Prague has been putting on something of a brave face since being ravaged by the 2013 floods. And despite being followed by curiously scorching temperatures, the rain clouds have returned for another lashing, swelling the river banks for the second time in a month. After seeing the devastation that has swamped the city, it’s clear that floods are nothing to sneeze at. But even mother nature can’t stop the Czechs from having their summertime – and that’s why this year’s United Islands Festival went ahead against all odds – attracting some 60,000 music lovers from across the country.
Organisers of the Česká Spořitelna festival spoke of how they feared the worst when the Prague islands fell victim to gushing floodwaters a few weeks ago. Some 195 artists, including international soul legend Aloe Blacc and British rockers The Citizens!, were booked for one of the most flamboyant festivals to date. To cancel them, they say, was simply an inconceivable sin.
So the challenge had begun – in just 10 days, the unwavering team of organisers packed up the entire festival and transported it from the city centre to Prague 6, to the top of a hill, where the show could go on away from gushing waters.
“It was very challenging and exhausting but nobody wanted to give up.” Said Barbora Šubrtová , a PR spokesperson for United Islands. “ Exactly two weeks before the festival we received a message that most of the parks and gardens will be closed due to waterlogged soil, including Petřín and Kinského Garden. It was shock, but the idea of cancelling it didn’t cross our minds.”
Additional costs were inevitable. Although it has not been specified exactly how much more was spent on keeping the event afloat, it was less than was anticipated.
“The additional costs were not as large as it may seem from the outside.” Added Barbora. “The biggest demands were on people’s work which is also the biggest item in the budget. But in that time nobody from the team think about the salary. Everybody kept their mind on one goal – to organise the festival as we’d originally planned it.”
The festival was not only celebrting it’s 10th anniversary, but also a tribute to Václav Havel s first wife Olga Havlová, who would have celebrated her 80th birthday on 11 July. The Olga Havlová Foundation, her former friends and colleagues with United Islands, prepared a program block to commemorate her.
Barbora continued: “Česká Spořitelna was a significant partner at the festival’s beginnings and in 2011 return as a strongest financial partner. Besides commercial partners we cooperate with City of Prague who is traditional partner of the festival since the very beginning. We also closely cooperate with many embassies and cultural organisations of particular states, which help us to cover particular expenses connected to bands appearance on the festival”
Plans are already in place for the 2014 festival, which organisers are hoping to have back on the original grounds of the Prague islands.
