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BOROUGH PRESIDENT MARTY MARKOWITZ JOINS EUROPEAN UNION AND BROOKLYN
CULTURAL LEADERS TO LAUNCH "BROOKLYN EUPHORIA"

Photograph by Kathyrn Kirk
Borough President Marty Markowitz toasts Ambassador John B. Richardson, head of the delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations, at the launch of Brooklyn EUphoria Day. Pictured from left to right: Borough President Marty Markowitz, Ambassador John Richardson; and Deputy Counsel General of Ireland Gerry Staunton.

Celebration of film, music, dance and theatre in Brooklyn marks EU's enlargement.

Today, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; Ambassador John B.Richardson, head of the delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations; and Deputy Consul General of Ireland Gerry Staunton (representing the Irish Presidency of the Council of the European Union) joined dozens of Consuls General, European dignitaries and leaders of Brooklyn cultural organizations at Borough Hall to raise a celebratory toast and kick off Brooklyn EUphoria, a day of cultural festivities in Brooklyn marking the enlargement of the European Union.

Brooklyn EUphoria, a festive arts celebration, will take place in Williamsburg and Fort Greene on Saturday, May 1st, the day when the European Union officially celebrates its enlargement to 25 members with the addition of ten new member states: Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia. Brooklyn EUphoria is presented in collaboration with cultural partners from the European Union and Europe, Borough President Marty Markowitz’s office and Brooklyn Information and Culture. It showcases more than 40 artists from European nations in a day of music, dance, theater, film, video, visual arts, food and drink.

“Today, we salute the new Europe on this momentous occasion of the European Union enlargement with the kick-off of Brooklyn EUphoria. Because Brooklyn is home to everyone from everywhere, we embrace the many nationalities that bring us this extraordinary day of music, theater, dance and the visual arts,” said Borough President Markowitz. “By choosing Brooklyn for this celebration, our European partners have recognized Brooklyn as the ‘new’ New York and as an international cultural destination.”

Ambassador John B. Richardson, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to the United Nations, was enthusiastic about the historic event. “The enlargement of the European Union is of truly monumental importance,” he said. “In addition to augmenting the political and economic strengths of the European Union, it marks a giant step towards creating a ‘Europe of the peoples,’ putting forth culture as a vehicle to bring out the common aspects of Europe’s heritage, enhance the sense of belonging to one and the same community, while recognizing and respecting cultural, national and regional diversity. Today, our nations come together, to share our common European heritage and to build a brighter future for all.”

Deputy Consul General of Ireland Gerald Staunton hoped the enlargement would create hope for the future. “Today it is vital not just because of these historic links, but more importantly for worldwide political and economic stability, that the transatlantic relationship remain strong and robust and that it remain a relationship of equals,” he said.

The European Union, currently comprised of 15 member states with a total of 380 million citizens, will be enlarged to 25 members, with the entry of eight central and eastern European countries, together with Cyprus and Malta. The enlargement of the European Union brings its total population to over 450 million, more than the combined population of the United States and Russia. It also marks an historic achievement: the end of the East-West division caused by World War II. Moreover, a Europe reunited means a stronger, more democratic and stable continent.

Borough President Markowitz also announced a long-term commitment between Brooklyn, art organizations and EU countries to develop a large arts festival in Brooklyn in 2006.
“Brooklyn is home to hundreds of thousands of newly arrived immigrants, and we are experiencing a renaissance in our creative economy that is reflected in our diverse communities, including those representing the European Union,” said Markowitz. “Tomorrow’s Brooklyn EUphoria is the beginning of an exciting partnership between the European Union countries and Brooklyn to celebrate our contemporary arts communities.”

“A primary reason for our attachment to diversity is that it is more dynamic and more creative than homogeneity,” said Ambassador Richardson. “Nowhere is this more true then here in Brooklyn, where this wonderful diversity is helping to feed a renaissance, most visibly in culture and the arts.”

The Borough of Brooklyn was selected by the European partners as the site for the celebration in recognition of the borough’s rise as a cultural hotspot, in homage to its long history as a home to European immigrants, and in honor of its culturally rich and diverse population, a feature respected and shared by the European Union.

Brooklyn EUphoria will introduce artists and artistic works from Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Germany, Holland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the U.K.

Brooklyn EUphoria is a festival of European culture in collaboration with Borough President Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Information & Culture, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Volume, Parker’s Box,

Austrian Cultural Forum, Czech Center, Royal Danish Consulate General, Consulate General of Finland, Cultural Services of the French Embassy, Goethe-Institute New York, Hungarian Cultural Center,
Instituto Cervantes, Consulate General of Ireland, Italian Cultural Institute, Consulate General of the Netherlands, Consulate General of Norway, Polish Cultural Institute, Romanian Cultural Center, Consulate General of Sweden, Consulate General of Ireland, Italian Cultural Institute, Consulate General of the Netherlands, Consulate General of Norway, Polish Cultural Institute, Romanian Cultural Center, Consulate General of Sweden, and the Consulate General of Switzerland.

Brooklyn EUphoria will be held Saturday, May 1st, at BAMcafé, 30 Lafayette Avenue, Fort Greene, Brooklyn; and at Volume, 99 N 13th Street at Wythe Avenue, Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Admission is free. For more information, call (212) 439-8707.