Stars may play for Cork 2005 Cup

SUPERSTARS like David Beckham and Michael Owen could be gracing the playing fields of Cork under plans for a major soccer tournament as one of the highlights planned for Cork 2005.

It is all part of an ambitious package of cultural and artistic activity outlined yesterday by the director of Cork 2005, John Kennedy.

The organisers hope that the Capital of Culture Cup will herald the cultural renaissance of Cork when the Capital of Culture kicks off on January 1 of 2005.

Cork City FC is pioneering a pre-season invitational soccer tournament with teams drawn from previous Cities of Culture or those that have been selected for future designation. Potential invitees include Sturm Graz, Liverpool (Owen), Real Madrid (Beckham), Lille, Genoa, Glasgow, and many more.

The city will host a huge array of sustained cultural and artistic activity unprecedented in Europe when it becomes the European Capital of Culture in 2005. Already €13 million in government and EU funding has been finalised and the organisers are hoping to find another 7 million in private funding to finance the programme of activities planned for the year.

Already delegations as far away as Japan have come to Cork to set out their stalls for 2005 as part of the international programme However, according to Kennedy, Cork comes first. He also stressed that cultural activity does not halt at the city boundaries. “It is as much about the country as it is about the city,” he said, putting paid to speculation that towns and villages would find themselves out on a limb.

At a briefing yesterday, Director John Kennedy said: “Cork now has a unique opportunity to make its mark on the world stage. The Capital of Culture is a once-in-a-generation designation, with Ireland not eligible for the title again for another 25 years. The biggest thing happening in Europe in 2005 will be the Cork Capital of Culture programme.”

He also announced the Capital of Culture has set itself a total target budget of over €20 million to fund its activities. “We are seeking private funding of at least €7 million. This is in addition to Cork City Council’s contribution of €6.5 million, the Government’s matching funding of €6.5 million and €0.5 million that we have attracted in EU funding.”

Among the programme outlined yesterday, was a major exhibition of 18th century Cork silver gold, a ‘knitting map’ composed of weaves generated by 5,000 knitters from a pattern generated by satellite; a community television service and the completion of writer Conal Creedon’s salute to his native city, The Second City Trilogy.

Mr Kennedy said these projects represent the ethos of the event but not its overall shape “There are over 90 more projects to come through the programme pipeline,” he said.