During the Holland Festival in June 2015 the Mayor of Amsterdam, Eberhard van der Laan, talked about his vision of the future capital of Europe. This speech formed part of ‘ein tag und eine stunde in urbo kune’, a 25-hour event that took place in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ in Amsterdam. Urbo kune means ‘the common city’ in Esperanto, and it was inspired by the ‘Manifesto for the founding of the capital of the United States of Europe’ by the Czech architect Jan Tabor. ‘Ein tag und eine stunde in urbo kune’ is an artistic exploration of a cultural capital of Europe with music performances, exhibitions and lectures. The Mayor of Amsterdam was asked if he could provide a description of his ‘dreamed European city’. He gave his answer in a speech at the start of the event. We reproduce the text here in English translation:

Gesinjoroj,

Elkore Bonvenaj, Mi estas feliĉa esti ĉi tie (Ladies and gentlemen, a warm welcome to you, I am happy to be here).

Since my Esperanto is rather limited, I will switch to Dutch for the rest of the speech.

Asking the Mayor of Amsterdam what his ideal European city looks like is rather like asking an Italian chef what kind of cuisine he thinks is the best.

In my almost five years as Mayor I have often sung the praises of Amsterdam. And this was always in front of an appreciative audience, because most Amsterdam citizens are totally in love with their city. It is less usual that I am asked to talk about my city as part of an art project. It may only be a modest part of a 25-hour art event, but I am very honoured.

Jan Tabor, the spiritual father of urbo kune, sees the United States of Europe as an inevitable part of the future. And this requires a European capital, too. This ideal European capital will take shape in these coming 25 hours. When I look at the programme, it seems to be a city in which art and culture play a great role. A city where there is time for discussion, reflection and leisure. You will experience an ‘urbanist opera’, I read somewhere.