Nova Gorica and Gorizia, the 2025 European Capital of Culture, have built their programme around heritage, innovation, survival, and green sustainability.

That approach convinced the European Commission's decision-makers to select the former "Austrian Nice" and its post-WWII neighbour as Europe's first cross-border European Capital of Culture (ECOC).

The GO! 2025 project will showcase "two facets of a unique 'city in progress': cross-border, multilingual, beautiful yet complex - a symbol of the EU's strengths and intricacies", the organizers say in the programme brochure.

With fewer than 100 days until the 8 February opening ceremony, they have started unveiling the programme to the public from Ljubljana to Brussels and Rome.

Europe Square the heart of events

"If Gorizia reflects the grandeur of the Austro-Hungarian era in its palaces and gardens, Nova Gorica embodies Yugoslavia's vision of a modernist Brasilia - a city designed to project the strength of collective triumph to the West. Two former utopias now seek a shared future beyond past ambitions," the brochure reads.

The heart of ECOC activities will be Europe Square - Trg Evrope in Slovenian and Piazza della Transalpina in Italian - which is located in front of Nova Gorica's railway station, a site once divided by a hard border.

The square lies by the Bohinj Railway, or Transalpina line, which has been linking Trieste via Jesenice with Vienna and Prague since it was built in 1906 under Emperor Franz Joseph.

A year of events across four themes

Europe Square will serve as the focal point for a vibrant year-long programme. The events are grouped into four main thematic clusters, each marked by a major seasonal highlight.

The festivities will kick off on Slovenia's Culture Day, 8 February, with a cultural-artistic promenade titled From Station to Station.

This day-long event will link Gorizia's two train stations - South Station and North Station, the latter now on the Slovenian side of the border. The programme will start with a morning brass band reveille, followed by a cross-border parade featuring local associations, schools, majorettes and choirs.

The parade will pass through Gorizia's Vittoria Square, once a popular shopping district for Slovenians during Yugoslav times, via the former border crossing, before arriving at Europe Square for the official opening ceremony. GO! Borderless is the slogan of the GO! 2025 project.

War and peace

Given the region's turbulent history, scarred by two world wars and heavy Italianization of Slovenians in the inter-war period, one of the thematic segments centres on reflections of war and peace.

The area, united by the Soča or Isonzo River, was both a battlefield and a literary setting, notably in Ernest Hemingway's A Farewell to Arms. A new exhibition space, EPIC, near the railway station will present local testimonies and stories of resilience.

The European platform for interpreting 20th-century history (EPIC) will symbolically open on 9 May, Europe Day, preceded by a Walk for Europe event. This multi-day spring event will feature friendship walks and peace trails in the Soča Valley, commemorating WWI battlefields.

Highlights will include artworks that Zoran Mušič (1909-2005) created in the Dachau concentration camp, and a documentary by Anja Medved about childhood memories of WWII, told by residents still living on the two sides of the border.

Tribute to innovation and heritage

The thematic segment Creation of the New emphasises the inseparability of innovation and heritage. The legacy of architect Edvard Ravnikar (1907-1993), a city planner behind Nova Gorica's urban development, will be explored in digital and printed city guides.

Meanwhile, the work of Italian psychiatrist Franco Basaglia (1924-1980), who revolutionised mental health care, will be honoured with events such as the opening of a cinema in Basaglia Park in Gorizia.

Theatre director Tomi Janežič will present Destin(y)ation - Touch of Destiny, a series of productions developed in various European cities.

Acclaimed pianist Alexander Gadjiev will unite Europe Square, the Solkan Bridge, and the basilica on Sveta Gora with a concert. Young artists will showcase their visions at the Biennial of Young Creators of Europe and the Mediterranean.

The segment will also feature concerts by global stars, including Alanis Morissette, 30 Seconds to Mars, Sting, and Robbie Williams, performing on the Italian side.

Smugglers

The Smugglers segment draws inspiration from the history of smuggling across the border, from goods to ideas. Its central event is the dance production Borderless Body, to be performed at the Solkan quarry by the MN Dance Company. Italian choreographer Mattia Cason will also contribute with a production titled On the Paths of Europe.

The stories of the Alexandrians - local women who worked as nannies and maids in Egypt in the second half of the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century - and their modern counterparts will feature prominently.

Literary and philosophical "idea smugglers" will include Claudio Magris, Aleksandar Hemon, Didier Eribon, Miljenko Jergović and Slavoj Žižek. Their discussions will link to Slovenia's manifesto on higher-level reading, presented at the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair.

Green

The final segment focuses on ecology, the future of food, and botanical heritage. Central to this is a new project by artist Marko Peljhan, who has been researching the Soča River for a series of performances, sound installations and spatial interventions. His Isolab project will feature a documentary by Jasmina Cibic and an exhibition about the Doblar hydropower plant.

Film as an art form will also play a significant role. Projects connected to the Soča Valley, including films by Ema Kugler, Urška Djukić, Damjan Kozole and Jan Cvitkovič, will be featured. A film office will open in Nova Gorica to attract international filmmakers, while a retrospective of Slovenian and Italian border-themed films will travel across Europe.

Illuminated closing

The project will conclude in December 2025 with a unified festive illumination connecting the two cities. The Festival of Lights, held early in the month, will be the final large-scale event.

Before that, September will see a culinary highlight with the Tastes Without Borders festival.