In Brussels, the Catalan Government Delegation to the EU organized the annual Brussels Catalan Week, offering different cultural events, including a literary contest, a reading from Ramon Llull’s Amic e Amat and the opening of the "En Dansa" photography exhibition at the Espai Catalunya Europa located in the Belgian capital.

 

Accordingly, in Washington DC, the Catalan Delegation to the United States, Mexico and Canada organized a reception at the Library of Congress for policymakers and social and economic personalities in the US capital. The Delegation also offered support to various activities run by the Catalan communities, such as the celebration of the World Book Day, organized by the Washington Dupont Circle, as well as the Sant Jordi Reception at the LATEA Theater in New York.

 

On Sunday, the Delegation of the Catalan Government to the UK and Ireland together with the Borough Market celebrated Saint George in London as both Catalonia and England share a same patron saint. The event was hosted by London’s Borough Market and offered visitors a sample of the best Catalan and English cuisines as well as  other cultural activities, with the support from the Catalan community in London. The feast also included a Sardana dance, an exhibition of English dances and a performance of Catalonia’s ‘human towers’.

 

On the eve of Sant Jordi, the Catalan Government Office in Berlin organized a reading by Kirsten Brandt, the philologist who translated the novel Incerta Glòria, by Joan Sales, into German. The Government’s representative, Marie Kapretz, opened the event  to celebrate World Book Day at the Heinz-Brandt-Schule in Berlin. The event was organized by the Catalan lectureship and the Catalan Clubs in Germany.

 

On Sunday, Vienna hosted a social gathering of both the Catalan community and Friends of Catalonia in Austria. The event was organized by the Catalan Club with the support of the Catalan Government Delegation in Austria.

Rome, Paris and Alghero

 

In Rome, the Government Delegation to Italy, with the support of the Feltrinelli bookstore at the Galleria Sordi and the Catalan Tourist Board, held a gathering to celebrate the feast and disseminated various Catalan literary titles translated into Italian. In Alghero, the Delegation presented the Manga comic strip "San Giorgio / St. Jordi" together with the Il Labirinto bookstore, which was, published in the Algherese-Catalan variant. The event also served as an occasion to open the new headquarters of the San Michele Library in the Old Alghero quarter.

 

Furthermore, in May the Théatre de l'Européen in Paris will host a concert by Silvia Pérez Cruz, organized by the Catalan Government Delegation to France and Switzerland, through the support of the Girona-Costa Brava Tourism Board. The performance will be attended by diplomats, representatives of the French government and of international organizations based in Paris as well as by members of the Catalan community.

 

 

 

Aside from the activities offered by the Catalan delegations, various Catalan Communities Abroad and other civil society organizations compiled a assortment of worldwide celebratory events through the online campaign “Books and Roses” (available at http://booksandroses.cat/).

 

In Europe, activities were held in Frankfurt, Cologne, Munich, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Krakow, Moscow, Turin, Grenoble, Lausanne, Zurich, Nantes, Toulouse, Luxembourg, Madrid and Bilbao. While outside of Europe, the festival reached as far as New York, Montreal, Los Angeles, Miami, Palo Alto, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Santiago de Chile, Montevideo, Mexico, Johannesburg, Sydney, Tokyo, Osaka and Macau, among others.

 

Additionally, the Catalan Communities Abroad (CCE) and several other civil society organizations presented a list of cultural proposals available at the booksandroses.cat website, run by the Public Diplomacy Council of Catalonia (DIPLOCAT), a body attached to the Ministry of Transparency and Foreign and Institutional Relations and Affairs.