Czech Radio’s unique project Revisiting Národní ´89 will commemorate the decisive events of 17 November, 1989

“Czech Radio will celebrate the Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day and the International Day of Students with an exclusive news reconstruction of the crucial moments of 17 November 1989. Czech Radio’s key station Radiožurnál has prepared a special seven-hour live broadcast from Národní třída in Prague, which will reconstruct, minute by minute, the beginning of the Velvet Revolution. Listeners can look forward to interviews with both participants and current students, who will talk about their views on this turning point in our history. The broadcast will also include live inputs from reporters on how the revolution broke out in individual regions," said René Zavoral, Director General of Czech Radio.

On Thursday, 17 November 2022, Czech Radio Radiožurnál will transport listeners to Czechoslovakia back in the autumn of 1989 with a live broadcast from 15:00 to 22:00. Moderators Jan Pokorný and Martin Veselovský will speak directly from Prague's Národní třída about the important events of that November 33 years ago.

From 15:00, Pokorný and Veselovský will talk with historian Jiří Suk and Ester Valtrová, programme director of the non-profit organization Díky, že můžem (Thanks That We Can). At 16:00, the moderators will welcome philosopher and Charter 77 signatory Daniel Kroupa and Post Bellum director Mikuláš Kroupa. Other guests will be Václav Bartuška, a student leader at the time and member of the parliamentary commission to oversee the 17 November investigation, and singer Berenika Kohoutová, who will symbolically sing the famous "Prayer for Marta" at 17:11.

As the packed program continues, at 18:00 the moderators will welcome the founders of the MOST initiative, Michael Kocáb and Michal Horáček, followed up Miroslav Vaněk, director of the Institute for Contemporary History of the Czech Academy of Sciences, at 19:00, at which time actress Veronika Freimanová will also arrive at the mobile studio on Národní třída. At the end of the live broadcast at 20:00, listeners will hear an interview with former student Klára Pospíšilová and student Matylda Hofschnaidrová, who will talk about the project Samet na školách (Velvet in Schools), and at 21:00 Sister Angelika, who took care of Václav Havel at the end of his life, will speak about the beloved president.

For more information, albeit in Czech, see here.