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Grand Re-Opening of the Embassy building

Date: 24 November 2017 6:00 PM -

On Friday 24 November 2017 at 6pm, the building of the Czech Embassy in London was solemnly reopened after a two-year long-anticipated reconstruction.

For this occasion, the Embassy turned into a gallery showing selected works by contemporary Czech artists. The evening included the light installations Resonator and Monolith, the illuminated façade of the Embassy building in the colours of the national tricolour, performance of the rising Czech music star Lenny, a barman show by Pavel Tvaroh, an improvised theatrical performance by František Skála and Petr Nikl and and the photo booth Fotonaut, thanks to which the visitors could take a fun memory of the evening.

The event was opened by Ambassador Libor Sečka, Lord Anderson of Swansea and Deputy Foreign Minister Martin Smolek. It was attended by approximately 500 guests, including the BBC Radio Deputy Director, Graham Ellis, the children of Sir Nicholas Winton, Barbara and Nick, John Mucha (the world-famous Czech painter Alfons Mucha's grandson), the artist Alex Sádlo, Lady Milena Grenfell-Baines, Ambassadors, business partners, Embassy sponsors, representatives of the Czech community associations and British and other friends of the Embassy.

The guests, in addition to enjoying themselves in the representative rooms, visited the underground cinema, where the documentary by architect Adam Gebrian about the reconstruction of the Embassy was shown on a rolling screening, ​​the outdoor terrace with the garden and the garage where the improvised theater performance took place.

The treats included typical Czech dishes, Pilsner Urquell beer, Moravian wines, and a mixed drink called Beton (Becherovka liquer with tonic), which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year and its composed name means “concrete” in English. The world-renowned bartender Pavel Tvaroh served it with an original twist - from a real construction mixer.

We would like to thank all those who participated in the organisation of the evening. The guests feedback was full of joy and excitement of many original artistic shows that the event offered.

The programme of the event with coherent and detailed information about the history of the building, the artists involved, the light installations etc. is possible to view HERE (PDF, 3 MB)

Ambassador Libor Sečka wrote an article on the Re-opening, it is available in this attachment: Introductory remarks of the Ambassador (PDF, 48 KB)

The photographs from the Grand Re-opening by Ms. Jolly Thompson are available on this link: https://jollythompson.dphoto.com/#/album/a5055x

Selection of media reports in English:

Radio Prague http://www.radio.cz/en/section/curraffrs/london-czech-embassy-celebrates-reopening-with-massive-event

Prague Monitor http://praguemonitor.com/2017/11/27/czech-embassy-london-reopens-after-two-year-reconstruction 

European News http://www.europe.easybranches.com/czech-republic/Embassy-in-London-reopens-after-two-year-reconstruction-122730

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Reception)

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Reception)

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Ambassador´s Office)

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Ambassador´s Office)

 

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy

 

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Cinema)

The newly refurbished interior of the Embassy (Cinema)

The reconstructed building houses not only the Embassy but also the offices of the Czech Centre (culture), CzechTourism, CzechInvest and CzechTrade Agencies.

We look forward to many future exciting events that we will be able to offer thanks to the completed revitalisation of the Embassy to British public and the Czech community in the UK.

The 1970 building of the Czech Embassy in London was designed as a tribute to the avant-garde Brutalist style and was awarded the prestigious RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Award in 1971. In the 70s, the modern and creative architectonic design of the building represented an attempt to break free from the Socialist realism style and reflect modern trends in world architecture, strengthened by the collaboration with the British architect Robert Matthew (Royal Festival Hall). You can find more information about the building on this link: http://www.mzv.cz/london/en/about_us/about_the_embassy_building/x26_30_kensington_palace_gardens.html

 

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Grand Re-opening of the Embassy of the Czech Republic in London