JIM NOLAN, NIAMH BRIGGS AND MICHAEL KELLY CHAMPION THE ‘THREE SISTERS 2020’ BID AND CALL ON THE PEOPLE OF WATERFORD TO SHARE THEIR VISION TO WIN THE TITLE
Playwright Jim Nolan, Captain of the Irish Women’s Rugby Team Niamh Briggs and Founder of GIY Michael Kelly are calling on the people of Waterford to join them and share their vision for the European Capital of Culture 2020 in order to help win the title. Jim, Niamh and Michael all joined the Bid team to create a video and tell their Three Sisters 2020 story. All three Waterford Champion videos can now be viewed in full at www.threesisters2020.ie
Four cities in Ireland are currently competing for the European Capital of Culture title for 2020. The South East region, Waterford, Wexford and Kilkenny, under the Three Sisters 2020 banner is putting its best foot forward to win the prestigious title which carries a €1.5 million prize. To win, the people of the region need to demonstrate their ambition and desire to host the Capital of Culture in 2020 by sharing their ideas and vision to help build a picture of proposed cultural events, which would take place here in 2020.
In his Champion video for the Three Sisters 2020 Bid, Jim Nolan shares his pride in Waterford and appeals to the people of Waterford and beyond to join him and to do their ‘Bit for the Bid’ by logging onto the threesisters2020.ie website to share their vision for what they would like to see happen in Waterford if the region were to win the European title for 2020. He is joined by Irish Women’s Rugby Captain Niamh Briggs and Founder of GIY Michael Kelly who also share their passion for the region and ambition to win in this campaign
Speaking about his passion for Waterford and his desire to see the Three Sisters Bid being successful Jim Nolan says, “I love my City and County and the South East region, I love it because it is a beautiful, exciting and inspiring place to work and live; but mostly I love it for its people, people are my raw material.” Jim continues to tell his story of growing up on the multi-cultural German Road in Waterford in the 1960’s and he concludes his video with a heartfelt call out to the people of Waterford to join him, to tell their story and sign up to support the Bid at www.threesisters2020.ie
VIDEO LINK: THREE SISTERS 2020: CULTURAL CHAMPION WATERFORD- JIM NOLAN
Speaking to Bid team from one of her favourite Waterford locations of Woodstown beach Niamh Briggs talks about how the ‘Three Ships’ emblem of Waterford was created from the Power and O’Driscoll Clan Battle with the Mayor of Waterford and his sailing of 3 Galleys back up the estuary past Woodstown after Waterford’s success at battle. Niamh says, “This is a fantastic piece of our history and culture that we should endeavor to ensure everyone knows about. My passion for Waterford is massive, we are very proud people and I think at times Waterford can almost be forgotten about so a Bid like this is massive for us. If we could get it, it would open up many peoples eyes to the wonderful attributes that Waterford has.”
VIDEO LINK: THREE SISTERS 2020: CULTURAL CHAMPION WATERFORD- Niamh Briggs
Proud to now live in Waterford and passionate about the Food Culture of the region Michael Kelly says, “This region has an incredible food culture, we have a huge array of seasonal produce, incredible restaurants and in Waterford our own European designated food product, ‘the Blaa’. A most incredible thing that could happen from this Bid is if we could get people from all over Ireland, all over Europe and even beyond to come here and experience the food culture that we have.” Michael calls on the people of Waterford and the region to sign up and support the Bid at ThreeSisters2020.ie.
VIDEO LINK: THREE SISTERS 2020: CULTURAL CHAMPION WATERFORD- Michael Kelly
The people of the region have just a matter of weeks to log onto ThreeSisters2020.ie and share their idea or sign the petition, as the Bid will be submitted by late-September. Social media users can also show their support by following @3Sisters2020 on Twitter and Three Sisters 2020 on Facebook and Instagram.
The Irish winners will be named in mid 2016, leaving at least three years to prepare for the year of designation in 2020 and the European Union provides funding of €1.5 million for the winners by way of the Melina Mercouri prize. For further details see www.threesisters2020.ie
Champions for the Bid – Playwright Jim Nolan, Captain of the Irish Women’s Rugby Team Niamh Briggs and Founder of GIY Michael Kelly are calling on the people of Waterford to join them and share their vision for the European capital of Culture 2020 in order to help win the title. Jim, Niamh and Michael all joined the Bid team to create a video and tell their Three Sisters 2020 Story. All three Waterford Champion videos can now be viewed in full at www.threesisters2020.ie