The Chairman and Twinning Officer have just returned from a brief 2 day visit to Annecy where current and future twinning activities were discussed and planned. There is a busy flow of exchanges this summer between the 2 towns, with many Annecy students coming to Cheltenham and 2 groups of young musicians going to Annecy, amongst others. Further details will be conveyed as each exchange happens.
Whilst in Annecyt he international animated film festival was taking place and we were invited to the closing awards ceremony of the festival. Not quite Cannes (yet) – but nevertheless Annecy’s equivalent and it might well be of that status in years to come, as this film festival is rapidly growing in international recognition with films from Russia, USA, Japan, UK and Europe being shown and amongst the prize winners. We were amazed at the scale of this event – for a week films are shown at a range of venues in Annecy, but the most impressive are the open air films shown daily on an enormous screen on the Paquier – a large grassed area by the side of the lake – watched by hundreds of people sitting on the grass with their picnics! The awards ceremony was followed by a reception, with free food and drink, for some 1200 people in marques in the grounds of the Imperial Hotel. Annecy certainly know how to do things in style!
There is also a great buzz of anticipation amongst the residents and officials of Annecy council, as they up their profile in the final few weeks in their bid to become the host city for the 2018 winter Oympics. The result will be announced on 6 July 2011 and Annecy is a contender along with Munich and a city in South Korea. We wish Annecy the best of luck!!
Subsequent to this visit, Annecy failed in their Olympic bid.
Cheltenham Twinning Association 