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A NEW PORTAL will open in Waterford this afternoon, linking the city with the Czech Republic.
The Apple Market will be the home to the dolmen-shaped portal which will connect Waterford to another portal in the city centre of Brno.
The Brno-Waterford Gateway will officially be opened today at 3pm and is part of the city’s Winterval, Ireland’s largest Christmas festival.
The portal will offer a real-time and unfiltered livestream, and Winterval organisers said it will allow “people of different cultures to meet above borders and differences” and “to meet and connect outside of their social circles and cultures”.
Waterford was crowned as this year’s European City of Christmas by the European Parliament’s Christmas City Network, while Brno is also celebrating its award as European Capital of Christmas 2024.
The Christmas Cities Network aims to promote the cultural European diversity values and the different and varied Christmas traditions in Europe.
And while Dublin is home to a portal of its own, the Brno-Waterford Gateway is a distinct operation that has been created to connect the winners of this year’s Christmas Cities Network awards.
The Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Ireland, Pavel Vošalík, will be at Waterford’s Apple Market for the launch of the gateway, which has been sponsored by the Southern Regional Assembly.
Meanwhile, the Winterval festival is open every weekend from now until 23 December.
There are over 50 events planned, and festival directors said they are “very excited to open the gateway to Brno as it will add it to the expansive festival offering”.
Other events include the Winterval Illuminates Lightshow, the ice rink on the city’s Quayside, the vintage Ferris wheel and carousel, the Winterval Mini Express train, and Santa’s VR sleigh ride in Cathedral Square.
Meanwhile, Waterford’s Viking heritage will take centre stage at the festival with a Viking Yule Village hosted by Deise Medieval, on offer every Sunday in Blackfriars Church.
And at the Glenveagh Christmas Market, there are over 100 food, craft and drinks producers and creators with lots of Christmas craft and food stalls from local, regional and national producers.
There is also a new after-dark programme of events for adults, ‘The Winterval Big Top Live’, which will host artists and performances including Gavin James and Mick Flannery.
Further details on Winterval are available here.
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I think they should put a Stargate portal outside the IPAS center on Baggot St. It would be great for the environment.
@Adrian Drought: Nah, too expensive. Just put them on a cruise ship, and abandon it in the middle of the Atlantic good luck.
@Alex: why get a cruise ship when you get get a timber raft
@Cole Palmer: The thing with timber raft is that it won’t last and they would be rescued by coast guards or the useless charity who are just helping them to come here illegally.
@Alex: look at all the big girls blouse brigade saying hard man things they’d never utter in real life, fannies.
No never. A county other then cork or Dublin got something. Wow what a coup. Must be an election or something on is there. Ahhhh thank u mehole and Simon. We are so grateful. Grovel grovel grovel. Cork missed out. Well there’s an event. Yuk
@John Flanagan: Yep. Nothing to do with Benediktas Gylys, the Museum of Mathematics in Manhattan and Maths Week Ireland prior or Waterford being designated this year’s European City of Christmas by the European Parliament’s Christmas City Network.
@Jack Hayes: so we are so grateful. The sticks are alive and well.
@John Flanagan: Dublin got one first, connected with some US city. Had to be shut down because the Americans got tired of looking at willies and buttcracks.
The Czech Republic’s residents will think there is another species when they see what a Waterford resident looks and talk like. There nearly as bad as South Dubliners
@Cole Palmer: maybe they can spell better than you do?
@Alex: I thought we were buddies
@Cole Palmer: Ouch! Sounds like a little bit of jealousy there Cole. I’ll send you up a few blaas, it might make you feel a bit better.
Bloody descendants of Viking immigrants. I hope they all disappear through the portal and are replaced by Czechs. Much nicer people!
@Padraig O’Brien: We descended from Viking traders, not immigrants. Get it right, Padraig.
Blah blah
The mucksavages can teach the Czechs how to make blaaas.
Lol
have your say