FIFA World Cup in Old Town Square
With the arrival of a summer full of football, the City of Prague has come to life. Both Praguers and tourists have the chance to watch live TV transmissions from the World Cup in South Africa in the Old Town Square from June 11th until July 11th 2010.
- 17. June 2010
“The Old Town Square has become a traditional place, where we have had the chance to watch a number of sports events and successful Czech sportspeople, be it football or ice-hockey teams or athletes. Unfortunately, the Czech Republic did not qualify for the World Cup this year. In spite of this, we made it possible for the Old Town Square to come to life with football fever,“ said the Deputy Mayor of Prague, Pavel Klega.
Czech Republic is the only European country which makes it possible for its fans to watch the World Cup in such a way, although the country did not qualify. The Korean Hyundai Motor Company is the main World Cup sponsor and with the consent of the home holder of TV broadcasting rights, i.e. Czech TV, it enables the inhabitants of Prague as well as visitors to watch most of the matches live on a giant screen.
The Hyundai Fan Park in the Old Town Square takes up an area of 6 000 m² and can accommodate up to twelve thousand football fans. The park is dominated with a giant screen measuring 35 m². The surface for the event was provided by Prague City Hall and the project is held under the auspices of the Mayor of Prague, Pavel Bém.
Every day, the programme starts two hours before kick-off with an entertaining show presented by either Ondřej Hejma or Martin Dejdar. These not only present the teams that play on that particular day, but also offer interviews with football and sports celebrities. The programme also includes performances by leading Czech artists, including the following bands – Apple, Děda Mládek Illegal Band, Jumping Drums, Sunset blud., Žlutý pes or the singer Kamil Střihavka. Foreign artists include British Jazzmanix, Norwegian Bromoysund and Valerenga or The Shift Sailors from the USA. There are also DJs and dance groups of different genres.
Visitors are invited to actively participate in the event, e.g. in Hyundai Football Rodeo. The speed of their kick is measured in a special tent. The Hyundai Motor Company exhibits their most recent cars in the Fan Park. Some of the cars be tried out right on spot. For the last 10 years, Hyundai has been the partner of all the big football events organized by either FIFA or UEFA. In the Czech Republic, The Hyundai Motor Czech has been one of the main partners of the Czech football representations for the last five years.