The Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) announces the start of a string of cultural events organized around the Paris Olympic Games, with the opening on Monday of the outdoor exhibition „Les sportifs roumains en beaute/Romanian Athletes in Motion” displayed on the outer fence of the Behague Palace – residence of the Romanian Embassy in France.

The project celebrates the values of Olympism: excellence, respect, friendship, solidarity, through images that capture the beauty of sports gestures and athletic bodies; it is organized by ICR Paris, with the support of AGERPRES National News Agency, the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee, and the Romanian Embassy in Paris, the ICR statement reads.

Monday will also see the first show of the French tour of the Bucharest National Opera House occasioned by the Olympic Games and the inauguration of the House of Romania at the Romanian Embassy in Paris – a joint project organized by the Romanian Olympic and Sports Committee and the Romanian Foreign Ministry. The orchestra and choir of the Bucharest National Opera House will perform in the exceptional concert Romanian Ethos, starting at 20:00 at the Potager du Roi in Versailles, an event that promotes iconic Romanian composers: George Enescu, Ciprian Porumbescu, George Grigoriu, Gherase Dendrino, Grigoras Dinicu, Constantin Dimitrescu.

On July 22, in the opening of its French tour, the Bucharest National Opera House will organize in the gardens of the Versailles Palace a flashmob dedicated to Romanian music, where the Romanian National Anthem and the Olympic Anthem will be performed.

On Wednesday, July 24, the orchestra and choir of the Bucharest National Opera House will offer a sacred music concert at the Romanian Orthodox Church dedicated to the Holy Archangels Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael in Paris.

On July 25, the Bucharest National Opera House will provide the musical curtain-raiser at the opening ceremony of the House of Romania at the Romanian Embassy in France, which will be for one month the heart of support and promotion of the Romanian Olympic Team.

The project includes a series of cultural tribute events to Romanian athletes, thus strengthening the cultural and sports ties between Romania and France in the context of the 2024 Summer Olympics.

Also at the House of Romania, ICR Paris is organizing on August 9 together with the Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association the international premiere of the film ‘Ivan, the Water-Rooted Man’, directed by Ana Preda, which portrays multiple Olympic, world and European canoe racing champion Ivan Patzaichin, a native of the Danube Delta hamlet Mila 23. A biographical documentary that explores the life and legacy of Ivan Patzaichin in a deeply personal and cinematic way.

The production, signed by the National TV Broadcaster and the Ivan Patzaichin – Mila 23 Association, will be preceded by a conference and a discussion with the audience, with Georgiana Patzaichin, Ivona Patzaichin-Rusu, Teodor Frolu, Ana Preda, Oana Costinas, Cristian China Birta and Sonia Simionov as guests.

AGERPRES