Compact archive November 30, 2006

If you plan to spend the New Year’s Eve in Prague and you do not know yet where to go, one of the options is to go to Wenceslas Square in the centre of Prague.

The company Hvezdy na Vltave will organize here a big celebration of the New Year. For the first time in history of the Czech Republic, the show will be broadcast live on Czech commerical TV Nova. A big stage will be built near the statue of St. Wenceslas.

The organizers will pay no money for hiring the upper part of Wenceslas Square. According to the municipal authorities, this action is for everybody. Normally you have to pay from 10 to 50 CZK per 1 square meter per day, depends on the kind of action. The organizers would have to pay up to 150 000.

For your information, you have to pay 5000 CZK/hour to hire Petrin observation tower, 250 000 CZK/several hours for Charles Bridge or 550 000 CZK for a party in the first floor of the Municipal House.

II. Free Fashion Weekend in Prague will show original designs of young Czech fashion designers made especially for younger generation. The organizers of this event respond to the high demand from people who visited the Free Fashion Weekend in April this year.

This project has an ambition to become the centre of present original fashion. More than 30 fashion designers, jewellers and alternative shops with fashion will introduce their goods during the weekend 2nd and 3th December.

The programme starts in NoD. Roxy (Dlouha 33 street) on Saturday 2nd December at 13:00 with special markets where visitors can try on and buy original clothes. Fashion show presenting the best designs starts at 20:00. On Sunday the markets are open from 13:00 to 17:00. There is no entrance fee.

On 6th December people in many countries of the world celebrate Saint Nicholas Day, commemorating St. Nicholas, a bishop, famous for giving gifts to people who needed it. Nowadays the evening before St. Nicholas Day people can see men with a white beard giving presents to children. In the Czech Republic “Mikulas” is accompanied by an angel and a devil.

If you want to see Mikulas with devils and angels, go to the centre of Prague or get in the traditional tram with Mikulas on board running in the centre of Prague. Note that this tram will go already on Sunday (and not on Tuesday!) from 13:00 to 17:00. This tram will run every 15 minutes via the centre of the city and will be for free for children and their parents.

Children will find useful tools and materials for creating their own masks of Mikulas, devils and angels in the markets of Old Town Square and Wenceslas square on Tuesday. They can also enter a small gingerbread house where they can make Christmas cards or decorations and garnish Christmas sweets.

Van Diesel, known from the films xXx, The Fast and the Furious or The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury, is coming back to Prague to act in his new film Babylon A.D. The shooting in Prague starts on 11th December, the premiere of the film is expected in 2007.

This film will be shot in Prague, as well as Montreal and Quebec. It will be the film version of french novel Babylon babies by Maurice Dantec. The director of this film is Mathieu Kassovits, the director of Gothika and The Crimson Rivers (Les rivieres pourpres). Vin Diesel will act next to Vincent Cassel and Michelle Yeoh, the Asian beaty from Bond’s movie Tomorrow Never Dies.

Vin Diesel visited Prague a few years ago when shooting the film xXx. He admired that a lot of people use trams and walk in Prague. “I have never met so many people in love walking hand in hand as in Prague, which is great,” said Diesel.

Diesel was present at the Prague’s premiere of xXx, the proceeds of which helped the flooded Prague. This year Diesel might be invited to the ceremonial opening of the reconstructed Barrandov film studio in Prague, the biggest soundproof film studio in Europe.

According to the Human Development Index 2006, the Czech Republic is on the 30th position out of 177 states of the world (complete list of states). This index measures comparatively life expectancy, literacy, education, and standards of living for countries worldwide. That means that also the average salary is considered.

The average salary in the Czech Republic rose 6,1% this year to 19 968 CZK. However, high salaries of top managers and IT experts are also included. Only one third of Czech people reach the average salary. The worst situation is in regions around Karlovy Vary, Hradec Kralove and Ceske Budejovice where the average salary is reached only by 23% of workers.

The best situation is in Prague. The average or higher salary is given to 57% of workers. The average salary in Prague region is around 25 000.

For comparison, Slovakian average salary is 14 419 CZK, Hungarian 18 056 and Polish 17 896 CZK. On the other hand, Austrian average salary is 76 351 CZK.