United in Diversity – Georgia to meet Europe Day 2024 as EU candidate country for the first time

This year Georgia meets its first Europe Day as a country candidate to join the European Union. Thousands of people are expected to come together to mark peace, diversity and the values uniting the EU and Georgia. Like last year, the event will be held at the Expo Georgia exhibition centre in Tbilisi, offering a chance to visitors to travel virtually to countries of the EU and to learn more about the EU’s three decades-long support to Georgia.

Europe Day is usually celebrated on May 9, yet this year all public events will be held in Tbilisi on Saturday, 11 May to allow as many people as possible to attend. Six different spaces will be organised in five pavilions and courtyards of Expo Georgia, where visitors of all ages and backgrounds will experience what the European Union is all about.

One of the most important spaces will be “Team Europe” in Pavilion 4 and 5, where the embassies of the EU Member States will introduce the visitors to the culture and history of their countries. Together with the EU Monitoring Mission in Georgia and the European Investment Bank, they will offer educational activities, give out souvenirs, and organise cultural performances.

Pavilion 11 will host the projects the EU funds in Georgia presenting their activities. In this space, project representatives will propose activities around important topics such as economic development, environment, culture, youth, digital transformation and democracy, among others.

At the agro-market “Unique Georgian Taste” in the courtyard, visitors will be able to sample products and dishes offered by farmers from different regions of Georgia and get to know how the EU supports them as Georgia prepares to integrate the EU.

Europe Day has much to offer our very young visitors. In addition to the many activities offered to children, a puppet show “Luna and the Planet of Fireflies” will be held in a specially opened marquee.

For the first time, Pavilion 3 will host entrepreneurs who have benefited from EU support to start up or expand their businesses. In this space, visitors will be able to purchase the unique items those entrepreneurs produce.

Pavilion 6 will host panel talks with celebrities moderated by well-known journalist David Gorgiladze, on a variety of topics including on values, culture and environment related initiatives as well as opportunities for businesses and youth. The talks aim to promote a better understanding of the EU’s role in public and community engagement as part of the EU-Georgia partnership.

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