The Swedish city of Umeå, located in Västerbotten County, officially came into effect as European Capital of Culture on the past weekend. It was granted this honorary title in 2014 together with Riga, the capital of Latvia, according to ITAR-TASS.

The largest center of northern Scandinavia, the “City of birches”, Umeå is often called the “gateway to Lapland”.  118 thousand people live here. One of the city most prominent natives is Stieg Larsson, the author of the famous detective trilogy “Millennium”.

These days the city center has turned into a huge stage, there took place concerts and performances. All activities of the Capital of Culture are grouped according to 8 seasons of the Sami calendar - indigenous people of the Swedish north. Umeå residents and tourists will be able to learn about folk costumes and crafts, customs and traditions, rooted in the distant past. “This year gives us an opportunity to tell about the Sami people of today. We are very modern - it's a way to survive. We ride snowmobiles, reindeer herders use navigators, but we remember and keep our traditions,” - says the chairman of the local Sami community Mikael Lindblad.

In festively decorated Umeå one can come across deer and look into the chums (reindeer skin tent) of the reindeer herders, see the magical trolls, who willingly have their pictures taken with children.

The opening ceremony of the cultural year was called the “Burning snow”. The theme of this light show, held on the ice of the Ume river, was the landscapes of northern Sweden. Computer art, video illusions and dynamic light architecture allowed the authors of the unusual spectacle to create a sense of the mysterious northern lights. Traditional Sami chant called “joik”, imitating the sounds of nature and the language of animals, performed by a children's choir and adult soloists, shaman dances to the beat of the drums, burning fires on the snow did not leave thousands of spectators indifferent.