Prague’s Nov. 17 festival will go ahead after state funding rejected

Prague’s Národní třída will host its full Nov. 17 commemorations despite the Culture Ministry’s decision to withhold funding, organizers said Thursday as a public appeal raised more than CZK 2 million.

Korzo Národní, organized by the initiative Díky, že můžem, will offer 160 free program events marking the anniversaries of the 1989 Velvet Revolution and the Nazi crackdown on students in 1939.

The ministry says the project did not meet the conditions of the grant program under which it applied. Organizers accept that funding is discretionary but have criticized the six-month decision process and disputed the ministry’s account of its assessment.

Díky, že můžem launched a public fundraiser for Korzo Národní following the funding decision. Contributions exceeded CZK 2 million shortly after 6 p.m. Thursday and were continuing to rise.

“Korzo Národní will take place on Nov. 17 in its full scope, with 160 program events free to the public,” initiative chair Bára Stárek told ČTK.

South Bohemia also pledged CZK 300,000. Governor Martin Kuba said the commemorations had national significance and encouraged other regional and local authorities to contribute.

The festival has been held on Národní třída for 13 years. The street is closely associated with the police assault on a student demonstration on Nov. 17, 1989, which helped trigger the Velvet Revolution.

Stárek said organizers submitted their application in April but received the decision only six months later, less than a month before the event.

They had never claimed an automatic entitlement to state support, she said. Their objection concerned what they described as a slow, opaque process lacking constructive communication.

The Culture Ministry said the application failed to meet the requirements of its program supporting regional cultural traditions.

It denied that the refusal was political or called the importance of Nov. 17 into question, saying the same published rules must apply to all applicants.

Culture Minister Oto Klempíř told iDNES.cz that the relevant program covered major anniversaries in multiples of 10 years. This year marks 37 years since the events of 1989.

Stárek countered that the ministry’s expert committee awarded the project 88 out of 100 points and explicitly recommended an exception allowing support. She said the ministry’s political leadership declined that recommendation.

The ministry said previous awards had also been made despite committee recommendations against support. It provided CZK 500,000 in 2023, CZK 1.5 million in 2024 and CZK 700,000 last year, following decisions by then-Minister Martin Baxa.

Baxa rejected any suggestion that those grants breached the rules, saying the organizer had met the conditions attached to its funding.

Despite the dispute, organizers say the public program remains intact. The fundraiser and regional contribution provide alternative support as preparations continue for Nov. 17.