Celebrating the Ruhr metropolis, on a motorway

Ever wondered what it feels like to walk on a German Autobahn? Listening to birds singing instead of cars humming? Well, this is your chance to try it out: book a flight to Frankfurt or Cologne from July 17thto July 19th 2010(or longer), find yourself a nice hotel in Dortmund or Duisburg (in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia) and take a walkon Highway A 40/B1 on July 18 between 11 am and 5 pm. Even better: you will be able to sit down in the middle of the road and eat, drink and be merry.

No joke: on July 18 2010, residents of the Ruhr metropolis, their guests and visitors will be celebrating the region’s cultural heritage and traditions right in the middle of this major motorway as part of the European Cultural Capital initiative "RUHR.2010". On this day, from 11 am to 5pm, the whole stretch of highway A40/B1will be blocked for traffic in both directions and handed over to the party-goers. The section between Dortmundat the exit of MärkischeStraße to Duisburgharbour -- a60-kilometer stretch -- will become the world’s longest banquet table, lined with 20,000 tables. It will be a meeting place of cultures, generations and nationalities and a demonstration of diversity in the Ruhr Metropolis.

Each of the 20,000 tableswill become a stage where people can show aperformance of their choosing. The motto: Take the Ruhr’s everyday culture on the road! Whether rock bands or church choirs, pigeon fanciers (typical of the region) or football clubs, groups playing cards or hip-hoppers: friends, families, colleagues, neighbors, clubs and societies are invited to participate in the cultural capital of Europe 2010 by taking their place at this banqueting table of cultures and thus actively become a part of the European Capital of Culture RUHR.2010.

Advance reservations are required if you wish to have a place at a table during the day's event. People and groups who reserve tables on the motorway are asked to bring along a cultural contribution of some kind. This can range from songs, dancing, music, cabaret, to theatre, readings or simply typical food.

Each table will cater for between eight and 10 people. There will be a nominal fee of 25 € (34 Dollars) per table plus processing and postage costs. Anyone wishing to reserve a table must provide details of their activity in advance and indicate where they wish to sit. The 20,000 tables will be set up on the night of Saturday, 17th of July by members of the Federal Agency for Technical Help and DBSchenker. For organizational reasons, only complete tables, not individual places, can be reserved.

At the same time, visitors will have a unique chance to drive their cars on the opposite side from Duisburg to Dortmund -- the so called mobility side -- using anything that has wheels... but no engine. It is not necessary to register in advance if one merely wishes to use the mobility side of the motorway. The same applies to anyone who simply wishes to stroll along the banqueting side to enjoy the cultural program.

The program will be enriched by contributions from seven cities along the highway - Duisburg, Oberhausen, MülheimanderRuhr, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Bochum and Dortmund -each with its own particular stage. In addition, state, regional and local sportsorganizations, among them many famous soccer clubs, will showcase the diversity of sports in the Ruhr: They'll invite people to get in motion at special sports islandsalong the track.

The Official Partners are the seven cities on the A40/B1 motorway, the Ministry for Construction and Transport of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Landesbetrieb, Straßen.NRW, Technisches Hilfswerk, LandesSportBund NRW, Verkehrsverbund Rhein-Ruhr, Allgemeiner Deutscher Fahrrad-Club. Deutsche Bahn AG, EDEKA Rhein-Ruhr and Hellweg Die Profi-Baumärkte GmbH & Co. KG are the main sponsors. Business project partners areistaInternational GmbH, Versicherungsverbund Die Continentale as well as VBW Bauen und Wohnen GmbH. The Official logistics partner is SchenkerDeutschland AG.

You can find additional information, including on how to reserve a table, at the Ruhr2010 web site.

Author: Christine Wezel