VENUE

The City's magic consists of the unique complex of architecture, art and culture (more than 25% of the resources of the Polish works of art is gathered in Kraków). Thanks to this heritage the City was honoured with the title of the European Capital of Culture in 2000. Today Kraków, the former capital of Poland, is one of the most important cultural and tourist centres of the country, and the seat to many cultural institutions, theatres, cinemas, museums and philharmonic that make life pleasant for the inhabitants and over 7 million tourists visiting our City every year. Nowhere in Poland could one find such a rich variety of cultural and artistic events: every year Kraków is host to over 40 festivals. Every year the City hosts over 2,500 performances and concerts. Kraków is a special place that, like a magnet, attracts the people of culture and art who draw their inspiration from the atmosphere and rich past of the City.

Kraków is currently populated by about 760,000 permanent inhabitants, but every year it is also home to several dozen thousands of people residing temporarily in the City, mainly students. Kraków is the second largest city in Poland. It is not only the administrative centre of the Małopolska Region, but also a supra-regional scientific and economic centre and valuable partner for investors. About 60% of our City's population is comprised of people below the age of 45.

Kraków is a dynamic scientific centre. The number of universities and students, as well as the diversity of faculties constitutes an important meter of scientific potential. The intellectual potential of Kraków includes 24 universities, the number of people employed at universities amounts to 22,125 (including about 1,800 professors), and there are 210,000 students.