The Danube and The Danube Delta are priceless natural wealth of Europe. More than that, the river is a wonderful symbol

1. The Danube and The Danube Delta are priceless natural wealth of Europe. More than that, the river is a wonderful symbol of Europe’s unity and cooperation. Second longest river in Europe, is an important international waterway, running through ten countries – Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Republic of Moldova, Ukraine, has tributaries in other seven countries and passes through four capitals – Wien, Bratislava, Budapest and Belgrade. It’s the only European river flowing from West to East.

2. Between 27 to 29 June 2014, the Municipality of Galaţi, together with the Fun Time Production, organizes OUR DANUBE Festival. This is the first edition of a festival that, from now on, will be an annual event. ‘Our Danube’ festival’s stated aim is the Danube Region strategy information exchange – travel, administrative, economic, cultural, educational, environmental, sports etc – between concerned institutions in the Member States and provides a favorable framework for achieving this.

3. The area covered by the European Strategy for the Danube Region extends throughout the river, from the Black Forest to the Black Sea and covers 14 countries and 115 million inhabitants thereof: • 11 member states: Germany, Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Romania, Croatia • 3 accession countries: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro • neighborhood countries: Republic of Moldova, Ukraine

4. The Danube Region strategy is divided among 4 pillars and 11 priority • areas: • Connect the Region • culture and tourism, people to people contacts • mobility • waterways • railways, roads, airways • encourage more sustainable energy • Protecting the Environment • manage the environmental risks • restore and maintain the quality of waters • preserve biodiversity, landscapes and the quality of air and soils

5. Strengthening the Region • tackle security and organized crime • step up institutional capacity and cooperation • Building Prosperity • support the competitiveness of enterprises • invest in people and skills • develop the knowledge society (research, education, ICT)

6. The festival will have several attractions: • giant banner and the tents of the Danube countries • exhibition at 'Dunărea de Jos' University • tennis tournament for amateurs • photo contest for amateurs • live concerts and fireworks shows

7. Presentation Offer / Solicitation

8. Giant banner + International representation A main attraction of this festival is the giant banner with a length of 286 meters, located on the Danube cliff. Aside from its impressive size, the banner is meant to provide information on the territories covered by the Danube, from the source to the mouth of the Black Sea, on the links that the river accomplishes between these lands and the life of communities crossed along its way. The banner will provide administrative, geographical, historical, touristic and economic information, illustrated with meaningful photographs about each country and city come from the Danube. All along the banner, there will be placed tents for the Danube countries. The 286 meters banner’s length reflects Danube’s 2,860 km run, scale 1:10,000. At the same scale, each country is assigned a length as per Danube’s run over its territory. All the way, the banner is going to be 2 meters high, except for the tents’ entrances, where it’s going to be 1 meter high. The banner will be lit all the way so that the information to be visible after dark.

9. We invite you to actively participate in this section, perhaps the most important of the festival. We offer you a tent, so you can set-up flags, emblems, roll-ups, photosetc. You can spread informative/travel materials about your country, hold gastronomic demonstrations or other relevant kind of event. Each tent will be carpeted and lit. Power supply will be made by a generators and distribution system, up to 10 kW per user.

10. VIP Reception Saturday, June 28th, we invite you to attend the VIP Reception of the ‘Our Danube' festival. The Reception will take place on board a pleasure craft that will sail the Danube, around the city of Galaţi. The Guest List includes personalities from central and local institutions and representatives of NGOs engaged in meaningful activities for Danube and Danube Delta, as well as for the county and city of Galaţi. Diplomatic representatives of the Danube countries and local authorities of the Danube cities are also invited. Please, confirm your participation by June 15th, stating the name and position of the attendants. For confirmation, please e-mail todorian@funtime.ro

11. Exhibition at ‘Dunărea de Jos’ University • Directly connected with the name and specifics of this event, relevant exhibitions will be organized at ‘Dunărea de Jos’ University, from Galaţi: • ship models • scale models of buildings relevant to the history of Galaţi • scale models of buildings relevant to the history of various Danube cities • architectural projects • photos • books • Exhibitors from the areas listed above will expose and support their products/projects. We invite you to actively participate in the exhibition. You can exhibit in any of the above categories, exhibits from national archives or private collections in your country.

12. Tennis tournament for amateurs, at Viva Club • During the festival, at Viva Club, in Galaţi, an international tennis tournament for amateurs will be organized. Amateur tennis players from the Danube countries/cities will be invited. • The tournament will be organized on a professional standard: • There are going to be two parallel tournaments – women and men. • There will be all the usual stages: round of 16, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. • Matches will be judged by professional chair umpires and line judges. • There will be ball boys and girls. • Players will be introduced by a professional MC, who’ll also do all specific announcements. • The tournament will have festvities and prizes will be awarded. • Competitors from outside Galaţi will benefit on accommodation. • The list of participants will be finalized/confirmed until June 20th. Your country can be represented in the tennis tournament. Please issue the invitation to your country nationals, temporarily residing in Romania, to the diplomatic staff and, generally, to any amateur tennis player in your country.

13. Photo contest for amateurs • The contest will take place during the festival, between June 27 to 29. • Like the festival itself, the competition is entitled 'Our Danube' and has two themes: • the City of Galaţi • the fireworks shows on June 28th and 29th As for the tennis tournament, your country can also be represented in the photo contest. Please issue the invitation to your country nationals, temporarily residing in Romania, to the diplomatic staff and, generally, to any amateur photographer in your country.

14. The entries in the competition will take place on the first day of the festival, Friday, June 27th, between 10:00 to 15:00 hours. • Upon registration, contestants will be made aware of the competition two topics and conditions for participation: • Photos must be made strictly during the 2014 edition of 'Our Danube' Festival and during fireworks shows respectively. • All photos in the competition must be submitted to the organizers, in digital format or on paper, by candidates’ choice, until June 30th(Monday), 12:00 o’clock. • Judging will take place on July 3rd (Thursday), between 10:00 to 12:00 hours, followed by the awards ceremony. • The ceremony will take place at a location in Galaţi, that will be communicated to competitors upon registration. • The jury will be composed of personalities of Galaţi and professional photographers, appointed by the contest organizer. • Contestants will receive a badge they have to wear during the festival, but that will NOT grant the access in the areas restricted to public access.

15. Live Concerts + Fireworks Shows A live concert will happen each of the three Festival nights, at Elice Square (The Propeller), each concert approaching a unified stylistic line. June 27th, DJ party The program will consist of three DJ sets, between 19:30 to 23:00 hours. June 28th, Pop-Dance show + Fireworks show The program will consist of three concerts by Romanian pop-dance artists, between 19:30 to 22:40 hours, followed by a 20 minute Pyrotechnic/Fireworks show, between 22:40 to 23:00 hours. June 29th, Pop-Rock show + Fireworks show The program will consist of three concerts by Romanian pop-rock artists, between 19:30 to 22:40 hours, followed by a 20 minute Pyrotechnic/Fireworks show, between 22:40 to 23:00 hours.

16. The line-up will consist of first class Romanian artists. To emphasize the International character of 'Our Danube' Festival, the fireworks shows will be presented by two teams, one from Romania, the other from Austria. For the Pyrotechnic/Fireworks shows at the end of the live concerts on June 28th and 29th, the launch point will be on a barge located in front of the cliff. To synchronize bursts with music, music will be played at the point of burst control and transmitted, by FM, to receptors on the bank, that will distribute the signal to the sound system, consisting of 3 loudspeaker points, set-up along the cliff, covering a length of approximately 1,000 meters. The public area will be organized so that people flows can be managed effectively. A 300-seat stand, for the VIP (officials, special guests etc.), will be set-up.

17. Press Center To the accredited press, a Press Center will operate during the festival. It will be held in a carpeted and furnished tent, equipped with computers and TV monitors, with secure Wi-Fi access. The Press Center will have spaces for interviews with both artists and administrative and/or diplomatic personalities. The access inside the Press Center will be controlled. A press attaché and security guards will be permanently onsite.

18. INTERNATIONAL DAY OF DANUBE GALAŢI JUNE 27 – 29 2014