Czerwony Urbex (2/8)

Urbex im Osten (2/8)

Urbex Rossa (2/8)

Red Urbex (2/8)

Urbex Rouge (2/8)

Urbex Roja (2/8)

This masterpiece of brutalist architecture was built in 1981 in the middle of the Bulgarian mountains under the leadership of Todor Jivkov. It was a near-sacred place during the era of Bulgarian communism, but now it's fallen into near-ruin. 

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Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

Red Urbex

Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

This abandoned flying saucer tells the story of the rise and fall of Bulgarian communism

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The Russian military base at Wünsdorf near Berlin was abandoned after the Berlin Wall fell. When the Soviet soldiers returned to Russia, they left behind a ghost town of the Cold War era.

East Germany: The Red Army Vanishes

Red Urbex (1/8)

It now stands forgotten on a Croatian mountain, but this steel monument that took 7 years to build was to remember the uprising of the people against fascism in the former Yugoslavia.

Croatia: Tito's Last Folly

This steel monument surges from the mists, forgotten on a Croatian mountain

Red Urbex (3/8)

Tskaltubo, Georgia, is now a shadow of what it once was; one of the most popular Soviet spas. Stalin enjoyed coming here. But now, it's fallen into disuse and disrepair. These ruins blend classic Stalinist architecture with Georgian ethnic motifs. A haunting, melancoly trip through a piece of history that's fast disappearing. 

Georgia: Stalin's Secret Sanatorium

Visit the opulent ruins of Stalin's favourite spa

Red Urbex (4/8)

In Tirana, the monument was erected in 1988 in honour of the Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha. Now, it's an empty mausoleum. After the fall of the regime, the statues were broken, and the building looted. 

Albania: The Tyrant's Pyramid

A monument to a dictator now fallen into ruins

Red Urbex (5/8)

Inaugurated in 1981 by the Soviet authorities, the circus of Chisinau was designed as a braided basket of concrete. It's become an iconic building in the heart of the Moldavian capital.

Moldova: Ghosts of the Soviet Circus

Inaugurated in 1981 by the Soviet authorities, the circus of Chisinau was designed as a braided basket of concrete

Red Urbex (6/8)

This brutalist skyscraper was built in 1977 for a large Yugoslavian company, Genex. Described as "the ugliest building in the world", this incredible brutalist skyscraper is loved and hated in Belgrade in equal measure.

Belgrade: A Brutalist Jewel

Described as "the ugliest building in the world", this incredible brutalist skyscraper is loved and hated in Belgrade in equal measure

Red Urbex (7/8)

Nicknamed the "corn cob" for its circular shape, this brutalist Moldovan tower was built in 1986 to provide temporary accommodation. It was supposed to last a hundred years but it's already decaying. People still live in this concrete rotunda which at times can feel oppressive.

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

This tower was supposed to last a hundred years but it's already decaying

Red Urbex (8/8)

Red Urbex - Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

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Whether they have fled, been banished or deported, some exiles find themselves alone, while others form communities in their host countries. But all feel nostalgia and even homesickness. Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience.

Exile

Tracks East goes in search of the exile experience of those who have fled, been banished or deported.

Tracks East

Yetundey is originally from Leipzig and mixes styles and influences. Layla Boe wants to make the German language smoother in her music.

Germany

Girlhood - Women in Rap (1/4)

Can identities be forced, discarded, changed or revived? In the USSR, national identities were a political instrument. Millions of people were resettled, deported, and Russified. Today, the multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Identity

The multi-ethnic social fabric of post-soviet nations harbours explosive tensions and the Ukraine war is opening up old wounds. What does identity mean for the next generation?

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile. There's been a mass creative exodus in recent weeks, including Russian rap stars like Face and Oxxxymiron. Art rockers IC3PEAK post protest videos that would get them arrested in Russia. TikTok star Nikita Sass bravely continues to post his opinion and stays. Few dare to do that.

Russian Artists Against the War

Russian artists have two choices: silence, or exile

Tracks

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling where borrowing, sampling and interpolation are the order of the day. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

Pop Music: The Great Recycling Business

Have you ever wondered why pop songs sometimes sound a little too familiar? Welcome to the world of pop-recycling. Featuring interviews with Placebo, Ed Sheeran, Charlie XCX and Lauv.

Tracks: Songwriting Special

Dee Koala and Dope Saint Jude are young rappers from the Cape region of South Africa. Dope decided to move to London to pursue her musical career whilst Dee has stayed in her local community.

South Africa

Girlhood - Women in Rap (2/4)

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, the unofficial capital of vintage racing bikes. London, where cycle-cafés also hold speed dating evenings and Amsterdam where cyclists stand out from the crowd with style.

Cycling as Lifestyle

Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

Biking Boom

Since its invention in the 19th century, the bicycle has allowed Western women to move around independently. Today, it is the turn of women in Arab countries to discover its power. Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist.

The Freedom to Cycle

Though at first glance innocuous and common, the bicycle is unexpectedly feminist

Gymnastics

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers... On the face of it, they have little in common. And yet they are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine, fighting back on different fronts.

Resistance

A Polish cyber elf, a Ukrainian DJ on the front line, a militant Russian grandmother, and Belarusian hackers...They are all resisting the Russian invasion of Ukraine on different fronts.

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Bonuses and Extracts

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The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland. Once German East Prussia, it is now home to 1 million Russian citizens. What is life like in this small territory now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began?

Kaliningrad: Putin's Enclave

The Russian enclave of Kaliningrad sits between Lithuania and Poland and is now practically cut off from its EU neighbours since the war in Ukraine began.

ARTE Reportage

On 22 July 2016 a German high-school student David Sonboly killed nine people in a seemingly random attack in a Munich shopping-centre. Why do some young people become mass murderers? A look at radicalisation within extreme-right groups online.

Youth Violence Online

Why do some young people become mass murderers? A look at radicalisation within extreme-right groups online.

Like. Hate. Die

As Lithuania stops Russia from transporting goods by train through its territory to Kaliningrad, a focus on the history of this singular Russian territory.

The Kaliningrad Affair

Mapping the World Essentials

Anne suffered a stroke shortly after giving birth to her second child and has since been unable to move or speak, although she is fully aware of her surroundings. Doctors are hoping to harness the power of technology and AI to help her communicate with her family once more. Oskar Zlamala  is also hoping that AI will help him with his degenerative eye disease that threatens to blind him. 

Anne suffered a stroke after giving birth to her second child and can't move or speak. New tech could help

Re: The Mum Trapped in Her Own Body

Young Korean musicians have been taking the world of classical music by storm. A new generation are winning the big prizes and pursuing successful careers in Europe and around the world. What makes these Korean classical artists so good? A documentary following the rising stars of K-Classic

The Korean Musical Mystery

Generation K-Classics

In Europe, the last primary forests are found almost exclusively in the mountains in the east or south-east of the continent. These virgin forests have never been exploited or cut down, and have remained as they have always been. Few studies have been done on this forests, which are presumably havens of biodiversity. We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania.

The Green Lungs of Europe

We go on a research trip to the Dinaric Alps in Albania

Geo Reportage

The trio led by Matthew Bellamy is one of the most explosive and creative forces in rock music over the past two decades. There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Tempelhof Sounds 2022

 There is no one else quite like Muse. Be impressed by their committed performance at Berlin’s Tempelhof Sounds Festival.

Muse

Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish perform at Hellfest 2022.

Hellfest 2022

Nightwish

Anglo-French guitarist Laura Cox presents the Scorpions, probably the most successful German rock band ever, headlining at Hellfest 2022. For more than five decades the German five-piece has been producing international hits and have sold more than 100 million records.

Anglo-French guitarist Laura Cox presents the Scorpions, probably the most successful German rock band ever, headlining at Hellfest 2022. 

Scorpions

Since the 1990s, total insect biomass has declined by 75 percent. The rapid decline affects all food chains: fish and birds can no longer find enough to eat and are becoming fewer and fewer. Studies show that neonicotinoids used in pesticides aren't just destroying the insect popualtion, but also affect human health.

Since the 1990s, total insect biomass has declined by 75 percent

How Chemical Giants Destroyed our Ecosystem

The Days Off festival invites former Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker to revisit classic French pop songs from the 1960s, tracks immortalised in the Wes Anderson film, The French Dispatch.
Live from the Philharmonie de Paris, 2 July 2022.

Days Off 2022

Former Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker revisits classic French pop songs from the 1960s, tracks immortalised in the Wes Anderson film, The French Dispatch.
Live from the Philharmonie de Paris, 2 July 2022.

Jarvis Cocker

Folk, americana, country, rock - the music of The Lumineers is the sound of America. But with III, they take a darker turn as they explore the issue of addiction in three acts, and prove that they are so much more than Ho Hey.

The Lumineers, performing live in Paris, take a darker turn with their record III, which explores the issue of addiction in three acts

The Lumineers at the Zenith in Paris

Ludovic-Mohamed Zahed is an exception in the Muslim world: The French-Algerian imam is openly gay. For the past ten year he has led a progressive and inclusive movement promoting an Islam that respects the LGBT+ community, women’s right, and interfaith dialogue.

A Gay Imam

Ludovic-Mohamed-Zahed is an exception in the Muslim world: The French-Algerian imam is openly gay.

According to the latest calculations by the OECD, South Korean women could live to be over 92 years old on average in 2070, and men over 89. That would be a world record. What's the secret?

South Korea: An Obsession With Health

South Koreans are on track to be the longest-lived people in the world

Sheffield natives Bring Me The Horizon bring their heterogeneous metal sound to Hellfest 2022.

Bring Me The Horizon

Pianist Maria-João Pires joins the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival in a concert featuring the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schumann.


Programme:
Felix Mendelssohn - Ein Sommernachtstraum (A Midsummer Night's Dream), Overture, Op. 21
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Piano Concerto No. 9 in E flat major, K. 271

Robert Schumann - Symphony No. 1 in B flat major, "Spring", Op. 38

Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival 2022

Pianist Maria-João Pires joins the Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra at the Aix-en-Provence Easter Festival in a concert featuring the music of Mozart, Mendelssohn and Schumann.

Maria-João Pires plays Mozart

Dutch band Epica returns to Hellfest to present Omega, a new album showing off their inimitable symphonic heavy metal sound.

Epica

Just a few weeks before the release of their new album, The Sick and the Dying… and the Dead! Thrash metal stars Megadeth perform at Hellfest 2022.

Megadeth

With a 25 year career and cult albums such as Contraddiction, L'Arme des Ombres and Matire Noire, Mass Hysteria are the undisputed kings of French metal. Their latest album Maniac, promises to be their most extreme to date.
Recorded live at the Strasbourg Zenith, 1 April, 2022.

With a 25 year career and cult albums such as Contraddiction, L'Arme des Ombres and Matire Noire, Mass Hysteria are the undisputed kings of French metal. 

Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

Red Urbex - Ghost Buildings of the Eastern Block

Red Urbex (1/8)

East Germany: The Red Army Vanishes

Red Urbex (2/8)

Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

Red Urbex (3/8)

Croatia: Tito's Last Folly

Red Urbex (4/8)

Georgia: Stalin's Secret Sanatorium

Red Urbex (5/8)

Albania: The Tyrant's Pyramid

Red Urbex (6/8)

Moldova: Ghosts of the Soviet Circus

Red Urbex (7/8)

Belgrade: A Brutalist Jewel

Red Urbex (8/8)

Moldova: The Colossal Communist Tower

Red Urbex (2/8)Bulgaria: Communism's UFO

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