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= Quebec City’s 400th Anniversary =

Quebec City's 400th anniversary, in 2008, celebrated the 1608 founding of Quebec City by Samuel de Champlain. Quebec City is the oldest francophone city in North America. Along with Acadia, the city represents the cradle of French America.

La Société du 400e de Québec, the organization responsible for planning the festivities was chaired by Daniel Gélinas.

All three levels of the Canadian government -- municipal, provincial, and federal -- made significant investment, approximately $155 million, in the events and infrastructure created for the celebration. Municipalities outside of Canada, namely the French cities of Bordeaux and Paris (both sister cities of Quebec City) and the French government itself, confirmed their participation in the event. On March 20, 2006, Jean-Pierre Raffarin was named president of the organisation committee responsible for coordinating French initiatives for the 2008 celebration.

Celebrations took place all over the world. In Canada: Victoria, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Regina, Toronto, Ottawa, Gatineau, Montreal, Fredericton, Halifax, Charlottetown, St. John’s, Whitehorse, Yellowknife, and Iqaluit; in the United States: Washington, Jamestown, New York, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Fort Lauderdale, Lafayette, and Miami ; in Argentina: Cordoba ; in France: Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Reims, La Rochelle, and Brouage (the birthplace of Samuel de Champlain) ; in Belgium: the Flemish Region, Brussels, Wallonia, and Namur ; in Italy: Turin, Rome, and Milan ; in the United Kingdom: London.

Origins
The 300th anniversary of Quebec City in 1908 had been celebrated at a level never before seen in the city.

Other Participations

Events were organized in countries outside of France, as well as in other Canadian regions. Great Britain participated in Ephemeral Gardens, a seasonal exhibit of themed gardens at Espace 400e, and in cultural exchanges of artists and museums from Liverpool, the European Capital of Culture in 2008. Ireland participated in the cultural events held at Espace 400e, and in Rendez-vous naval de Québec, an exhibit of naval ships held at Port of Quebec. The United States were involved through the French-American community of New England at the 400th anniversary of Jamestown in Virginia. In addition, their participation included the exhibition of schooner Lois McClure at Port of Quebec, as well as organizing Festival Québec at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. In Canada, performances were held by the Orchestre symphonique de Québec in Toronto and Ottawa, along with other events held in Calgary, Toronto, and Ottawa. In Edmonton, a free concert in honour of the 400th anniversary took place on June 23, 2008 at the Winspear Centre, featuring Chorale Saint-Jean and the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra as they performed “Je te retrouve” by France-Levasseur Ouimet.

Associated Programming
Some of the major events held in Quebec for its 400th anniversary included the Quebec Winter Carnival, the Quebec International Air Show, Red Bull Crashed Ice, the Quebec City Summer Festival, as well as the Men’s World Hockey Championships, the Eucharist Congress, the Winter Triathlon, and the Francophonie Summit. Free performances were scheduled featuring Celine Dion, Paul McCartney, the Cirque du Soleil, and many other Quebec artists.