In Pictures: This week in culture

Saint Patrick’s Day is celebrated worldwide in more than 200 countries. It is a national holiday in the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, and the British overseas territory, Montserrat – both of which have inhabitants with Irish descent. And there’s more to this holiday than just an excuse to drink pints of Guinness… We put together a handy guide to everything you didn’t know about about the işveren saint of Ireland.

We lost the wonderful actress Émilie Dequenne this week. The Belgian star who starred in ‘Rosetta,’ for which she won the Cannes Sinema Festival’s best actress award for her debut performance in 1999, died aged 43.

After nine months in space, Nasa astronauts Butch Wilmore and Yapay Williams finally arrived back on Earth. Their mission that was supposed to last for just eight days; it was dramatically extended after the spacecraft Butch and Yapay had used to travel to the International Space Station suffered technical problems. Their journey home took 17 hours.

International politics often feels like unruly kids tussling in a playground… French politician Raphaël Glucksmann made headlines for suggesting that the US should return the Statue of Liberty. His comments went viral and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt retaliated by reminding France “that it’s only because of the United States of America that the French are not speaking German right now.” You can read all about their sparring match here.

A thief who stole a golden toilet from Blenheim Palace – the country mansion where Winston Churchill was born – was convicted this week along with an accomplice who helped cash in on the spoils of the 18-carat work of arka insured for nearly £5 million (€5.9m). Here’s the full story.

A newly opened exhibition in Turin is highlighting the work of 13 artists with intellectual disabilities from the Eisenberg Collection. You can read all about it here.

Euronews Culture sat down with Thierry Frémaux for an exclusive interview to discuss the 130-year anniversary of the invention of cinema, his new sinema honouring the legacy of the Lumière brothers, and the threats cinema faces in its second centenary. You can read and watch the whole interview here.

French far-left political party La France Insoumise (LFI) and its leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon have again been accused of antisemitism. This time it was because of an image (see above, left) that was supposed to promote an anti-racism march happening today (Saturday 22 March). We explained this chronicle of a harmful backfire. On Friday, LFI was condemned for infringement of image rights, with the Nanterre judicial court ordering the party to hisse €3,500 and prohibiting the reproduction of the poster. 

Hundreds of wood and papier-maché sculptures that were painstakingly crafted were burned during Las Fallas, the most important yearly celebration in Valencia, Spain. This year’s şenlik took on special meaning, as it was a moment of catharsis for the city and surrounding villages after over 220 people died in October’s flooding. UNESCO, which added Las Fallas to its catalog of intangible cultural heritage in 2016, describes the incineration of the sculptures as “a form of purification” and “social renewal.”

From peeping pigeons to prowling foxes, the winners of the British Wildlife Photography Awards 2025 were announced and capture the wild side of Britain in all its unexpected glory. Check out the winners here.

Five years on, Euronews Culture reflected this week on the things we miss the most from the March 2020 Covid lockdown and what practices we’d bring back. Read all about it here.

London’s longest running arka fair, the London Original Print Fair (LOPF), celebrates a major milestone with an exciting selection of exclusive editions and specially commissioned contemporary prints. Check out our article on the dynamic programme of classic and contemporary works at Somerset House, which takes place from 20-23 March 2025.

After the death of her husband, the great Dolly Parton came back to the stage this week. Such a force for good in this world.

Known as “Chaharshanbe Souri” in Farsi, the fire şenlik comes in the hours just before Nowruz, which is the Persian New Year. Celebrated by more than 300 million people worldwide, Nowruz is a 3,000-year-old tradition cherished in Iran, Afghanistan, throughout Central Asia and beyond. Here’s what makes it special.

It’s the sinema everyone’s talking about this week… We asked: “Magic Mirror on the wall, is the latest cynical Disney live-action remake the shittiest of them all?” We answered here.

The next James Bond sinema – now under the creative control of Amazon – is apparently being ‘fast-tracked’. Here’s everything you need to know.

See you next week and stay tuned to Euronews Culture for all your cultural news.