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More than 15,000 tourists are expected, July 29-31, at the 28th edition of the Mediaeval Sighisoara Festival, where organisers encourage the participants to dress in mediaeval clothes and take part in the various events scheduled for the Citadel at the end of the week.
Sighisoara Mayor Sarbu Ioan Iulian told a news conference on Monday that the number of participants in the event is expected to be higher than last year, with his estimate being that at least 16,000 people will attend the three-day festival.
The mayor unveiled the schedule of the festival, which starts on Friday, July 28, with an opening parade, along 1 Decembrie 1918 Street - Hermann Oberth Street - Hermann Oberth Square - Turnului Street - Muzeului Square - Cetatii Square, and the workshops and interactive activities of the day will end with a concert by the Bucovina band, Agerpres.ro informs.
On Saturday, actor Marian Ralea and the Abracadabra band will present two exceptional plays, and spectators can watch demonstrations of fighting, dances and even an artistic act with horses.
Saturday ends in Cetatii Square with a mediaeval music concert by Cimpoieri din Transilvania and a fire juggling show by the Sirius troupe.
On Sunday, the last day of the event, tournaments will reach their peak, and the playbill also includes dancing and music, with the Cargo band closing this edition of the festival.
The organisers are preparing a fireworks display that they say will be spectacular.
"Many people from Sighisoara, many tourists were delighted by last year's fireworks, and this year we have prepared something more spectacular (...) We expect all the people of Sighisoara and tourists to dress up in mediaeval clothing and join us in the parade and all the other events," said Sarbu.
He added that all the accommodation establishments in the city are fully booked, and that foreign tourists were among those to make reservations.
Sighisoara Deputy Mayor Burghelea Bogdan Ioan said in his turn that on the days of the festival there will be traffic and parking restrictions in place in the Cetatii area.
The traders' stands to be erected for the festival will have to be made in a mediaeval style and banned from selling will be toys, balloons, luminous bracelets and jewelry made of materials not specific to the Middle Ages, that is plastics.
Also, gambling is prohibited, and alcoholic beverages will not be sold on the public domain, nor is it allowed to set up grills or food preparation facilities with an open fire. Likewise, seeds, cotton candy, boiled corn and glazed apples will not be sold, for sanitation reasons.
During the festival, handicraft items specific to the Middle Ages, such as ceramics, leather goods, clothing items, ornaments, paintings and decorative items may be sold.
The land renting fees charged on the merchants are the same as last year, while admission for Sighisoara artists, pupils and students is free.
Admission to the festival is free.
The event is organised by the City Hall of Sighisoara under the high patronage of Her Majesty Margareta, the Custodian of the Romanian Crown.
