![]() ![]() Just before midnight, a choir will sing on the Latin Bridge, beside which Franz Ferdinand and his pregnant wife Sophie were killed by Princip. The presidents of several European countries are expected. ![]() A range of international figures are attending ceremonies on Saturday, including a concert of the Vienna Philharmonic orchestra at the newly restored city hall, where Franz Ferdinand attended a reception shortly before the assassination, and which housed the city's library, destroyed by Serb artillery during the war. This is Sarajevo's biggest international moment since the end of the Bosnian war almost 20 years ago. "Now we're sending a different message of peace, love and understanding." "For the past 100 years, the information that the world has received from here was about war and atrocities," says Ivo Komsic, Sarajevo's mayor. Princip remains a polarising figure, revered by many of Bosnia's Serbs, but derided as a murderer by the country's Muslims and Croats. But stark divisions remain, both from the most recent war between 1992-1995, in which 100,000 people died and Sarajevo suffered a 1,425-day siege by Serb forces, and events 100 years ago. The anniversary is being marked by concerts, conferences and exhibitions, as the city projects itself as a beacon of peace following a century in which it has been associated with war. ![]()
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