Some ten thousand people spent more than three hours facing cold and rain on a Bucharest stadium on Sunday evening, completely tamed by the voice of Leonard Cohen in a gig that is unlike any the Romanian had seen in a long time. The Cohen concert comes at the end of a long weekend of cultural events which were aimed at marking the Days of Bucharest.
Cohen had no firecrackers, no designer costumes and did not beg for applause. But he thanked the audience and his stage mates everythime he felt pleased by the performance or when the throngs sang him "Happy Birthday to You", as he turned 74 the very day of the concert.
His playlist for the Romanian audience included hits such as Dance Me to the End of Love, In My Secret Life, Suzanne and Democracy.
The concert came a day after Bucharest people celebrated the Days of the City with medieval music, a Bryan Adams concert, light shows, theatrical performances but also overcrowded underground trains and traffic jams.
Artsy exhibitions mixed well with street-made meat rolls and the Adams gig across downtown Bucharest, but many present there accepted that the events did not rise to the level of those a year ago.
The day concluded with lights projections on the House of the People - or the House of Parliament.
You can see videos from the events here
