[ From the Media ]

The Greek city of Patras, the official Cultural Capital of Europe in 2006, is already in crisis. According to a survey, only 16% of Greeks have heard of the event. Criticism has been voiced that no proper marketing efforts had been undertaken, and that the organisation of Patras 2006 was only begun in April 2005 because the Greek government had been preoccupied with the Olympic Games (2004) for too long. The artistic director has resigned on January 3, while the funding for several initiatives is still not secured. The cultural year will start with a Leonardo-da-Vinci exhibition on January 10. The peak of the program is supposed to be the 6-weeks carneval (starting on January 21) which, as critics noted, does in fact have a long tradition in Patras and is celebrated annually anyway. (Source: ORF.at)