The festival season will begin in Prague on May 5 and 6 at the 20th annual United Islands of Prague festival. On the Prague islands this year, the festival organizers are preparing an offer of Czech, Slovak, Polish, Hungarian, Swedish, French, German and Danish music. In addition, Friday's program will belong to Europe Day, which is an annual reminder of peace and cooperation on the territory of the European continent. On the first weekend of May, visitors can look forward to performances from European countries and an interesting accompanying program in addition to a genre-varied load of unheard musical tones. The United Islands of Prague Festival and Europe Day are traditionally free for visitors.
"The entire twenty years of United Islands of Prague have been an exciting journey filled with incredible experiences for me and our team. I am excited that this year Europe Day will be part of the festival, which celebrates our common European identity and history. It is almost symbolic, because the first year of the festival was held in 2004 on the occasion of the entry of the Czech Republic into the European Union," said Martin Voňka, producer of the United Islands of Prague festival.
"Until now, we have always celebrated Europe Day as a separate event on Strelecky Island. This year, the celebrations will be part of the United Islands of Prague festival for the first time. Something that has a common spirit and goal will naturally come together: the connection of different cultures and peoples and the celebration that we can live together in peace for almost eighty years. Come and experience how music unites people across borders, taste European specialties at the embassy's information stands and participate in competitions and a rich program!," says Magdaléna Frouzová, press officer of the Representation of the European Commission in the Czech Republic.
The festival will celebrate its 20th birthday in May, dozens of artists from all over the world will come to it. Visitors can look forward to a diverse range of new musical performers from both the domestic and foreign scenes. The two festival days will offer, for example, the Swedish group The Magnettes, who take their inspiration from the legendary group ABBA and belong to the most important Swedish bands, the Irish group Enola Gay from Belfast, which combines strong bass and dirty guitars with recited vocals and excited electronics, or for example the Prague group P/\ST, which plays alternative experimental rap with a touch of hard electronics. From the Czech and Slovak scene, music fans can look forward to the Slovak rapper with the pseudonym Edúv syn, who focuses on mental health in his lyrics, the rapper Wodehn, who is one of the rising stars of the Czech rap scene, and the Králové Hradec pop band The Valentines, which oscillates between David Bowie's eighties aesthetic and contemporary guitar pop, playing what he says are "happy songs about the saddest things".
During Friday's "European day", visitors can look forward to a talk show with actors from the Vosto5 theater, a discussion with interesting guests and an unconventional view of Ukraine through the virtual reality of the Fresh Memories project. An attractive program is once again prepared for children.
The popular non-musical program Islands of Inspiration will not be missing either. Various interesting organizations, associations from Prague 1, workshops, museums, theaters and cultural institutions will get their space. For example, Sokol, the Scout Foundation of Jaroslav Foglar, Amnesty International, the Czech Society AIDS Pomoc, the initiative Thank you, we can, Prague Pride, Konsent, Litografická dílna Říční or the association Bruncvik will present their programs. In addition to the musical and non-musical program, the festival will also include a rich gastronomic offer, food trucks and bars with a varied selection of non-alcoholic and alcoholic beverages.
"At the festival, we focus not only on music, but also on topics that are important to us: truth, sustainability and diversity. Our goal is to provide a platform for dialogue and inspiration," explains Lubomír Rek, coordinator of the non-musical program Islands of Inspiration.
The United Islands of Prague Festival would not have been possible for the past twenty years without the constant support of the City Hall of Prague.
"I'm glad that, among other things, Prague also supports music festivals of various genres. This increases the attractiveness of the metropolis for domestic and foreign visitors. I believe that this year's 20th anniversary United Islands of Prague will be as successful as the previous ones. The connection of the festival with Europe Day is also an interesting idea," says the mayor of the capital city of Prague, Bohuslav Svoboda.
"United Islands has developed incredibly interestingly over the past 20 years, while still traditionally offering mainly great music and theater. The program once again brings Prague residents and visitors a welcome change in the days of May, which invite to experience in the center of our city. I am glad that United Islands can to host again," adds Jiří Pospíšil, deputy mayor of the capital city of Prague for culture.
Important partners of the festival, in addition to the capital city of Prague, include the Transport Company of the Capital City of Prague, innogy and the international tobacco company Japan Tobacco International.
"innogy has been the energy of Czech culture for many years and is a partner of the most important international music and film events that take place in the Czech Republic every year. We believe that quality art, regardless of its nature, knows no borders and it is always rewarding to have the opportunity to participate in projects that bring European or often world comparisons of artistic creation. The United Islands Festival is also connected with themes and values that are also inherent to our company. Truth, freedom, diversity and sustainability, these are the motifs that will permeate the entire festival this year," said innogy's communications director Martin Chalupský about the partnership.
The program of the United Islands of Prague festival will take place in the historical center on the Prague islands. Admission to the festival is free for everyone, as part of the concerts and the non-musical program Islands of Inspiration.
More at www.unitedislands.cz and www.facebook.com/unitedislandsofprague.