The project Vltava 2008 (Moldau 2008) will last from the 1st July until the beginning of September and is organized by the Public Citizen-Action Group Dvojka sobě; in cooperation with Pražská servisní (Prague Service Agency); which administers almost five kilometres of Prague’s riverbanks. From the 1st July there will be concerts from a number of leading bands, a fashion show and also exhibitions from some prominent Czech artists and from students of Vysoká škola uměleckoprůmyslová and will take place in the area between the Mánes building and the railway bridge.
Theatre is also a part of the project. On the 1st of July the 123 min band will play at 6 p.m.. Next week the Docuku band will play and many people will be sure to attend the concert of French brass band Sergent Pepere, as they are renown from previous concerts in Prague. Information about the programme can be found at www.naplavkanavltave.cz.
Project Vltava 2008 is subsidized by Prague City Hall. This is a continuation of last year’s attempt to make the riverbanks more of a cultural chill-out centre. Last year the place offered stalls with refreshments and also the artistic works of Marián Straka from Košice, who displayed his larch roots, they even found their way into some of the leaflets inviting foreign tourists into Prague. Unfortunately the number of people who found their way to the riverbank was not as high as we expected last year, which left some of the refreshment stalls unattended, “says Pavel Uher of the Pražská servisní (Prague Service Agency). Nevertheless the company didn’t give up and intends to make the riverbanks on the right hand side of the river a recreational place for Praguers. For this reason it put up areas for mothers with babies, a little playground and also a cycle track leading up to František and farther from the City Centre. “I hope that this year it will really attract more people, because the riverbank has truly changed into a place suitable for recreation,
stated Uher. Regarding the criticism that the riverbank is often subject to illegal parking he explained that on the five kilometres of the riverbanks, parking is only permitted for about one hundred cars that belong to the companies operating the restaurants and ships anchored by the riverbanks. We can hardly do anything against drivers parking here illegally, the only solution to this problem is an increased supervision by the police and penalties against those that have no business here,
said Uher. “Concerts and exhibitions that gained a favourable response last year will most probably become a regular feature”, stated Ivo Slavík from the Public Citizen Action Group Dvojka sobě.