Bayreuth those institutions was never reversed. Being a stronghold of right-wing parties since the 1920s, Bayreuth became a center of Nazi ideology. In 1933, it was made capital of the Nazi Gau of Bavarian Ostmark ("Bayerische Ostmark", in 1943 "Gau Bayreuth"). Nazi leaders often visited the Wagner festival and tried to turn Bayreuth into a Nazi model town. It was one of several places in which town planning was administered directly from Berlin, due to Hitler's special interest in the town and in the festival. Hitler loved the music of Richard Wagner, and he became a close friend of Winifred Wagner
George Town Festival core of George Town as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the previous year. Encouraged by the success of that event, a longer, month-long festival was mooted in 2010. Joe Sidek, a well known Malaysian artist, was roped in to manage the festival. In spite of budgetary constraints, the inaugural event was successfully held throughout the month of July in 2010. The art festival has been organised yearly since then, with events being held by utilising the city's heritage architecture as performance venues. The 2014 edition drew in 218,355 visitors, a figure which rose to 250,000 in the following year.