Plzeň is opening up as a city of culture, the main show is on Saturday

Plzeň - Plzeň today began to open up to the world as the European Capital of Culture 2015, with the city starting three days of celebrations featuring walks through attractive and unknown locations. Buses full of tourists are arriving in the city, groups of foreigners are walking through the center, and hotels and guesthouses have already reported full occupancy. In Republic Square, where the opening show will take place on Saturday, acrobats, musicians, and other artists were preparing. Traffic restrictions are already in effect in the center, and police are preparing for the event.
    "So far everything is running smoothly; we are only registering minor issues, which are mainly due to the restrictions in traffic and for residents in the city center," said Jiří Suchánek, director of Plzeň 2015, which prepared the project, to ČTK. According to him, it has become apparent that, for example, diesel generators in the square are blowing smoke into residents' windows, but according to Suchánek, this is hard to foresee in advance. "We are trying to resolve it. I am pleased that the people of Plzeň are accommodating and understand that such an event brings certain limitations," he stated.
    According to Martin Baxa, the deputy mayor, a number of significant guests are expected to attend the start of the cultural event, with the arrival of around twenty ambassadors, Czech constitutional officials, and a member of the European Commission for Culture and Education, Tibor Navracsics, expected.
    "Regarding journalists, about 200 have been accredited, 80 of whom are from abroad. The largest participation from Europe will be from Poland, which is due to the fact that Wrocław will be the European Capital of Culture next year; there is also great interest from Germany, Austria, two television crews from Italy, and journalists from Korea, five from America, and one from Canada," stated the spokeswoman for Plzeň 2015, Mirka Reifová.
    Preparations for the opening have lasted two years, with intensive work taking up the last 11 months. Material for building the stages and preparing the square for the show was delivered by 31 trucks, and 184 volunteers are helping with the organization. In the park area in the center, there are already large LED screens with a total area of 132 square meters, where people will be able to watch the opening show conducted by theater director Petr Forman on Saturday.
    The show will start at 5:30 PM after thousands of people arrive at the central square in four parades. The main highlights of the 45-minute show will be the performance of Swiss tightrope walker David Dimitri, who will walk above the heads of the crowd and step onto the cathedral's balcony, where new bells will ring for the first time in over 70 years. Approximately 150 acrobats, artists, and musicians will perform, and part of the program will include videomapping, projecting images onto buildings and the cathedral. Organizers expect up to 50,000 people, with 15,000 fitting in the square.
    Saturday will also be the day when the city center will be closed to automotive traffic. There will be a parking ban in the center and a ban on entry; pedestrians will be prohibited from entering the square area from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM. Due to the passing parades, transit through the city will be partially restricted for a short time.
    The costs for the three-day opening are approximately 20 million crowns. For this year, the project has allocated about 300 million crowns.