Louisville rolled out the red carpet this fall when Mayor Jerry Abramson hosted a Sister Cities Summit - a historic reunion of Louisville's Sister Cities - from September 8-12, 2004. In total, 111 Sister City delegates from 8 cities around the globe converged in Louisville for two days of workshops and four days of networking events to focus on the importance of building bridges of international understanding.

Delegates participated in a variety of exchange sessions: Travel and Tourism, Arts and Culture, City Administration, Economic Development, Education, Health and Medicine, and a Law Symposium. Interactive round table discussions provided a unique opportunity for delegates to exchange ideas and best practices with their peers from other cities, and will hopefully lead to the development of new friendships and partnerships among all participating cities and organizations.

Sister Cities hosted many special events during the four day Summit. On Thursday, September 9, Louisville Metro expanded its network of international partnerships by formalizing a new Sister Cities relationship with Jiujiang, China at a Sister Cities Signing Ceremony held at Louisville Metro Hall.

On Friday, September 10, the Mayor hosted a World Café and 250th Birthday Celebration for King Louis XVI on Jefferson Square where Louisville and Montpellier, France celebrated their 50th anniversary as Sister Cities. Mayor Abramson was joined by the mayors or highest ranking officials from each of Louisville's Sister Cities in unveiling a new sign post on Jefferson Square, containing the names, mileage, kilometers, direction and country flag of each of Louisville's Sister Cities.

On Saturday morning, September 11, Mayor Abramson invited the public to join him and the international delegates for a Ceremony of Remembrance on Jefferson Square honoring police, firefighters and emergency service workers who lost their lives during the tragic events of September 11, 2001.

The Greater Louisville Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a tourism exhibit to encourage Louisvillians to travel abroad to our Sister Cities. Information booths were on display, as well as an exhibit featuring the artwork of over a dozen artists from Louisville's Sister Cities.

Louisville's sister cities include Montpellier, France; Quito, Ecuador; Mainz, Germany; LaPlata, Argentina; Tamale, Ghana; Perm, Russia; and Jiujiang, China. Louisville also has a friendship agreement with Leeds, England that may lead to a sister cities agreement.