News

More than 70,000 fans attended Czech singer Marek Ztracený’s concert on Prague’s Letná Plain on Friday, according to the organizers. The two-hour show featured songs from his 18-year career. Ztracený cancelled a planned fireworks display shortly before the concert, citing concerns for residents of nearby buildings as well as dogs and birds.

Ztracený is the first Czech musician to perform on Letná Plain. Before him, the site hosted Michael Jackson in 1996, followed seven years later by the Rolling Stones and Slovak band Elán.

Ztracený’s three concerts at Prague’s Eden stadium in 2023 and his subsequent Zpátky tour were attended by more than 250,000 people.

The Prague Pride festival supporting LGBT+ rights is culminating in a rainbow parade through central Prague on Saturday. Tens of thousands of people set off from the lower end of Wenceslas Square at noon after observing a minute of silence for the victims of the July attack in Berlin. The parade will end on Štvanice Island, where a programme of live music and other activities is planned.

Security has been tightened following the Berlin attack, in which one person was killed and dozens injured, with hundreds of police officers and an anti-conflict team overseeing the parade. Participants can carry banners by hand or use reusable plastic poles, while wooden poles and handles are banned. Traffic restrictions are in place along the route.

The 16th Prague Pride has the theme 'Times Are Changing', with a focus on safety, community and sharing. Organizers expect around 45,000 people to take part, similar to last year.

Recent rainfall has reduced the risk of wildfires in parts of Czechia, with the threat disappearing in southeastern Bohemia and dropping from high to low in South Moravia, the Czech Hydrometeorological Institute informed on Friday. However, most of the country remains at risk due to persistent dry conditions.

Meteorologists also warn that the improvement may be short-lived. Tropical temperatures are expected to return on Sunday, with highs reaching 31 degrees Celsius, before climbing to around 33 degrees on Monday, potentially increasing the risk of wildfires again.

Czech hotels, guesthouses and other accommodation providers welcomed 6.4 million guests in the second quarter of this year, a year-on-year increase of 0.5 percent, according to new figures released by the Czech Statistics Office on Friday. The number of domestic visitors rose slightly, while foreign visitor numbers stagnated for the first time since spring 2021. Guests spent a total of 15.1 million nights in accommodation across the country.

By contrast, Prague saw a 1.2 percent decline in guest numbers. While the number of Czech visitors increased by 5.1 percent, foreign arrivals fell by 2.6 percent. Despite the drop in visitors, the total number of overnight stays edged up by 0.1 percent.

German tourists remained the largest group of foreign visitors both nationwide and in Prague, while hotels continued to be the most popular type of accommodation across the country.