One of the biggest New Year’s fireworks will be in Protivín in South Bohemia this year, Prague and Brno are not planning anything this year
30/12/2022
Photo: Pixabay
Description: Fireworks, illustration photo
Do you love fireworks? So don’t miss this year’s event in Protivín in southern Bohemia, which will be one of the largest in the Czech Republic and definitely the largest in southern Bohemia. The Protivín pyrotechnic supershow is being created in the town of Blanica for the nineteenth time. At the same time, the city will not pay a single crown for the event. All costs are covered by the sponsors.
The city estimates that up to 25,000 spectators will arrive for the fireworks, which is roughly five times its population. He is based on his experience last year. “No one in the area is doing big fireworks this year, so we probably won’t be too far wrong in our guesses. Among the southerners, there are regularly people from all over and central Bohemia and, for example, České dráhy will send special trains to us from České Budějovice on Sunday, January 1st in the afternoon,” said the mayor of Protivín, Jaromír Hlaváč.
New Year’s fireworks in Protivín, photo city of Protivín
What can you look forward to?
“The main program of this year’s New Year’s Eve, the highlight of which will be the nineteenth Protivín fireworks, will take place on Sunday, January 1, 2023, on Masaryk Square. Its total length will be approximately ninety minutes,” reveals Hlaváč.
At 4:45 p.m., a one-hour concert by the Pilsen Kabát revival will begin on the square. It will be followed by a short performance by the Trombone Trio and the mayor’s New Year’s speech. The main spectacular pyrotechnic show will start at 6 p.m. The fireworks will last approximately ten minutes, while the light effects over Protivín will be accompanied by Sleeping Sun by Nightwish and Still Loving You by Scorpions.
Great show and traffic complications
New Year’s Eve with fireworks is the city’s biggest social event. And appropriate organizational and security measures correspond to this. “We want people to enter the new year and enjoy it calmly and without negative emotions. With the knowledge of the fireworks scenario with a number of new visual elements, I am absolutely sure that if the weather is kind to us, everyone can look forward to a spectacular spectacle and a great experience,” stated Hlaváč. No one has to worry about waiting for the fireworks either. In addition to the accompanying cultural program, stalls with plenty of refreshments of all kinds will be available to visitors on site.
In this connection, the mayor of the city, but also on the traffic restrictions in the city, and I ask that they go to the event well in advance. “I’m afraid that whoever won’t be there by 4:00 p.m. won’t have to get into the city and park at all,” he said, adding that the temporarily one-way road to Milenovice will be available to motorists as a parking lot.
New Year’s fireworks in Protivín, photo city of Protivín
Strength trains
Don’t want to wait in queues unnecessarily? Go to the event by train! Trains leave České Budějovice at 4:04 p.m., another train at 4:52 p.m., and an extra train at 4:31 p.m. Reservations are mandatory on this booster train, which also stops at Zliv or Číčenice stations, for example. It is free and passengers can purchase it when buying a ticket at the ČD ticket office or on the Czech Railways website.
A booster train leaves for the return trip at 6:50 p.m., other connections to České Budějovice depart at 6:33 p.m. or 7:26 p.m. Trains from Strakonice to Protivín will depart at 4:07 p.m. and 5:06 p.m., from Protivín to Strakonice at 6:34 p.m. and 7:26 p.m. The connection to Protivín leaves Písek at 5:08 p.m., and I will make the return trip at 6:33 p.m.
On all ČD trains, the regular fare applies, on booster trains in conjunction with a free seat. For the fastest access and the best view of the fireworks, České dráhy recommend that visitors choose the Protivín stop to exit.
Everything is covered by sponsors
The total cost of organizing this year’s fireworks is 700,000 crowns, similar to previous years. This amount, however, was completely covered by the sponsors. The city, or the Municipal Cultural Center of Protivín, thus remains only the guarantor of the event. “We recommend it so that people in the city can have fun, not only sports, but also cultural and social enjoyment, which is an inherent part of life in a modern city,” emphasized the mayor.
In South Bohemia, New Year’s fireworks are also held in Třebon (on Masaryk Square from 5:30 p.m.), in Strakonice (at the Strakonice Castle above the Otava River from 6 p.m.) and in Soběslav (on Náměstí republiky from 6 p.m.).
Savings are being made
In many places, however, there will be no traditional New Year’s fireworks this year. Cities have to save, so they will not return to them this year after the coronavirus break. They will be elsewhere, but much more modest. “The current economic situation will not allow the return of fireworks over the roofs of České Budějovice or Hlučín,” writes Deník. “People won’t see fireworks this year either. The reason is the economic difficulty and also the currently ongoing project Remediation, recultivation and revitalization of the area after the mining of gravel and sand in the locality of Hlučín Lake, which was the place where the fireworks were launched,” Kristina Skulinová told Deník za Hlučín.
Not even the town halls in Liberec, Frýdek-Místek or Brno are expecting a fire show. “Our New Year’s fireworks were last set off in 2016. After that, they were canceled mainly for the reason that the city center would not be burdened with additional excessive noise and emissions. And no change will take place even now,” Brno municipality spokesman Filip Poňuchálek informed Deník.
A picture from last year’s New Year’s Eve midnight in Prague, which proves that the people of Prague do not need one main firework display from the municipality, because they make tens to hundreds of their own. Although it is prohibited this year. Photo by Markéta Vančová
There will be no New Year’s fireworks in Prague this year either, the municipality is not even planning video mapping. The capital already canceled fireworks in 2020, last year it also abandoned video mapping due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to Vít Hofman, the spokesman of the Prague municipality, the city management did not think it appropriate to hold the celebration this year.
“Among the main reasons are the situation in Ukraine and also the unfavorable economic situation of many households, as well as the need to find financial savings also on the side of the capital,” Hofman listed for iRozhlas the reasons why Prague is not planning any special New Year’s celebrations this year. “Symbolically, on January 1, we plan to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the founding of the Czech Republic in the form of a ceremonial illumination of buildings,” added Hofman for iRozhlas.
Drones were considered in Olomouc, but fireworks won in the end
In Olomouc, unlike in Prague, people finally get to see the New Year’s fireworks. “The councilors considered the possibility of organizing a light show with drones or video mapping. In the end, they turned to fireworks,” Radka Štědrá, spokeswoman for the municipality of Olomouc, informed iDnes. According to iDnes, the city hall will pay up to 100,000 crowns for the fireworks that will be held in the city after a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources: Press release of the city of Protivín, České dráhy, budejcka.drbna.cz, Deník.cz, iRozhlas.cz, iDnes.cz
Posted by: Andrea Morkusová