Prague 2 confirms alternative New Year’s Day fireworks show

A time and place has been announced for an alternative New Year’s Day fireworks show in Prague 2

Raymond Johnston

Written by Raymond Johnston Published on 03.12.2019 14:00:38 (updated on 03.12.2019) Reading time: 2 minutes

A time and place has been announced for the alternative New Year’s Day fireworks show, announced in response to Prague City Hall’s decision to have a videomapping instead.

The Town Hall of
Prague 2 has given its patronage a January 1, 2020, fireworks show at
6 pm in the Bastion area, part of the former town walls near the
Nusle Bridge. The fireworks will be launched from near the Czech
Police Museum and the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and
St. Charles the Great (Kostel Nanebevzetí Panny Marie a sv. Karla
Velikého).

The show will be
called Divine Prague (Praha božská). Good viewing points will be
from in front of the Congress Center, the wall of Vyšehrad, Nusle,
and the Nusle Bridge (Nuselský most).

New Year's Day fireworks
New Year’s Day fireworks in Prague. via Raymond Johnston

“We are sure that
most Prague citizens are bothered by the all-day, amateur firing of
pyrotechnics, which is mostly uncontrolled and is thus a great
psychological burden for small children and animals. In this regard,
we consider a 15-minute organized presentation of professional
fireworks to celebrate the New Year to be dignified in what is
inherently one of the European and world capitals,” Prague 2 Deputy
Mayor Jan Korseska said, according to website Miliju Praha, which
first reported the news.

The fireworks show
is also part of a campaign called Nebudu střílet (I Will Not
Shoot), aimed at limiting amateur use of fireworks.

The company that has provided the official city fireworks show for the past several years announced in October that they would organize a show, despite City Hall’s move to have a light show instead. The location, however, was kept secret to prevent City Hall from blocking the plan before it was finalized.

bastion
Bastion at the Church of the Assumption and St. Charles the Great. via Raymond Johnston

City Hall announced in August that the annual fireworks would not happen due to concerns over noise affecting pets and wildlife, as well as pollution. In October, they announced that a videomapping would take place at Wenceslas Square on the Historical Building of the National Museum.

“It is a helpful
step not only for all citizens of the metropolis who are sensitive to
excessive noise, but also for animals that face unnecessary stress
every year. I believe that everyone will enjoy the new form of New
Year celebrations, and I am glad that we unanimously agreed on it,”
Prague City Councilor Jan Chabr (United Force for Prague) said in
August.

City Hall spokesman Vít Hofman told daily Blesk that from a legal standpoint, nothing was preventing the fireworks show, and permission from City Hall was not required.

November 17 videomapping
November 17 videomapping on the National Musem. via Raymond Johnston

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