Czech Street Party in Brussels attracts crowds of people
28.06.2010 / 17:53
Czech music, traditional foods and a rich presentation of the regions, companies and organizations attracted thousands of people to the Czech Street Party in Brussels. The biggest annual Czech event in the home city of most EU institutions was held already for the fourth time.
This evening feat of culture gave a unique opportunity to present the Czech Republic and its interests. “Good diplomats take every opportunity to present their country in the best light. Diplomacy are the relations that you cultivate even outside the working hours,“ says the Ambassador of the Czech Republic to the EU Milena Vicenová.
Five Czech music bands representing different genres performed right in front of the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic throughout the night. Already honoured by various music awards, all of the bands were received enthusiastically in Brussels: Tomáš Kočko & Orchestr, Bek Ofis, NiceLand and Tleskač. While some of these artists are the hot talents of the Czech scene, the recognized stars of the night were the Support Lesbiens who rocked the audience in the end.
Yet, music was not the sole attraction. This year’s Street Party was dedicated to the tenth anniversary of establishing the Czech Regions and had a motto “10 Years of the Czech Regions.” The regions represented themselves at the stalls not only by promotion and information materials. Particularly regional specialties such as ‘kolace’ or smoked meats had much success, and Czech beer was on sale all night.
Street Party is typically organized jointly by a majority of the Czech institutions, regions, firms and organizations represented in Brussels. This year, sixteen of them collaborated. The main organizers were the Permanent Representation of the Czech Republic by the EU, the City of Prague, the Pilsen Region and the Moravian-Silesian Region.
The success of the fourth year confirms that the Czechs managed to find an original way to draw crowds in the strong competition in Brussels. “Practically everybody here holds receptions and the like. We have succeeded in finding a way of organising an event with a similar purpose in a more original style, and of captivating wide public,” Ambassador Vicenová said. “Thanks to the Street Party, we can create a range of new contacts and cherish existing partnerships, while presenting interactively the Czech culture, traditional foods and our whole country as an attractive destination for commerce and tourism.”
The event took place under the auspices of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreing Affairs Jan Kohout. Among others, the guests included the Minister for European Affairs Juraj Chmiel, the hetman of the Ústí Region Mrs. Jana Vaňhová and the hetman of the Karlovy Vary Region Mr. Josef Novotný.