Already this weekend, Kampa, Strělecký ostrov and Janáčkovo nábřeží will become the scene of the twentieth year of the United Islands of Prague festival and therefore also the main center of cultural events in the Czech Republic. During the two festival days, the audience can look forward to around seventy artists not only from the country, but also from Slovakia, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Hungary, Ireland, France and Luxembourg. In addition to musical discoveries, visitors can also enjoy interesting workshops, lectures, live podcasts, talks and sports activities. The festival is traditionally free for all visitors.
Artists will perform on nine stages during Friday and Saturday: Europe Day Stage, DPP Stage, Vltava Stage, Buřinka Stage, Big Shock! Stage and then also in the clubs Jazz Dock, Klub Famu, Rock Café, Cargo Gallery and Chapeau Rouge. This year's specialty is the connection with Europe Day, which is an annual reminder of peace and cooperation on the territory of the European continent.
"I am convinced that followers of all possible musical genres will definitely choose from the music program this year. In addition, a number of artists will play in the Czech Republic for the very first time, so the Czech audience has a great opportunity to come to the premiere concerts of foreign stars," says festival producer Martin Voňka.
Friday's program will include, for example, the Dutch-British band Someone, which stands out not only for its great music, but also for its excellent visual artwork, or The Magnettes, which takes its inspiration from the legendary group ABBA and is one of the most important Swedish bands. Next, the Czech group Brighter Days, which Klubovna.cz awarded with six of the nine nominations for the best bands last year, or the Hradec Králové pop band The Valentines, which oscillates between the eighties aesthetics of David Bowie and contemporary guitar pop and, according to their words, plays "cheerful songs about those the saddest things". In the FAMU Club, Hungarian bands will play in the evening, and in Chapeau Rouge, you can discover the Czech rap and DJ scene. 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.
On Saturday, singer Aiko, who became the global face of Spotify and appeared on a billboard in New York's Times Square, or singer Pam Rabbit, who performed alongside Mikuláš Josef at the world finals of Eurovision, will perform at the festival. The German scene in the Rock Café club will not be missing either - music from our western neighbors will be represented by, for example, the artpop band Sparkling, whose catchy song Wir Träumen will get everyone dancing, as well as Albertine Sarges, who maintains a sense of comedy in her approach. Rising stars of the rap scene such as Baby G, Meizzy or Wodehn will play on the stage at Janáček's embankment.
Three dozen non-profit organizations will present themselves at the United Islands festival, the Islands of Inspiration are also an equal partner in the music section this year. The non-musical program connects entities that are dedicated to sustainability, diversity, culture or public space. British ambassador Matt Field, economist Tomáš Sedláček, actress Eva Holubová, CT editors Jakub Szántó and David Miřejovský and journalists J. X. Doležal and Filip Titlbach will speak in live podcasts and debates.
The Říční Lithographic Workshop will be worth a visit on Friday and Saturday, where you will be able to look into the oldest workshop of its kind in the Czech Republic and see examples of lithography. Visitors can then make a musical instrument from vegetables with Bruncvík. With the pan-European initiative Every can counts, the festival will work together to ensure that no can ends up where it doesn't belong. Visitors to the festival can experience, for example, what it's like to be drunk. At the stand of the Czech AIDS Society, it will be possible to get tested anonymously for AIDS, and the program prepared by the Scout Institute in Rybárn will certainly be worth a visit. On Saturday, on Janáček's nábřeží, visitors can also meet the art workshop of the painter Rudolf Brančovský, among others the frontman of the band Poletíme? or giant trampolines prepared by Sokol.
"I am 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. An interesting idea is to combine the festival with Europe Day," 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.
"That Kampa is the center of the world is also proven by the fact that this island, together with Strělecký ostrov, will become part of the celebration of the multicultural festival United Islands of Prague. This year's jubilee 20th year will not only be musically very varied, but also the federal organizations of our first district have accepted the invitation. They will be able to present their work and activities here, which I am personally very happy about. I firmly believe that the connection of culture and community activities will contribute not only to the diversity of the program itself, but also to the positive course and bringing the festival closer to the citizens," says David Bodeček, 1st Deputy Mayor of the City of Prague 1.
"This year's 20th year is a jubilee not only for the festival, but also for the Foundation for the Development of Civil Society, which is celebrating 30 years since its foundation and which, by the way, is based in Prague 5. Life along the water in the city center will come to life like never before with good music across musical genres for one weekend . We will be introduced to new musical stars, for whom, in my opinion, the organizers have an unprecedented sense of smell, and I personally am most looking forward to the rap scene, which will take place on the Janáček embankment near the Jazz Dock," says Štěpán Rattay, councilor of the Prague 5 district for culture.
The festival events on Saturday, May 6 will divert all traffic from Janáček embankment and Most Legií, which will temporarily serve only as a pedestrian zone. Directly to the center of the festival during both festival days - i.e. on Friday and Saturday - you can comfortably travel by tram to the special festival stop Evropska.
You can find the complete program of the festival at www.unitedislands.cz, and additional information on the festival's social networks - on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.