It’s on! The Freedom Games are open. “Łódź is the capital of freedom!”

The opening of the Freedom Games took place a few minutes after 17:00. At the beginning, the crowd of guests was welcomed by Błażej Lenkowski – chairman of the board of the Liberté! Foundation, event organizer. He emphasized the fact that this year’s Games are an alternative celebration of the century of Poland’s independence – they will be joyful, in contrast to negative emotions of the Warsaw celebrations. “Today, Łódź is the capital of freedom!” – he said. He noted that the liberal voice that will be heard at the event is very important in today’s Poland.

After the president of the Liberté foundation, the President of Łódź Hanna Zdanowska took the floor. “Welcome to the city of free people!” – she greeted the audience. The sympathy of those who came to the President of Lodz was heard very clearly: the audience gave her a loud and long applause. Zdanowska said that Łódź’s history is based on openness, tolerance and freedom. She argued that we should continue to be faithful to these values ​​and actively participate in a democratic life. “Independence is the work of all of us to build a rich, happy Poland in a rich, happy Europe,” she said.

Next was Witold Stępień, Marshal of the Lodz Region. He congratulated the foundation and partners of the Freedom Games. For him, this is an important event, because thanks to it, intelligence can fulfill its duty: to talk about democracy and freedom. The Marshal claimed that the regional authorities of the Lodz region have been trying for two years to remind about the history of this area: about people, events and places. He said that history should be an indication for us as to how we should build the future.

Detmar Doering, unfortunately, failed to arrive as planned during the opening of the event. The reason for being late were traffic jams, which were created in connection with a road accident. Instead, the Deputy Marshal of the Parliament, Barbara Dolniak spoke at the official opening. The subject of her speech was the respect for the constitution. She deplored the fact that the basic law in Poland is being violated. The blame for this lies, according to the Marshal, mainly in the governing party. “Parliament is a place where law is created, but also a place where the law should be respected,” she said to the public. At the end, she thanked the audience for being citizens who object when the constitution is not respected. She expressed hope that thanks to the joint effort of Poles, the principles of a democratic state of law will return in our country.

Ewa Krawczyk