Prague Commemorates Václav Havel with a Full-Day Programme

Prague is commemorating the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth with a full-day event. The ceremonial unveiling of a Václav Havel Bench will be at the heart of the programme on Mariánské náměstí.

To mark the 90th anniversary of Václav Havel’s birth, a full-day commemorative event will take place on Monday, 21 September, on Mariánské náměstí in central Prague. From 10 am to 10 pm, the programme will include readings from Havel’s works, themed discussions, concerts and other activities.

The highlight of the event will be the ceremonial unveiling of a Václav Havel Bench at 3 pm. Designed by Czech architect and designer Bořek Šípek, the installation will stand permanently beneath one of the lime trees on the square in front of Prague City Hall. Havel’s widow, Dagmar Havlová, and other distinguished guests will also attend the ceremony.

As part of the unveiling, an agreement between Dagmar Havlová and several organisations with a long history of working in culture and education is also due to be presented. In future, these organisations will be responsible for preserving Václav Havel’s literary, philosophical and social legacy.

Photo: Archiv Pavel Šťastný

“Václav Havel reminded us that freedom cannot be taken for granted and that each of us bears part of the responsibility for the world around us,” said Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda. He added that the bench should not only serve as a reminder of the past but also invite people to sit beside one another, talk and listen to each other.

The programme will continue in the afternoon and evening with several concerts. Performers will include Aneta Langerová, the Czech Radio Children’s Choir, Leona Machálková, The Plastic People of the Universe and the band Svatopluk.

A light installation by artist Michal Škapa will create a special atmosphere on the square in the evening. Visitors will also be able to view the open-air exhibition “Václav Havel’s Prague”, which will remain on display on Mariánské náměstí until 25 October.

The full programme and further information are available on the City of Prague’s website (CZ).

Photo: Kalhoty pro Václava Havla

Václav Havel: Playwright, Dissident and President

Václav Havel was born in Prague on 5 October 1936. During the 1960s, he worked at the Divadlo Na zábradlí theatre and made a name for himself as a playwright. Following the suppression of the Prague Spring in August 1968, he became one of the best-known critics of the communist regime.

Havel was among the initiators of the Charter 77 civil rights movement and spent several years in prison because of his political activities. Following the Velvet Revolution, he was elected President of Czechoslovakia in December 1989. In 1993, he became the first president of the independent Czech Republic. Václav Havel died on 18 December 2011 at the age of 75 at his country home in Hrádeček. He would have turned 90 on 5 October 2026.