The Vikings have landed. With ships full of culture

Sustainability, diversity and democracy. These are the core values of the European Capital of Culture, which Aarhus aspires to be this year. Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard says it. Rebecca Matthews, the CEO of Aarhus 2017 says it. If those values are also reflected in the programme, Juliana Engberg, programme director for Aarhus 2017, has done her job well.

Other speakers' speeches follow the same train of thought. Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen points out the differences between Aarhus and that other European Capital of Culture: Pafos in Cyprus. But what binds the two is that they are both members of the European family and share the European principle: learning from each other, and protecting freedom and democracy. A Europe where diversity is precisely its strength.

Queen Margrethe of Denmark argues that culture is what binds us as human beings. Be proud of your own, but be open to inspiration from outside, she says. Danishness and an international orientation need not be mutually exclusive.

These are sounds that one hardly hears unchallenged anymore in Denmark. The country, after all, where the populist ideology of DF, Dansk Folkeparti, is gaining traction. But then, this is also a European issue. European as in EU, and European Capital of Culture. DF city councillors, by the way, join in the revelry without grumbling.

Kom så, Aarhus

The diversity is evident in the programming of the opening programme. 'Hør en stemme' is based on the Kurdish folk song Kus Dili, and is sung and danced by Turkish-Danish Luna Bülow Ersahin. Sunleif Rasmussen's 'More fair than the sun', composed especially for the occasion, sounds like a mix of Ravel's Boléro and Theodorakis' To Axion Esti. 'To A New World', also a world premiere, sounds jazzy and the lyrics are based on a text by Martin Luther. Not coincidentally, in the Luther year and in Lutheran Denmark. And it doesn't get any more European with Beethoven's Ode To Joy as the final touch.

After the Queen's encouragement (Come så, Aarhus! =Hup Aarhus!) and its ceremonial opening act by lifting a miniature ship, the festive parade through the city gets underway.

And it couldn't be more Danish. Viking ships, encircled by thousands of ship lanterns, float through the streets. But that's the image. The music is different: a mix of Nordic-inspired choral music, Eastern-inspired songs and rousing dance beats. Together, they wave to the harbour.

There, light images flash across the walls of the grain silos. The centrally controlled lights in the lanterns change colour in takt with the music and the light images. Seamlessly, DJ Static takes over the music from the choirs, and the beats thunder through the harbour. Meanwhile, the fireworks erupt.

From time to time, applause sounds up from the spectators, and then the runners respond by quickly flapping the sails of their boats. The line between spectator and participant blurs. Or, to put it in the words of journalists from Jyllands-Posten: at that moment, Aarhusians abandon their reservations and embrace Aarhus2017 as something of their own. And so the popular festival the organisers had so much hoped for is born.

See here Which images Danes made themselves.