Not a babelian yet?
Not a babelian yet?
The British science fiction author, 82, on working with Hollywood greats, being caned for 'telling stories' at school and Europe being a 'wonderful idea'
Julie Delpy’s multicultural comedy with bite, starring her parents, US actor Adam Goldberg and Germany’s Daniel Brühl, opens in French cinemas on 11 July. Reviews from both sides of the Rhein
Art is politics - the second part in our series of profiles of artists trying to resist a ‘cultural Chernobyl’ in a Belarus stifled by president Aleksander Loukachenko
A round trip of Germany’s most important exhibition for contemporary art, 'Documenta 12', which asks questions and tightens the link between avant-garde and the viewer
Between Italian jazz and Nordic tango, Slovenian saxophone and Scottish rock, Spanish bull running and German contemporary art – check out the July issue of our Vultures for Culture calendar
Art is politics: the first part of our series on portraits of artists who attempt to resist the 'cultural Chernobyl' which reigns in Belarus, a country asphyxiated by the authoritarian regime of president Alexander Lukashenko
It's billed as a unique opera project which will occur simultaneously in five EU countries - but during the performance of ‘St Kilda – Island of the Bird People’ in Valenciennes, Europe made itself scarce
Over 200,000 people flooded Independence Square on 16 June to see British singer Elton John's AIDS-awareness free concert - publicising a dark aspect of Ukrainian society, with estimated adult HIV prevalence of 1.4%
Quentin Tarantino's sweeping May statement finds an exception in current Sicilian-set offering 'Salvatore - This Is Life'
On 7 June the Venice Biennale saw the grand opening of ‘Paradise Lost’, its first Roma Pavilion. Gipsy kitsch, or the artistic emancipation of an oppressed people?
Between 8 and 14 June London hosts the third part of ‘Picture Europe’, the first film festival taking place simultaneously across different European cities
The prestigious Queen Elisabeth Music Competition also acts as an international assembly, uniting the best piano soloists in the European capital in May and June 2007
There's more to Florence than its stuffy museum setting. The Tuscan capital is host to a contemporary art festival, whose lights go out on 31 May
The Belarusian independent theatre company uses black humour and underground performances to protest against 'Europe's last dictatorship'
Extracts from 'Breathing Technquies In A Place Without Air' and 'Being Harold Pinter,' by artists-in-residence the Free Theatre of Minsk at the Alfortville studio theatre, Paris, May 2007
Free from the shackles of Communist oppression, Czech theatre has discovered its own identity, lying somewhere between pop culture and experimental drama. Presenting three portraits of this new generation
Over to Belgrade next year, as Serbian singer Marija Šerifovi, 23, wins the 2007 song contest. Ukraine and Russia came second and third in Helsinki on 12 May
Inaugarated one year before the Treaty of Rome in 1957, the Eurovision Song Contest celebrates European diversity. All eyes are on Helsinki during 5-12 May
A journey through Belgium, Germany and their citizens image of Europe
After the release of his latest film Inland Empire, the 'Air is on Fire' in Paris - an exhibition revealing David Lynch's disturbing world
One night in Barcelona's famous 'Apolo' club, where the 'international master of turntablism' divides clubgoers with his mellow electronic strains
A long tradition of international events and Olympics throwbacks - like Fòrum 2004 - have regenerated urban Barcelona, but haven’t always helped improve its European image
Ceauescu erected the Romanian parliament in the second largest building in the world
Can more young people enjoy opera, asks a congress in Paris
As Estonia prepares to celebrate independence from the USSR, poet and intellectual Hasso Krull explains why Russian will never be an official language
The Italian composer for the likes of 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' and 'Bulworth' takes home an Academy Award on February 25
The masked festivities of Venice and Vienna have increasingly become commodified as tourist attractions. Amidst European celebrations, masks have lost their social function
The Czech stage director explains why 'European theatre' doesn't fit snugly into one box
Arabian disco, gypsy rock and house music boom from buses, taxis and radios throughout Bulgaria. But the knives are out
Winner of the 2002 Prix Fémina for Foreign Writers for his splendid Montedidio – written in 'very Neapolitan Italian' – Erri de Luca reflects on Europe, the Mediterranean and the passing of generations
Of the 26 films that the Berlin Film Festival is showing from February 8 - 18, 12 are European. A lack of fresh faces?
The cinematic world looks to the 57th Berlin Film Festival on February 8, which showcases a host of talent, from Daniel Brühl to François Ozon
Integration must happen in-situ, with your neighbours - not with Brussels, says Slovak Ján Figel', European Commissioner for Education, Training and Culture
Fifty years after the 1956 revolution in Hungary, and Budapest's emblematic monuments betray a continuing uncertainty - what exactly did it all mean?
The 68-year-old Dutch film director behind ‘Total Recall’, ‘Robocop’ and ‘Basic Instinct’ is back home in Europe to complete a different project
We spoke to the Iranian graphic novelist, 37, in January, after she shot to fame with her black-and-white comic book ‘Persepolis’. It's currently hitting movie screens in its animated French version
The Parc de la Villette in Paris is one of Europe’s leading art centres. Here art, music, science and technology all rub shoulders
On May 25, Brussels’ largest contemporary art centre will open its doors in what was once the Wielemans-Ceuppen Brewery, close to Midi Station
Through dedication and perseverance, this 28-year-old Sicilian has risen to the ranks of prima ballerina in the Paris Opera
All over Europe, former industrial buildings are being rebuilt as centres of culture. Residents cherish the special charm of these old factories
Jewish director Dani Levy has broken taboos with a controversial new comedy about Hitler. The Germans once again ask themselves: Can we be allowed to laugh about Hitler?
The Spanish director is favourite to take the Golden Globe for best foreign language film, for Volver. It would be his third award in just a few years. Why does Hollywood love Almodóvar so much?
How does the ‘Eternal City’ juggle the need to preserve its past with the equally important need to construct its future?
He wrote Danube in a café, and it's in a café that we meet the Triestine novelist, translator and very European intellectual
‘ScrittureGiovani’ is the newest slice of European literature projects. Five writers, five different countries, five short stories, one theme - the focus is on young literary talents
The Romanian city of Sibiu, in the Transylvania region, is making waves alongside Luxembourg as joint European Capitals of Culture 2007
Terry Gilliam spent half his life in London, where he created Monty Python with a group of like-minded comedians. At 65, the actor-director’s spirits remain as imaginative and animated as ever
33 year-old Daiva Urbonaviciüté is a stylist in Vilnius. Her original brand, both stylish and comfortable, seems all set to infect the West.
27 states, 23 languages; Leonard Orban, Romanian Commissioner-designate for multilingualism, is to head the new European tower of Babel in 2007
A November conference in Berlin entitled ‘Giving Europe a soul’, saw high profile speakers giving talks on Europe’s identity. However, not much was actually said
One hundred years after his birth, Paris presents the complete œuvre of Samuel Beckett, one of the European writers who best expressed the malady of the 20th century (until June 2007)
Our ‘Homo Sovieticus’ feature - to mark the fifteen year anniversary of the fall of the former USSR - continues this week with Evangeline Masson's tale of Tajikistan today
In the run-up to becoming European cultural capital in 2010, Istanbul reveals its artistic talents
Far from his beloved New York, Woody Allen presents a scathing portrait of British aristocracy in his new film
Riding on the web 2.0 wave, music labels on the Internet attract more and more enthusiasts
Films about girls in the suburbs are all the rage in Europe
On October 13, the photography exhibition ‘In the Face of History’ opened in London
Connoisseurs from all over the world visit Brussels to stock up on pralines, the famous traditional Belgian chocolates
Take an alternative trip around Brussels with our private guide, Stephane Lambert. Together we discover the hidden corners of the European capital.
Francophone and Flemish, North African and Eurocrat… The European Capital mirrors the contradictions and cultural diversity of Europe
33 year-old Marius Ivaskevicius is a poet, playwright and director who explores the complexity and melancholy of the Slavic soul. His works are at once tender and humourous
Muslims turn to online matchmaking to find perfect spouse
Valérie Favre, 47, is a Swiss artist working in Berlin. For her, painting is an out-dated medium which still offers interesting possibilites.
As Google actively courts European publishers at Frankfurt, the nascent European Digital Library fumbles to catch up
Publisher Georg Siebeck explains why the new German copyright laws threaten the very existence of academic publishers
Every year, the world biggest book fair in Frankfurt attracts a lot of bookworms. But the future of the traditional paperback is unsure
Visionary bohemian, shrewd artist or cool businessman? The Austrian Wolfgang Stranziger, 36 years old, lomography founder, discusses the ‘fortuitous’ beginnings of his empire of snappy, zany photography
The European Commission wants to improve young Europeans’ grasp of foreign languages. However, EU member states find it difficult to implement concrete measures
At today's inauguration of Perpignan's 19th festival ‘Visa pour l'image’, Newsha Tavakolian, an Iranian photojournalist, focuses on the situation of women in the Middle East
