Berlin/Chemnitz (dpa/sn) – 30 members of the Bundestag from various parties want to get involved in the European Capital of Culture 2025 in Chemnitz and promote the projects nationwide. To this end, a parliamentary group consisting of representatives of all factions except the AfD was founded in Berlin on Wednesday evening.

“In the future we have to do everything we can to present Europe and the world with a friendly, cosmopolitan and incredibly diverse Chemnitz over the next few years,” said MP Detlef Müller (SPD). You need a lot of support for that. The parliamentary circle, a loose association across faction boundaries, is an important building block on the way to 2025.

The initiative for this came from Müller and his parliamentary colleagues Bernhard Herrmann (Greens) and Frank Müller-Rosentritt (FDP). The aim of the circle is to increase the visibility of the Capital of Culture 2025 in political Berlin and to emphasize its national political importance. According to the information, the group includes members from many regions of Germany. “We are planning joint cultural events and excursions and want to report regularly on the progress of the project,” explained Müller.

The Lord Mayor of Chemnitz, Sven Schulze (SPD), expressed the hope that the group of deputies with their various connections could ensure “that our Capital of Culture receives even more support and attention than before”.

Chemnitz will share the title of European Capital of Culture 2025 with Nova Gorica in Slovenia. Under the motto “C the Unseen”, the city then wants to make the hidden visible. At the same time, the surrounding area is also included in the Capital of Culture year, for example via the “Purple Path” art and culture trail.