As one of the European Culture Capitals 2010 Pécs, Hungary had to put in a bit of effort before it received its culture capital tourists. With a calendar jam packed with cultural events, this UNESCO world heritage site will hopefully reap what it sows fin

Pécs' facelift

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/14942078/N001-100304-003-EN.srt

A 17th century mosque converted into a   church, one of Europe's first universities -

just some of the hidden treasures   of Pécs in South-West Hungary.

It's a European Culture Capital   alongside Istanbul and Essen.

Numbering 160,000 residents,   Pécs spanned the ages.

Also known as Sopianae it was the capital   of a Roman province in the 3rd century.

1500 years later it claims the title of   Culture Capital, but it wasn't an easy ride.

Unlike Istanbul and Essen   which have millions of residents

Pécs needs a different approach   when organising cultural events.

In Istanbul and Essen   grand events are the norm.

In the past few years we had to learn   how to organise big events.

with renovations and   infrastructure to accommodate tourists.

But the inauguration went without a hitch   last January with 40,000 in attendance.

The city was declared by UNESCO in   2000 as cultural heritage of the world.

Now if you come there   you will find a lot of programmes.

The number, interestingly, is 365, that   means something new nearly every day.

Street theatre,   photo exhibitions, film festivals -

a taster of what's in store   in Pécs this year.

The EU spent 1.5 million euros   per Culture Capital.

But overall Pécs invested   170 million euros.

It will have an effect on Pécs -   tourism, and the university...

Let's not forget that the university is   the oldest one in Europe, dating to 1367.

We will organise seminars for students   belonging to other Culture Capitals.

I hope that the expenditure   will come back.

Pécs expects hundreds of thousands   of visitors. But it looks to the future.

The theatre was renovated, like   the concert hall and exhibition centre.

In 2011 it will be the turn of Turku   in Finland and Tallinn in Estonia