The twentieth year of the United Islands of Prague festival will take place on the date where it all began 20 years ago. It will take place on 5-6 May 2023 right in the historic center of the capital. The islands will thus start and open the festival season. The islands in the city center and countless other non-traditional places in Prague 5 will come alive with musical discoveries and a unique thematic non-musical program Islands of Inspiration. There will also be a Friday and Saturday club night. The upcoming twentieth year will be in the spirit of Truth and Love, the fight against misinformation, sustainability and diversity.
"With the festival, we are going back to the beginning of May, i.e. to the date when the festival started twenty years ago. I believe that this year's United Islands will be the real opening not only of the Prague festival season. Our dramaturgy focuses on connecting various genres, shows their diversity and is not afraid to open new topics, at the same time we are very much looking forward to the traditional beautiful locations in Prague 1 and the ever-expanding cooperation with Prague 5, where we are planning a large number of non-traditional concerts and activations" says the festival director Kamila Buráňová.
The festival will celebrate its 20th birthday in May, bringing 70 artists from 15 countries from all over the world. Visitors can look forward to a diverse range of new musical performers from both the domestic and foreign scene. The popular non-musical program Ostrovy Inspirace will also be present. Various interesting organizations, associations from Prague 1, museums, theaters, cultural institutions, as well as festival partners will get their space.
"Islands of inspiration are based on maximum interaction between the organizers and those who arrive at the festival. During the festival, participants will be able to attend workshops, lectures or panel discussions and much more," adds Buráňová.
Since 2004, the festival has been the starting point for the careers of many of today's music stars. Zrní, Kapitán Demo, Midi Lidi, Please the Trees, Lanugo, Sunflower Caravan, Mydy, Prago Union, or N.O.H.A, Ela Eyre, Socalled, Aloe Blacc, Birth of Joy, A- collective, Husky Loops, La Fontaines or The Drens.
In 2019, the festival dressed up as a British edition, in 2020 and 2021 as a German edition, and in 2022, under the weight of the war in Ukraine, it was subtitled "Freedom edition". Performers from Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Lithuania and other countries performed at the last year of the festival.
The Islands team, led by Kamila Buráňová, has been operating since 2021. The new generation, as the festival producers call it, managed to attract 30,000 people to Prague's islands in recent years.
View the photo gallery from the last year.