Derry, UK's City of Culture

In the summer of 2010 Derry was named UK's City of Culture for 2013. This Deutsch Welle video, where Derry singer and actress Bronagh Gallagher shows us the facelift of the second biggest city in Northern Ireland in preparation for the event, allows us to discover the place and its people, and get familiar with the Northern-Irish accent.

Self-study activity:
Watch the video and answer the questions below about it.

The activity is suitable for strong intermediate students.



1 How many people live in Derry?
2 What is the perfect place to start a tour of the city?
3 When did the clashes between the army and catholic residents happen?
4 What's the name of the bridge which was opened two years ago?
5 What's the best place to learn about the town's turbulent history?
6 Is the City Hall (or Guild Hall) open to the public?
7 What long tradition does Derry have?

You can check your answers by reading the transcript below.

Music and the arts play a major role here, all the more so since this was named Britain's first City of Culture on May 16th. That's also because the area has been experiencing a cultural renaissance for some time. Actress and singer Bronagh Gallagher grew up here and to see first-hand how this city of eighty five thousand has come to its own culturally.
There’s a hub of activity. We have very many brilliant music venues and very many beautiful little cafés and restaurants and a gorgeous walk all along the river Foyle, and the city’s now connected to both sides by our Peace Bridge. So this is our Europe City of Culture, so we're celebrating the culture within the city.
One way to get acquainted with the place is to take a walk on the ancient city walls, which has some of the best preserved in Europe. A walkway tops the ninety meter wide fortifications around the old city center. It's the perfect place to start a tour.
This is a great tour available for the walk of the walls, it takes the whole way round the city the city and the great great turret gates to do, it’s brilliant. And you can see inside all the different facilities that are here, all the people that work within the walls and obviously then your direct access to the city centre. That’s a beautiful, it’s a beautiful walk to do as you can see the views are pretty cool, you know.
You can also see the part of the city where catholic residents and British army troops clashed in the nineteen seventies. That led to an escalation of the conflict in all of Northern Ireland between Catholics
and Protestants.
Now the city is trying to emerge from the shadows of the past. The hands across the divide monument is one of the most significant symbols of this reproach mull. So is the Peace Bridge which was opened two years ago. It links the predominantly Protestant eastern part of the city to the western mainly catholic district.
That's what people believe and this side of still over water, you know, very healing, very healing I meant the water, so it might very much so that obviously means that the city’s connected in that way and obviously we do have, you know, bridges that are for the traffic, but this was given to the city only because it was a peace bridge and we had it bring it and accept it and have it, you know, installed as a peace bridge, so yeah meaning to us this is a very important symbolic bridge.
Anyone who would like to know more about the town’s turbulent history should visit the Tower Museum.
Its exhibitions have already won several awards for their balanced yet gripping depiction of key historical events here.
The neo-gothic city hall or guilt hall is just over the road. It has the largest number of stained glass windows on the whole of the island. It reopens next month after nearly two years of renovations.
Anyone who comes here maybe who hadn't been here for twenty years will be astonished at the changes that have taken place. I think that if they arrive, then take the time to take a wander around and see to talk to people and find out what they think about the changes in their own city. They’ll find a really positive vibe coming out of the city.
That becomes clear when residents here pick up their instruments and start harmonizing among themselves. The place has indeed a long musical tradition.
The year for me means celebrating what the city has itself and utilizing the talent and the facilities that are in the side. We’ve got a lot of beautiful venues here as well. So I would love to see it be an opportunity for young people of all ages I should say to all people of all ages to be given a chance to show what they're capable of.
So the people of Derry, Londonderry, are looking forward to a year as Britain’s City of Culture. For them it's an opportunity to enjoy showing the world their cultural treasures.