Slovenian Culture Day at the Olympic Games in Paris

The previous day at the Slovenian House in Paris was dedicated to Slovenian culture, where we presented ourselves in cooperation with the Slovenian Ministry of Culture and the Municipality of Nova Gorica. 

The Day of Slovenian Culture in Paris began with a screening of a film about the legendary Slovenian athlete Leon Štukelj, prepared by the Dolenjski muzej Novo mesto, which preserves Štukelj's heritage, and was presented by the museum's director Jasna Dokl Osolnik. Exactly 100 years ago, Štukelj won Slovenia's first Olympic gold medal in the French capital.

This was followed by a round table on the integration of culture, tourism and sport, which was attended by the Slovenian Minister of Culture, Dr Asta Vrečko, the Mayor of the Municipality of Nova Gorica, Samo Turel, the Vice-Mayor of the Municipality of Saint-Denis, Yannick Caillet, and the Team Leader for Cultural and Creative Industries of the European Comission, Sylvain Pasqua. The discussion was moderated by M. Sc. Mija Lorbek, director of GO! 2025. The roundtable was followed by the signing of a cooperation agreement between the municipalities of Saint-Denis and Nova Gorica, which underlines the municipalities' joint commitment to the preservation of cultural heritage. The two cities are historically linked through Charles X, the last King of France, who is buried together with members of the royal family in the tomb of the Bourbons at Kostanjevica in Nova Gorica. This makes him the only French king not buried in France, as most French kings are buried in the beautiful Gothic cathedral of Saint-Denis. 

In the evening, MN Dance Company, project partners from the official GO! 2025 programme, performed at the Slovenian House, combining contemporary and street dance styles with B-Boys TomiFly and Tchantcho. The evening ended with dancing and entertainment, facilitated by the Manouche music group.