RUHR.2010 – THE FINALE

"RUHR.2010 will say good-bye with the usual vigour and another round of strong visuals. We owe that to the people of the Ruhr region who made the European capital of Culture their own," says Fritz Pleitgen, Chairman of RUHR.2010 GmbH. In line with the guiding theme of "Change through culture," the sites for the finale include Nordsternpark in Gelsenkirchen as well as new future-oriented locations in Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg. While the torch may be passed on to another European Capital of Culture, the cultural metropolis will remain. As the region’s miners would say - Glück auf 2011!

The event's main location will be Nordsternplatz in Gelsenkirchen. Underneath the former shaft tower, newly topped with Markus Lüpertz's Hercules, RUHR.2010 will take a moving look back at the events of an extraordinary year. The façade, roof and shaft towers of the former mine will be the "stage" for the open air show. Director Gil Mehmert: "An architectural symbol of the Ruhr metropolis, the former Nordstern mine, is the inspiration for the finale – just as Zollverein was for the opening. The building's scale challenges us to find a creative multi-media way to undertake our journey across this very special past year."

Mehmert uses a live cast and film sequences to stage the five-act finale. At the centre of his production: an imaginary ship on which an ingenious cast of artists and musicians take a journey across the year 2010, with special guest star Christoph Maria Herbst portraying a culture commissioner. Theo Bleckmann, one of Germany's best jazz singers, will perform live.

In the beginning, the former mine will be transformed into a fantasy ship, which then sets a dynamic and musical course through impressions of the European Capital of Culture.

Live productions at the Dortmund U, Duisburg's Interior Harbour and the SANAA building at the Zollverein World Heritage Site in Essen are also part of the show and will be broadcast live to Gelsenkirchen. Numerous individual artists and New York's Botanica Band will be participating at the Dortmund U. Director Johannes Lepper will set actor Christian Brückner, accompanied by the Tim Isfort Orchestra, in scene at Duisburg's Interior Harbour. Titled "Ithaca, "the contemplative production also includes moments of remembrance of the Love Parade disaster. Dance is at the core of Essen’s contribution to the programme, which features numerous Essen artists including the Aaltro Ballet.

The journey across time plots a course towards a joyful future in the year 2020, with the last act turning the vision into reality on stage: the RUHR.2010 ship transforms itself into a flying object that seems to rise into the sky to land as the culture ship in the cultural metropolis Ruhr 2011.

Project partner WDR-TV will broadcast the finale live from 5:15 p.m. to 6:20 p.m. The event can also be seen live online at www.wdr.de and www.2010lab.tv.

The event is open to the public, particularly the residents of the Ruhr region who have made RUHR.2010 their own in an unprecedented manner. For security reasons, a ticket is required to enter the event location. They are €5 for Nordsternplatz and available at the usual box offices.

Emschergenossenschaft’s framework programme at Nordsternpark Gelsenkirchen in the Amphitheatre area - including public viewing - are free, as are the events in Dortmund, Duisburg and Essen. There will also be encounters with some of the European Capital of Culture’s emotional highlights and many actors who took part in ShaftSigns, the !SING – DAY OF SONG and Still-Life.

RUHR.2010 artistry show URBANATIX will be a sort of prologue to the week of the finale with performances from December 10 to 19 at Bochum’s Jahrhunderthalle. Spectacular images and impressions will be joined in creative projections. On December 14, take a look into the future in Mülheim an der Ruhr’s Ringlokschuppen.

"It's ending, who will lead?" will be the theme of a podium discussion that will feature Minister of Culture Ute Schäfer and RUHR.2010 GmbH Chairman Oliver Scheytt, among others.

After more than 200 events by over 50 project partners, the Henze project will come to a stunning close with two concerts of the German premiere of Hand Werner Henze's "Opfergang” December 16/17, with the composer in attendance. Finally, there will also be another sports highlight December 19^th when the heroes of 1997 will play for the SuperPOTT 2010: Champions League winners Borussia Dortmund, UEFA Cup winners Schalke 04 and UEFA Cup qualifiers VFL Bochum – all Ruhr teams representing the region's strongest year ever - will meet in a special benefit match.

Epilogue: Of course the European Capital of Culture will continue until December 31. Four more cities will present a series of events as part of the Local Heroes series: Oer-Erkenschwick as well as guest Local Hero Heiligenhaus from December 12-18, Alpen from December 19-25 and Hünxe from December 26-31.

You can register to attend the finale at Gelsenkirchen’s Nordstern location at http://ruhr2010akkreditierung.conyx.de/index.php?fid=208db3c25d071557d69aea6df10e7393

Media contact:
RUHR.2010 GmbH
Daniela Ott
Phone: +49 (0)201 888 2096
E-Mail: daniela.ott@ruhr2010.de