Prague’s 2026 festival season brings a packed calendar of open-air concerts, student gatherings, and major classical events across the city. The season opens with United Islands, a long-running event focused on emerging artists. Held from April 30 to May 2 across Štvanice Island and nearby venues, the festival will feature more than 100 performances. Its lineup mixes indie, jazz, electronic and world music, with international acts such as Bilk, Yard and Min Taka alongside Czech performers including Toyota Vangelis and Kvietah. Entry remains free, with visitors encouraged to support the event through voluntary contributions. Alongside concerts, debates and discussions will take place as part of a new forum program addressing topics from artificial intelligence to the role of media in democracy. View this post on Instagram A post shared by United Islands (@united_islands) On May 1, Majáles takes over Letňany Airport. The country’s largest student festival offers a full-day lineup combining rap, pop, rock and electronic music. Performers include Ben Cristovao, Viktor Sheen, Sara Rikas and Chinaski, while a dedicated EDM stage will host international acts such as Rudimental, Sigma and Dimension. The event draws a mix of students and the general public, making it one of the busiest...
The multi-genre United Islands festival will kick off Prague’s festival season, offering three days of music, film and discussions across the city. The program begins on Thursday, April 30, with pop-up concerts in Portheimka Park in Smíchov, followed by shows in clubs around Prague. The main open-air part will take place on May 1 and 2 on Štvanice Island, where five stages will host more than 100 emerging artists from across Europe. Among the international acts are Irish electro-noise trio Yard, Dutch singer Min Taka and Slovak rising star Meowlau. The Czech scene will feature recent Anděl Award winner Marie April, Toyota Vangelis, rapper Anki and indie band WYFE. In addition to music, this year’s edition expands its non-musical program. Visitors can attend debates with journalists Nora Fridrichová and Zdislava Pokorná, as well as a screening of the Oscar-winning film Mr. Nobody vs. Putin. Entry remains free, with voluntary tickets available to support the festival. United Islands has built a reputation as one of Central Europe’s key showcase festivals, focusing on new talent from the Czech Republic, Slovakia and beyond. It returns once again to Štvanice Island. View this post on Instagram A post shared by United Islands...
Although the main celebrations fall on April 30, this year’s Witches Night (čarodějnice) in Prague extends over several days, with events already scheduled before the traditional evening of bonfires. Across the city, districts are preparing parades, children’s programs, concerts and fire shows. The custom, known as Walpurgis Night, has long been tied to the belief that fires could drive away evil spirits. It also marks the end of winter and the arrival of spring, a theme that continues to shape the modern celebrations. Prague 1 – Kampa and Střelecký Island One of the most well-known celebrations will take place in the Lesser Town area. On April 30, Kampa will host an afternoon program for children starting at 2:30 p.m., including games, attractions and interactive activities. At 6 p.m., participants will gather at Malostranské Square before a parade crosses Charles Bridge toward Kampa. The main bonfire is scheduled for dusk, followed by live music performances. Nearby Střelecký Island will offer a full-day program from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., with refreshments, wine tasting, and live music. A light and fire show is also planned. Entry to both locations is free. Prague 2 – Svatopluk Čech Gardens Families with younger children can...
Returning to Prague for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, composer Alexey Shor is set for three near-sold-out concerts, a long way from the apartment where he used to write music for nobody but himself. “[Prague] is just one of the most beautiful places on Earth,” Shor said. “The last time we had a concert here, the reception was wonderful, and the concert hall was full.” Unlike most composers, Shor spent more than two decades as a Wall Street mathematician, writing music secretly in his apartment with no intention of ever sharing it. It was only when a friend, world-class American violist David Carpenter, spotted a score on Shor’s desk and refused to let it stay private that everything changed, eventually leading to concert halls around the world and performances by some of the biggest names in classical music. That growing audience has brought with it a new kind of pressure compared with early in his career, and he now feels the weight of not wanting to disappoint them. “Early on, people had no idea who I was. I literally had people tell me, ‘We thought you died in the 19th century, and here you are,’” he said. Tonight,...
After their explosive set at Rock for People 2025, IDLES are coming back to the Czech Republic. The British band will perform on 7 July 2026 at Forum Karlín in Prague, marking their seventh appearance in the country and their largest headline show here to date. Tickets go on sale on 4 December at 11:00 via the RFP Concerts website. Formed in Bristol, IDLES built their reputation on raw intensity, politically charged lyrics, and high-energy live shows. Their sound moves between punk and post-punk, driven by aggressive instrumentation and an unfiltered emotional delivery that has made them one of the most talked-about live bands of the past decade. The group has released two UK number one albums and has grown from underground favourites into a globally recognised, Grammy-nominated act. In recent years, their reach has expanded beyond music, including work on the original soundtrack for the upcoming film Caught Stealing, directed by Darren Aronofsky. Their live reputation has only grown stronger internationally. During a recent US tour, they headlined Forest Hills Stadium in New York. At Glastonbury, their performance on the Other Stage became widely discussed after a Banksy intervention involving an inflatable boat installation featuring migrant figures, turning the...
Prague will once again open the doors of its most intriguing buildings this spring as the Open House Prague festival returns for its 12th edition. From May 18 to 24, more than 100 sites across the city will be accessible, many of them normally closed to the public. This year’s program introduces 20 new locations and focuses on how the city is evolving while preserving its architectural heritage. The week-long event begins with a series of talks, guided walks, exhibitions, and discussions exploring architecture and urban development. Organizers aim to give visitors a clearer understanding of how Prague is changing and how historical sites are maintained. Among the newly accessible locations is the Convent of St. Agnes, one of the oldest Gothic complexes in Prague, where visitors can explore a rarely seen medieval cellar. The Faculty of Humanities building in Troja offers a glimpse into architect Karel Prager’s unfinished vision of a large university complex built above the city. A former headquarters of the Strojimport foreign trade company on Vinohradská Street reflects international influences, drawing inspiration from American skyscrapers of the mid-20th century. Another addition, the Na Zatlance grammar school, stands as a reminder of construction during the final years...
Prague’s Dancing House is marking three decades since its completion with a new exhibition that opens on April 22, 2026. The building, completed in 1996 on the corner of Jiráskovo náměstí and Rašínovo nábřeží, has become one of the city’s most recognisable architectural works. The exhibition, titled Dancing House: The Story of an Iconic Building, brings together archival materials, original interior elements from the 1990s, and documentation that traces how the site evolved long before the modern structure was built. Historical images from as early as 1860 are included, showing how the location changed over time. A central part of the project is access to areas of the building that are normally closed to the public. Visitors will be able to enter selected technical spaces and view the inner courtyard. The exhibition also presents original objects from the building’s early interior design phase, including glass tables by architect Eva Jiřičná, doors, lighting elements and office furniture used after the building opened. The exhibition is supported by PSN and takes place under the auspices of Vision 97 Dagmar and Václav Havel. Architects, models and original documents A separate section focuses on the architects behind the project, Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić....
For one day, Prague will reveal a side of Strahov Monastery that is usually out of reach. On May 2, the site will open selected interiors to the public as part of the Saint Norbert Festival, marking 399 years since a procession that reshaped its role in Europe. The event looks back to the early 17th century, when the remains of Saint Norbert were brought to Prague. After the northern German city of Magdeburg adopted Protestantism, Strahov’s abbot, Kašpar of Questenberg, secured the relics of the Premonstratensian order’s founder and arranged their transfer to Bohemia. The journey took place under imperial authority. Soldiers led by Albrecht von Wallenstein accompanied the relics to Prague, where they arrived in a ceremonial procession at the turn of 1626 and 1627. The event drew attention across the region and placed Strahov at the center of the Premonstratensian order. Saint Norbert later became one of the patron saints of the Czech lands. This year’s festival revisits that moment, bringing its history back into focus nearly four centuries later. The program will begin at 10 a.m. with a mass in the Basilica of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary. Throughout the day, the monastery complex will...
Czech sculptor David Černý is set to return to the international spotlight next spring, bringing a new exhibition to Venice at the same time as the Venice Biennale. Titled ARTOCALYPSA, the show will open on May 6, 2026, in the Cannaregio district and run until early November. While Cannaregio is typically one of the quieter corners of Venice, the Biennale transforms even its side streets into busy cultural routes, as visitors move between national pavilions and independent exhibitions. Černý’s project is expected to draw attention for its central theme—one he has returned to repeatedly over the years: weapons. Rather than presenting them in a purely technical or aesthetic way, ARTOCALYPSA explores the contradictions they represent. Weapons are among the most advanced products of human innovation, yet also among the most destructive. In a period marked by overlapping crises—health, climate, and economic instability—the exhibition suggests that these objects reveal how societies behave under pressure. The focus shifts away from the weapons themselves to the people around them: those who design them, use them, reject them, or profit from them. The idea of bringing Černý’s work to Venice originated with Italian researcher and writer Lorenzo Polo, who has followed the artist’s work...
The town of Náměšť nad Oslavou has been named Historic Town of the Year 2025, a national award recognizing how municipalities use state funding to restore cultural heritage. The competition is organized by the Association of Historical Settlements of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia, together with the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry for Regional Development. The award focuses on the effective use of grants from the Ministry of Culture aimed at preserving urban heritage reserves and zones. This year’s winner was selected from 13 finalists in the 32nd edition of the competition. In 2024, the title went to Moravská Třebová. According to the jury, Náměšť nad Oslavou has taken a consistent and structured approach to restoring historic buildings, while maintaining close cooperation with the National Institute for Historic Preservation, which manages the local chateau. The town is also home to the Žižka oak, considered one of the oldest oak trees in the country. Recent restoration work in the town has included the renovation of a former manufactory building as part of a heritage regeneration program. In previous years, the town repaired a historic bridge and installed replicas of Baroque statues along it. Work has also begun on the old town...
At Karpuchina Gallery, a new exhibition titled After the Atlas brings together two artists who, at first glance, seem to have little in common. Czech sculptor and painter Kurt Gebauer, now in his 80s, is shown alongside Berlin-based South Korean artist Jina Park, who is in her 40s. The result is a pairing shaped less by similarity than by contrast. Park describes the exhibition as a meeting point between different worlds. The gap between the artists is not only generational but also rooted in entirely different cultural and historical experiences. Yet it is precisely this distance that gives the show its tension. Her own work reflects a background that moves between traditions. Trained in Korea before continuing her studies in Germany, Park does not deliberately merge Eastern and Western techniques. Instead, the two influences sit side by side, emerging naturally through her process. Elements of traditional Korean painting appear alongside references to European egg tempera, not as a direct fusion, but as parallel approaches that echo each other. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Karpuchina Gallery (@karpuchinagallery) Several of her paintings focus on birds, rendered in vivid detail. At first, they appear almost hyperreal. On...
At the end of April, Prague Philharmonia will bring two evenings of classical music to Prague’s Smetana Hall, featuring internationally acclaimed soloists Maxim Vengerov and Arsenii Moon. Led by Chief Conductor Emmanuel Villaume, the concerts will take place on April 26 and 27, 2026, at the city’s historic Municipal House. The first concert, titled “Carpe Diem – Seize the Moment. Stay in the Sound. Step Outside of Time,” will take place on April 26 and mark the return of Vengerov to Prague. Get your ticket here. Often regarded as one of the leading violinists of his generation, Vengerov has performed on some of the world’s biggest stages and won a Grammy Awards trophy during his career. In Prague, he will perform a program that moves from joyful orchestral music to more emotional and introspective works. The evening will open with Felix Mendelssohn’s Symphony No. 4 in A major, also known as the “Italian” Symphony, a lively and energetic piece inspired by the composer’s travels through Italy. Vengerov will then perform Alexey Shor’s Violin Concerto No. 6 “Carpe Diem”, a contemporary work combining lyrical melodies with subtle virtuosity. The concert will end with Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in D major,...
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