2025: Europe’s largest solar farm will operate in Portugal
It will supply electricity to a population twice the city of Porto
The Lithuanian capital is excited about its upcoming 700th anniversary
The City of Vilnius is frantically preparing for Christmas and its coming 700th birthday party in 2023. This explains why the festival planners decided to go creative this year and shape the main Christmas Tree as a birthday cake, as a way to remind residents and visitors that the party is only beginning.
The lighting installation unveiling, and the official launch of the holiday season, took place this past weekend – the first time it happened live in the past two years. Understandingly, the spirits were high and thousands of spectators joined in the fun at Cathedral Square.
This tree also being a cake would be incomplete without birthday candles – and, indeed, there are 700 of them placed on the three layers of the installation.
The Christmas tree is the fusion of elegance and wintery esthetic. 25 meters high and 22 meters wide, the tree radiates holiday charm with ten kilometres of garlands and illuminated Baroque-inspired ornaments.
Its shape is a mirror of Vilnius' gastronomic masterpieces: the three white layers are adorned with decorative, brightly lit chandeliers, while the inside hides a golden gem—a tree made of 6,000 fir branches, golden ornaments, glittering garlands, and a blazing topper.
"There's no birthday without a cake, it is a tradition dating back to ancient Roman times. People used to believe that candles symbolized the light of life and their smoke carried people's wishes to the heavens. And the inside of the cake used to hide a surprise—a coin or a ring—which would bring year-long good luck to the one who found it. We hope that Vilnius' birthday cake and the surprise inside it also raise the spirits of the visitors and make their deepest wishes come true," commented Dominykas Koncevičius, the creator of the Christmas tree installation.
Besides the Christmas tree, Vilnius has many winter events lined up for this holiday season. Fairytale-inspired Christmas markets with handmade crafts, delicacies, and last-minute gifts, an ice rink set up in one of the edgiest spots of the city—the yard of a former century-old prison Lukiškės Prison 2.0, the 43rd costume run, and an international charity bazaar, among others.
It will supply electricity to a population twice the city of Porto
The solution which has been progressing to that end for the past several years proves that there can be a circular business model
The route goes between Differdande and Niederkorn
The flying machines will help pinpoint polluted districts much more accurately
The latest generation of public transport vehicles are taking over European streets
In fact, the more precise term is post-sorting, and it cuts down CO2 emissions by 75%
The flying machines will help pinpoint polluted districts much more accurately
It will supply electricity to a population twice the city of Porto
The solution which has been progressing to that end for the past several years proves that there can be a circular business model
Phoenix des Lumières will be an ongoing exhibition until 31 December 2023
The food people eat during the day can have an enormous impact on their habits at home
2020 and 2021 were zero years for these types of events, but the break has not diminished its reputation
The new itineraries are part of the DiscoverEU programme, which lets 18-year-olds travel by train between important European sites
The European Commission has published its first progress report charting the achievements of the socio-cultural movement that combines beauty, inclusion and sustainability
The 2023 edition of the creative initiative promises to be bigger, bolder and more inclusive
Veni Markovski’s take on dealing with disinformation in the European Union's poorest country – Bulgaria
A conversation with the mayor of Utrecht on the occasion of her mission to COP27
A conversation with the President of the European Committee of the Regions, about energy, climate change and the underrated importance of cohesion policy