A gala goodbye for President Havel

On Thursday night a gala performance in honour of President Vaclav Havel took place at the National Theatre in Prague. The event was organised by First Lady Dagmar Havlova as a goodbye tribute to the outgoing president, who leaves office on Sunday, February 2.

A gala goodbye for President Havel

Photo: CTK

On Thursday night a gala performance in honour of President Vaclav Havel took place at the National Theatre in Prague. The event was organised by First Lady Dagmar Havlova as a goodbye tribute to the outgoing president, who leaves office on Sunday, February the 2nd.

It was an appropriate, theatrical farewell for the playwright-president, who was honoured by many of the country's leading artists. Excerpts from Vaclav Havel's plays were read and songs were sung, while pictures from his life were shown on video screens.

Among those seated in the audience were some of the country's top politicians, foreign diplomats and businesspeople. In addition, well-known international figures sent video messages honouring the Czech president, and among them were UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, US President George Bush and actor Sean Connery.

Mr Havel also took the stage at the end of the performance, telling the audience that he was touched by the tribute:

"I was not moved by my own fate, nor by my achievements. Nor was I moved by the various injustices I suffered. If my fate and my achievements were accompanied by any feelings in my soul, they were accompanied by doubts, disconcertion and the feeling of guilt. But if there was anything that did touch me, then it was the expressions of thanks and the honours."

Photo: CTK

The price of a seat at the performance ranged from 800 to 5,000 crowns. Despite the high prices, the theatre was sold out, and proceeds from the performance will go to the Havels' foundation Vision '97. A large video screen was placed outside of the theatre for those who couldn't get a ticket, and just over a hundred people braved the cold weather conditions to follow the performance from the outside. Here is what some of the people watching the screen had to say:

"I'm from Brno, and when I read in the newspaper that there would be a big screen here, I decided to come. And I'm very touched, and I'm sorry that the president is leaving."

"I expected that there would be more people here. It is still kind of half-empty. There could be a little more of them here, so that people could part with their president."

But the event was not without its own controversy. Singers Jaroslav Hutka and Vlasta Tresnak - friends of President Havel from his dissident times - were invited by Dagmar Havlova to appear at the performance. But they refused to come as they did not want to participate alongside singers such as Karel Gott, whom they regard as being too associated with the previous socialist regime.