Sister and Friendship City Commemorative Events
Citizens Enjoy Foreign Culture
～Daegu Day, Hanover Day～
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Hiroshima City has established Sister and Friendship City Days for each of its six overseas sister and friendship cities, and holds commemorative events.
The MCs for the events were the Hiroshima Messengers selected through a public selection process.
Daegu Day
From May 3-5, 2016, the Daegu Day commemorative event was held at the Hiroshima Flower Festival.
At the commemorative ceremony on the 3rd, there were speeches by the Daegu Day Executive Committee Chairperson, Hiroshima City Deputy Mayor, and the Consul-General of the Republic of Korea Consulate-General in Hiroshima, and a message from the Mayor of Daegu Metropolitan City was read out.
This was followed by performances of Korean and Japanese songs by Park Wan Kyung, a tenor singer originally from Daegu Metropolitan City who is now an exchange student.
Next were performances of Korean traditional dances and three-drums.
Although it was unfortunately raining at the time, many people stopped in front of the stage to watch.
Over the three days, at the Korea Daegu Madan (public square), there was home-cooked Korean food on sale, and it was bustling with families buying the food.
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Because the venue was downsized by the excavation work in Peace Memorial Park, the traditional Korean dress experience section and the Korea and Daegu information section were held separately for the first time.
At these sections were quiz rallies and rest stations, and both adults and children could fully experience Korean culture.
During the three days there were just over 3,000 visitors, and the event was a great success.
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Drumming performance (Carnation Stage)
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Hanover Day
On May 22, 2016, a commemorative event for Hanover Day was held at Hiroshima City International House.
At the section for tasting of German foods and drinks, visitors could experience tea ceremony in the Ueda Soko style, which has deep connections with Hanover, and there was also tasting of authentic German-made sausages, German bread and baum kuchen cake, as well as a section to try Lutsche Lage, where people drink two different types of alcohol in one gulp.
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People experiencing Lutsche Lage
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At the Germany & Hanover information display, there was a display of the 7-seater bicycle, the 'conference bike', which has been brought over from Hanover, panels about the history of exchange between Hiroshima City and Hanover City, a section where visitors could make paper craft models of Hanover trains, and a German picture book information and read-aloud section.
Each section was bustling with families.
In the hall, after a live performance by Ms. Asaka Shirai on a rare instrument, the sitar, a commemorative ceremony was held, with speeches by the event sponsors and a video message from the mayor of Hanover City.
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This was followed by a presentation by the Hiroshima Messengers Mr. Katsuhiko Ikeda and Ms. Yuko Watanabe on the history of Hanover and places to see in the city, and an explanation of the River Rhine's Lorelei legend and performance of a song by Ulla Watanuki, who was born in Germany.
There was then a German music concert with mainly songs with connections to Germany, with wonderful performances by two groups, Mr. Masaki Ueno on violin with Ms. Tae Yoshino on piano, and Mr. Yoshihiko Ueda on oboe with Ms. Shinri Aratani on piano.
The concert ended with a chorus of 'Rose on the Heath', and the whole audience joined in.
There were approximately 350 visitors to the event, and through the varied program they enjoyed themselves as they deepened their understanding of Hanover and Germany, which then became places more familiar to them.
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| (International Relations & Cooperation Division) |
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