Prague City Councilors Approve Buskers Ban

“Street artists” wearing enormous animal costumes will no longer be able to perform in the center of Prague.  In addition to inflatable bears, bubble artists will also be eliminated from the city streets of Prague.

The amendment to the Decree was approved by the councilors yesterday.

These attractions are governed by regulations on street art or busking, but officials have now decided that they do not qualify for that category.

The ban will be active in Old Town Square, Velkopřevorské náměstí, náměstí Míru, as well as Nerudova Street and Spálená street between Purkyňova and Národní Třída.

Performers also must not stand where they would block the passage of pedestrians or stand in the entrance to buildings or the metro.

“The giant mascots are not really street art, and the amendment about busking takes this into account. Kitschy characters do not belong in Old Town,” said the Prague Mayor Zdeněk Hřib when the issue first came up.

Prague 1 Mayor Pavel Čižinský previously said the decree should be changed so that busking is “something that is at least a little artistic, not a stupid attraction that only pollutes the public space.”