PHOTO GALLERY: Prague celebrates Velvet Revolution, remembering stark lessons of the past

An estimated 102,000 people gathered on Prague’s Národní třída on Sunday to mark the 36th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, organizers said. Attendance at the annual Národní Promenáda rose from about 93,000 last year.

The program featured debates, exhibitions and performances, including the national anthem and “Modlitba pro Martu,” sung this year by actor Jan Cina at 5:11 p.m. exactly. Organizers also highlighted anniversaries connected to Milada Horáková and Josef Toufar.

“Our motto this year, ‘We have something to say’ reminds us that an open dialogue, listening and respect for different opinions are the basis of a free society. Democracy is not maintained by silence, but by conversation and responsibility of each of us,” said Bára Starek, director of the Thanks That We Can (Díky, že můžem) association.

Event director Veronika Povišerová said “some 102,000 visitors came,” adding that a record CZK 60,000 was raised for single mothers.

Thousands also attended the Concert for Future on Wenceslas Square, where speakers voiced support for Ukraine and civil society. Constitutional Court judge Jan Wintr emphasized democratic safeguards, saying: “The peaceful alternation of government and opposition in power is a sign of a functioning democracy.”

Director of the People in Need charity Šimon Pánek recalled 1989 as a call for “a more decent, more open, more honest and more solidary society.”