Your were cheering for us

01.09.2010
Thank you

From beginning we have tried to involve you in the Ostrava 2015 project. We are convinced that it is important for everyone who lives and grows up in Ostrava. Today, we want to thank you for experiencing the process of Ostrava's candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 with us. How? Have a look and read. This new section is dedicated to all of you who have supported us, at any time and in whatever shape or form.

01.09.2010
Richard Krajčo, singer and actor

“Whenever I approach Ostrava from the direction of Frýdek-Místek and the panorama of blast furnaces appears, I say to my wife: ‘Look how beautiful that is’. She is already used to it, and she replies: ‘Yes, I know’. She tells me how my eyes light up like a little boy’s at the sight. But this image affects me, even though I have been riding past it for years.”

01.09.2010
Baník fans unfurled a giant choreo in March

Before the football match between FC Viktoria Plzeň and FC Baník Ostrava, most of us didn't know what a choreo was. After that game, now we all know. "Are you watching TV? The Baník fans have an Ostrava 2015 sign over their heads," acquaintances and friends called to tell us. There was also an unmissable European Capital of Culture 2015 sign. It was the first time that someone publicly supported us in this way. Naturally, it moved us. "We are very glad to support this cultural project, and you can count on similar support from us," fan representative Vladimír Novák wrote to us.

01.09.2010
Ivan Kraus, writer

“The last time I was in Ostrava was thirty years ago. At that time, it was all ashes in the eyes and a strange red glow above the city. Then I moved to Prague, nothing for a certain period, and then I suddenly started to miss Ostrava. It had lodged itself in my heart. I am surprised how much it has changed and grown. I only hope it really wins this title. It deserves it.”

01.09.2010
Věra Špinarová, singer

The singer decided to support Ostrava's candidacy for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015 on her Nadoraz tour this year. She only expressed the fear that she wouldn't live to see it.

01.09.2010
You made an interactive poster for us

As the students' spring celebration of Majáles was approaching, students at the University of Ostrava contacted us saying that they would like to call attention to the project in some way. Finally, the idea for a large interactive poster was born, on which people passing through Masaryk Square in the city centre could write any message they had for Ostrava 2015. The poster decorated not only the Majáles celebration at the Silesian Ostrava Castle, but also the Colours of Ostrava music festival and other places and events throughout the city.

01.09.2010
Mirek Rusecki, PR manager of the Katowice 2016 project

“We have seen both applications, Ostrava’s and Pilsen’s, and I think that the chances of winning are greater for Ostrava.”

01.09.2010
Černý Daniel je všude s námi

Výňatek z dopisu, který dorazil do našich e-mailových schránek: „Děkuji Vám za to, že jste pomohli zviditelnit Ostravu v rámci ČR... Černý Daniel je všude s námi jako opravdový symbol, připomíná, že každý, kdo se zde narodil, anebo se sem přistěhoval a bydlí tu, musí denně sdílet osud kdysi černého města," píše Jana Dušková.

01.09.2010
Leading actors of the Dejvice Theatre are also for us

Members of the Dejvice Theatre in Prague, which is viewed by critics and also the public as one of the best in the country, had a series of photographs made of themselves with Daniel (the logo of Ostrava's candidacy for the ECOC title) as a way of expressing their support for us.

01.09.2010
Vladivojna La Chia, zpěvačka

„Jedině Ostrava může být Evropské hlavní město kultury 2015. Temná a mladá, drsná a upřímná jako všechno, co se tam vytvoří. Ostravské umění je syrové a hravé, nemá hranice. Ostrava je akční a kreativní šelma jako žádné jiné české město, na to vemte jed!!!“

01.09.2010
Members of the Cellar Theatre (Divadlo Sklep)

The director Tomáš Vorel also loves Ostrava. Otherwise the almost four-month survey of Ostrava culture in Prague would not have kicked off with his film Smoke. A gala evening with a 1980s theme was also attended by David Vávra and Václav Marhoul.

01.09.2010
Jiří Dědeček, chairman of the Czech PEN Club

“I think that Ostrava has a good staff and that Čestmír Kopecký is an exceptional figure in the Czech managerial and production world, so Ostrava chose well. I also know Pilsen well, because I was born in the west Bohemian region and I lived there for many years. I must admit that Ostrava has much more mystery than Pilsen. It is a more picturesque city. Therefore I must become a patriot for Ostrava and I won’t make a prediction.”

01.09.2010
Ruda from Ostrava sang out on Stodolní Street

The rapper Jay-Z sang the hit song “Empire State of Mind” about New York City, and the musical actor Michal Kavalčík as his alter-ego Ruda created an Ostrava version of the song. The famous melody with twisted text had more than a million views on the internet. Some were wowed by it, others were shocked by it, but one thing that’s certain is that Ostrava became a hit before it was pulled from the internet for violating intellectual property rights. “I am crossing my fingers for Ostrava in its candidacy for the title of ECOC,” Ruda said on Czech Television.

01.09.2010
Filip Jedelský, organizer of the Folklore Without Borders festival in Ostrava

“Perhaps Ostrava is an unusual city from the standpoint of contemporary culture, but whoever gives Ostrava a chance to show what it’s got will come away surprised and changed. This city deserves the title of European Capital of Culture. Not at all because it needs this title in order to support the development of culture, but precisely the opposite: It deserves it because it already has something to showcase, something to demonstrate and to offer.”

01.09.2010
The Czech Republic is behind Ostrava

And where does Ostrava 2015 stand in the context of the entire country? We commissioned a poll from an independent Prague-based public opinion research agency. Polling was done throughout the Czech Republic, and more than 700 people over the age of 18 responded. It showed that all of Moravia, but also the Liberec, Hradec Králové, Karlovy Vary, and South Bohemia regions as well as Prague favour Ostrava. The Pilsen Region was the odd one out.

 

01.09.2010
Marta Kubišová, singer

“I love Ostrava, and Ostrava loves me.”

01.09.2010
Messages from the guestbook of the “Café Ostrava” exhibition in Prague

Just like other exhibitions, "Café Ostrava", which is currently running at the Mánes exhibition hall as part of the four-month "Ostrava in Prague" survey, has its guestbook, where people can write their observations about the exhibition. You have been very kind to us, and therefore we can publish a ranking of what are currently the most popular comments in this book. For the duration of the show, our all-time favourite has been: "This is absolutely the best exhibition I've ever seen." Nor will we allow to go unnoticed the artistically ambitious opinions and quotes we secretly copy down in our notebooks, such as, "My wife has run off, the cottage is on fire, my friend is tightening the screws ... only Ostrava remains by your side!!!" "The atmosphere of Ostrava after today's exhibition? Not quite Prague!" or, "When there is a region of such colour, life isn't, never was and never will be, easy. That's how it is in Ostrava!" The clear favourite so far, of course, is the hopeful exclamation: "Thank you for the magical tour through Ostrava ... Ostrava isn't a candidate for the title of European Capital of Culture 2015, Ostrava is the winner." Let's hope that you are right!

01.09.2010
Václav Havel

“Ostrava, always too far away from the capital, became an original genius loci whose need to rely mainly upon itself served as its foundation. It remains a synonym for heavy industry and coal, not a centre of culture and education. But one-time disadvantages can bring new hope for the revitalization of places that until now have resisted social engineering, collectivization, and the pressures of globalization. For these reasons, I welcome and support Ostrava’s candidacy for European Capital of Culture 2015 as an effort to recognize, appreciate, and develop even the less conspicuous beauty of our country and our cities.”

01.09.2010
Paper message to Ostrava 2015

Anyone who walked across Masaryk Square late one recent Tuesday night or very early the next morning probably shook their heads bewilderment. Two boys were placing white sheets of A4 paper one next to the other so that by early morning part of the square was covered with a giant rectangle of paper. Whoever hung around long enough, however, found out the purpose of their seemingly bizarre act. Shortly after the boys began to remove some of the sheets of paper, a big sign reading "Ostrava 2015" began to emerge, even through they had primarily set out to declare to a certain girl, "te amo". We think it's wonderful that it was worthwhile to them to also send Ostrava 2015 a message. "We said to ourselves that since we were alreadyy standing on Masaryk Square, we simply had to do it," said 19-year-old Petr Rubáček about their all-night act.

01.09.2010
Jiří Hanousek, master cellist with the Janáček Philharmonic Orchestra Ostrava and a pedagogue at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Ostrava

“I was attending eight weeks of master classes in America in 1990, and there were many elite international musicians there. When they asked me where I was from, and I said Ostrava, they would respond: “Oh, I have played in Ostrava.” These were people such as Rudolf Serkin and other big names who had an idea where Ostrava was. I think that if Ostrava wins the title, perhaps the city would return to the great heights where it once was, but from which, unfortunately, it later sank.”