Joining the European Union was a win for the Czech Republic, even if it is not perfect, said President Petr Pavel yesterday while inaugurating the United Islands of Prague music festival. In particular, he praised the EU as a tool for peaceful coexistence.
The United Islands of Prague festival, which was first held in 2004 to celebrate the Czech Republic’s accession to the European Union, runs from yesterday until Saturday on 23 stages in Prague.
“Things that used to be rather unattainable for us, such as travelling freely, working, studying in other countries, have become a natural thing for a whole generation,” the President said. “On the other hand, even after 20 years, the European Union can arouse quite a lot of passion and emotion. This is also natural in the end, because the European Union, like everything that is the work of man, is not perfect.”
“We can blame the European Union for many things, but if we look at it from a distance and soberly, we must all say that joining the European Union was a win for the Czech Republic in many ways,” Pavel said. He said he was convinced that even if many people did not think so, the Czech Republic has changed for the better in many ways in the last 20 years, based on the numbers and facts.
Pavel was warmly welcomed by several hundred visitors at the festival, and Ludwig van Beethoven’s ‘Ode to Joy’, the EU anthem, was sung as he walked on stage. Finally, the President’s wife Eva Pavlova joined him and EU Commissioner Vera Jourova for a photo with a cake.
In the coming days, the festival will offer a programme on open-air stages on Strelecky and Slovansky islands near Zofin and on the Janacek embankment. Bands will also perform in ten clubs, and for the first time the festival will expand to the districts of Dablice, Holesovice, Palmovka, Andel and Jizni Mesto. In addition to music, the festival also includes workshops, lectures, live podcasts, talks and sporting activities. The event is free for all visitors as usual.
On Thursday, a special Symphony for Humanity concert will take place on Strelecky island to raise awareness of growing xenophobia in the Czech Republic and the world
