropolitan area. The eighth largest city in Germany has over 580.000 inhabitants and 50 suburbs. The current Lord Mayor, Dr. Wolfgang Reiniger, governs the city with a CDU-Green Party coalition. Essen was the standard bearer in the application for the title of European Capital of Culture 2010. As such it represented the 53 local authorities in the Ruhr metropolitan area and presented the area to the EU Jury in Brussels with the slogan "Essen for the Ruhrgebiet". The city of Essen will contain one of the five visitor centres in the Capital of Culture year. The Zollverein pit will contain a tourist access point to include the attractions in the neighbouring towns of Gelsenkirchen and Mülheim a. d. Ruhr.
The Ruhr Regional Association (RVR)
The Ruhr Regional Association (Regionalverband Ruhr or RVR) is a modern regional authority serving the ca. 5.300.000 people in the Ruhr metropolitan area. The joint body, headed by Heinz-Dieter Klink, includes all the local authorities in the Ruhrgebiet and has its headquarters in Essen. The staff of 350 are responsible for duties like formulating master plans for the Emscher Landscape Park and the Industrial Heritage Trail, and securing and maintaining green areas. Other departments are responsible for observing and analysing developments in the area, business promotion, location marketing and tourist promotion, not forgetting public relations work for the Ruhr metropolitan area.
www.rvr-online.de
The federal state of North Rhine Westphalia
The federal state of North Rhine Westphalia contains almost 18 million inhabitants, more than any other state in Germany. Although it is only the fourth largest federal state, it is the state with the strongest economy. The current Minister Präsident Dr. Jürgen Rüttgers heads a CDU-FDP coalition based in Dusseldorf. The NRW state government supports and promotes the outstanding and multifaceted creative and cultural activities in the state. These include theatres and orchestras. museums, libraries, the fringe scene, and above all the many artists in the state who give it its particular "flavour". That said, every region in North Rhine Westphalia has its own unique cultural profile. In order to make these special features recognizable the state has developed a regional cultural artistic promotion policy over the last 12 years that is unique in Germany.
The Ruhr Initiative Circle
The Ruhr Initiative Circle (Initiativkreis Ruhr), whose headquarters are in Essen, is an amalgamation of 69 leading business companies between the rivers Rhine and Ruhr. The companies employ around 2.500.000 people all over the world and generate a global turnover of around 700 billion €. Their executives are personal members of the Ruhr Initiative Circle, whose chair is Dr. Wulf H. Bernotat. The Circle aims to position the Ruhr metropolitan area as an innovative centre for industry, trade, research and services on a national, European and international level. In its capacity as the "ambassador" of the Ruhr metropolitan area, the Ruhr Initiative Circle also initiates cultural projects with symbolic power. To name but one example, the Ruhr Piano Festival is one of the largest annual piano festivals in the whole of Germany.