(Brussels) “I wish great success to Aarhus and Pafos” in the year the Danish and the Cypriot city take the role of European Capitals of Culture. Tibor Navracsics, European Commissioner for Culture, makes his wishes and points out that being a European Capital of Culture “is a unique opportunity to bring communities together under the aegis of culture and to promote strong partnerships at a local, European and international level for the future”. Aahrus’s cultural programme will officially begin on January 21st. In Pafos, the opening ceremony is due on January 28th, instead. The key theme for Aarhus 2017 is “rethinking”: the year’s programme includes an outdoor play that will stage a Viking saga, an art exhibition that will take place all over the city and along the seafront, a “Creativity World Forum”, and an international children’s literature festival. “Children will be the stars at the opening ceremony of Aarhus 2017 cultural programme”. The leitmotiv for Pafos 2017 is instead “Linking Continents, Bridging Cultures”. The opening ceremony for Pafos 2017, due the weekend of January 28th and 29th, takes inspiration from one of the themes of the year’s cultural programme: “myth and religion”.