Later in the series, audiences can catch rare screenings of Zhan Liang's five-hour version of "Petition" and the 556-minute "West of the Tracks" (shown in two programs), Wang Bing's immersive portrait of the collapse of Shenyang, an industrial city in the northeast devastated by economic erosion.

WSJ: Repertory Film: Mining Forgotten Gems, Finding the Real China

People in the city voted for their three favourite Plymothians to be part of a "portrait bench" celebrating the city's history and culture.

BBC: Plymouth marine Ben McBean has portrait unveiled

Images from a City of Culture project 'Portrait Of A City' were shown on large screens on either side of the stage and brought many memories back for those there.

BBC: First 2013 UK City of Culture event held in Derry

Bellini's profile portrait of Mehmet sniffing a rose is a masterpiece of cross-cultural exchange: Mehmet appears as a civilised ruler rather than a threat, yet in its colour and composition this portrait is unmistakably the handiwork of a Venetian master, testament to the city's artistic pre-eminence.

ECONOMIST: Venice and the East