Addressing the hour-long ceremony attended by 10,000-12,000 people, Bajnai said Pecs had won the title after considerable hardships and after a period of anonymity it can now win long-deserved attention and raise its role in the region and in the country.

 

With these events, "Pecs has become the capital of Hungary and the capital of European culture," Gordon Bajnai said.

 

The gala ceremony presented up to one thousand performers on the stage set up on Pecs's main Szechenyi square on Sunday evening.

 

Performers included the Pecs Ballet, the Pannon Philharmonic Orhestra, puppeteers and folk-dansing ensembles, as well as Hungarian pop stars.

 

Source: Hungarian News Agency (MTI) / Photo: MTI