Europe Day Quiz 2010: Questions To obtain the answers to these questions please send an email to edc@cardiff.ac.uk Round 1 - Geography 1. What is the name of Stockholm s main airport? 2. What is the capital of Croatia? 3. On the coast of which sea are the cities of Tallin, Riga, Klaipeda and Gdansk? 4. To which European country do the Åland Islands belong? 5. At the harbour s entrance of which European capital does the Belem Tower stand? 6. London is by far the largest city in the European Union by population (approx 7.5m). What is the second largest city? 7. The Gdansk region in Poland is made up of three cities adjoining each other: one is Gdansk itself, the second is Gdynia. What is the third? 8. What is the largest island of Greece? 9. Which European country controls the Atlantic island of the Azores? 10. Name the mountain range that forms the natural border between France and Spain. Round 2 - Culture 1. There are three European Capitals of Culture in 2010. The Ruhr (Essen and neighbouring area) in Germany and Istanbul in Turkey are two of them. Which city is the third? 2. Where is the main setting for the novel (and film) Captain Corelli s Mandolin? 3. In which European city is the novel La sombra del viento / The Shadow of the Wind set? 4. With which other artist would you associate the painter Françoise Gilot? 5. Which country has won the Eurovision Song Contest more than any other? 6. What nationality was the painter Gustav Klimt?
7. Due to censorship issues Italian composer Guiseppe Verdi changed the setting of his opera Un Ballo in Maschera (A Masked Ball) from a European city to Boston, USA. The opera is about an historical king who was assassinated in 1792. Which European city was the opera originally set in and is usually set in nowadays? 8. In the hit British film Summer Holiday the singer Cliff Richard and friends drove across Europe in a red London bus. In which European city did their journey end? 9. Who wrote the plays A Dolls House, The Wild Duck and Hedda Gabler? 10. What is the name of the type of poetry that Herman van Rompuy, President of the European Council, writes? Round 3 - Current Affairs 1. The Lisbon Strategy, also known as the Lisbon Agenda or Lisbon Process, was an action and development plan for the European Union between 2000 and 2010. Its aim was to make the EU "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world capable of sustainable economic growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion" by 2010. At its half-way relaunch in 2005 the Lisbon Strategy was renamed the Growth and Jobs strategy. In March 2010 the European Commission launched its new strategy for reviving the European economy. What is the name given to this new strategy? 2. Name the three official candidate countries that are currently formally negotiating to join the European Union. [1 point for each] 3. Many of the airlines in Europe now form part of world airline alliances. For example, British Airways and Iberia form part of the OneWorld Alliance, and Lufthansa forms part of the Star Alliance. What is the name of the alliance that Air France-KLM and Alitalia form part of? 4. The Treaty of Lisbon, which came into force in December 2009, introduced a new way for individual citizens to participate in the EU. If over one million people, who are nationals of a significant number of Member States, sign a petition they will now have the right to call directly on the European Commission to bring forward an initiative of interest to them in an area of EU competence. What is the name given to this new power? 5. Each year the EU designates a theme for the year. In 2008 it was the European Year of Intercultural Dialogue, in 2009 it was the European Year of Creativity and Innovation. What is the name of the 2010 year? [2 bonus points if you can name what 2011 will be] 6. What is the name of the digital library that was launched in a beta version in 2008 offering free access to over 6 million images, texts, sounds and videos from Europe s museums, galleries and libraries? (A new more sophisticated version is to be launched in 2010). 7. The lower house of the Parliament of which European country voted in April 2010 for a law which would make it a crime to wear clothing that covers or partly covers the face? 8. What are the names of the two European rail and bus transport groups that agreed to join together in April 2010 to form Europe s largest transport group? [1 point for each] 9. Who is the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy? 10. How many people are employed by the European Commission - 24,000, 34,000 or 44,000?
Round 4 - Sport and leisure 1. In football, who is the current European Player of the year? 2. In which European city will the 2014 Winter Olympics be held? 3. In which football competition is the Henri Delaunay trophy awarded? 4. Which European country other than Ireland, Scotland and England takes part in international cricket competitions such as the Cricket World Cup? 5. In which sport is there a competition every two years in which a team from Europe plays against a team from the United States? 6. From which country did Pilsner Beer originate? 7. What is the main vegetable ingredient in the dish Borsch or Borscht? 8. What is the name given to a selection of appetizers or small dishes often served with a drink in countries like Cyprus, Greece, Turkey and some Balkan countries? 9. If you visited the Lorelie Rock which country would you be in? 10. In which EU country would you be if you visited the Kuronian / Curonian Spit? Round 5 - People and places 1. In which European country was the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger born? 2. Which artist painted the series of paintings which in English is called Waterlilies? 3. There are Guggenheim Museums in three European cities. Which are they? [1 point for each] 4. Who is the current Prime Minister or Premier of Poland? 5. What is the capital city of Albania? 6. Czar Peter of Russia (Peter the Great) visited two West European countries in the 17th century to learn the skills of shipbuilding. One was England, what was the other? 7. In which European country was the first ever Big Brother reality TV show televised in 1999? 8. Which European city links the German writer Thomas Mann and the British composer Benjamin Britten? 9. Spain is the country which currently holds the EU Presidency. Which country takes over the Presidency of the EU in July 2010, only one month after it will have had a general election? 10. In which city was the Portuguese footballer Christiano Ronaldo born?
Round 6 (Picture Round) - European Capitals Identify the following European capital cities from the picture clues provided. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.
6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Ian Thomson and Ceridwen Thomas, 2010 Contact: edc@cardiff.ac.uk