Prague gathering in defence of live cultural events

Several hundred people gathered on Prague’s Old Town Square on Monday to protest against what they feel to be excessive coronavirus restrictions and their negative impact on live cultural events. The initiative #zazivouhudbu (forlivemusic) pointed to the fact that dozens of live concerts and festivals have had to be cancelled, some at the last minute, leaving many artists and organizations in financial straits.

Culture Minister Lubomír Zaorálek said he was actively looking for ways to help the cultural scene, but said people must remain realistic. The restrictions on live cultural events are likely to remain in place at least until the end of this year and people must learn to live with that, he said. He dismissed the demand for the government to lift the ceiling on the number of people at public events to 5,000 people as totally unrealistic.