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05 June, 2007
ADDIS ABABA (AFP) - Ethiopia on Tuesday was to kickstart a string of festivities in the run up to its third millennium, which takes place after 99 days.
The Horn of Africa nation follows the Julian calender set up by Roman emperor Julius Caesar in 46 BC, around seven years behind the more widely-used Gregorian calender.
A project which aims for each Ethiopian to plant two trees was due to begin Tuesday at a park created for the millennium in Addis Ababa.
"So many projects will be intimately linked to the welfare of society to hopefully build a lasting legacy," Mulugeta Aserate, the deputy director of the National Millennium Committee, told AFP.
The projects and months of festivities, including national dances, an Ethiopian contemporary art exhibition, and a race called the Millennium Great Run, will cost some 19.5 million dollars (14.4 million euros), he said.
"The budget consists of the sale of merchandise and grants from different organisations. No money will have to come out from tax payers," he added.
A huge clock in front of one of Addis Ababa's luxury hotels counts down days and hours to the Ethiopian year 2000, which will be marked on September 12.
According to the national ENA news agency, hundreds of thousands of Ethiopians from abroad are expected to join in the millennium celebrations, including some 35,000 Rastafarians from Jamaica, who consider Ethiopia their promised land.