Ostrava residents are disappointed, yet they message: We move on!

Ostrava - A huge wave of sorrow struck the central Masaryk Square in Ostrava today, when during a live television broadcast, the chair of the commission, Robert Scott, announced that the European Capital of Culture 2015 will be Plzeň. Tears appeared in the eyes of many Ostravans, but despite the disappointment, sadness, and often a sense of injustice, Ostravans agreed in their immediate reactions that the city will move proudly forward and prove to Europe that it has its place in it.
    "This is not good news, but at the same time, it's not a tragedy, because we in Ostrava know who the European Capital of Culture is not just in 2015," said Deputy Mayor Lukáš Ženatý (ODS) to reporters. He added that projects in Ostrava had been created that would never have existed without the candidacy. "I think that nothing is changing in the sense that there is a huge opportunity ahead of our city to realize what we have planned," Ženatý stated.
    He added that the city was clear on how to proceed in the event of a victory and knows it in case of defeat. "I think the city should continue preparing the cluster at Černá louka. It depends on the new representatives, but I think the work that has been done commits to it."
    Representatives of the cultural public are also disappointed, who despite the loss have no doubts about the quality of culture in Ostrava. "Culture is great in Ostrava, people here are cultural... and I think that culture here will continue, even though we did not win that title, and that people from Plzeň and Prague can come here to learn about culture," said Jiřina Kábrtová, director of the Ostrava Museum.
    Festival director Zlata Holušová also believed that Ostrava would win the title. "Nothing ends. Colours also started on green grass and had no support. The only ones who raised Colours were the city, and if the city behaves this way towards all its good ideas, it will defend its culture on its own and will not need any crutches," Holušová believes. One of the members of the candidacy preparation team sees it similarly. "I don't feel very good because I participated in the application, and I feel sorry for it. But I definitely don't worry about culture in Ostrava," noted Zuzana Mildeová from the Petra Bezruče Theatre.
    The residents of the city also disagreed with the jury's decision, around 2000 of whom came to the square to watch the announcement of the verdict. "We definitely deserved it much more than Plzeň," said one of the onlookers, Petr Wagner.
    The city invested more than 70 million crowns into the preparations for the candidacy. Its key project in the application is the transformation of Černá louka into a new urban district with cultural and educational institutions and housing.
    The title of European Capital of Culture is not only a prestigious matter for the city, but it also means a promise of financial support from the state and the European Union for investments in cultural projects. The winning Plzeň will be entitled to approximately 1.5 million euros (about 37 million crowns) from European sources.