One hundred years is just the beginning – Czech Radio celebrates its anniversary on Google Arts & Culture
Prague, 18 May 2023: Czech Radio celebrates its centennial today with a unique collection on the Google Arts & Culture platform. As of today, visitors to the brand new Czech Radio profile can view and listen to an arrayed digital collection of photographs, historical recordings and trivia from the radio archive and – as the title of the stories from the radio's history suggests – “100 years is just the beginning.” Czech Radio plans to continue to expand its collection.
The purpose of the project is to preserve the cultural heritage of Czech Radio in digital form and at the same time to present it to a wide audience at home and abroad, in Czech and English, on the occasion of the anniversary. For the first time, Czech Radio is presented on Google Arts & Culture through five stories, which contain more than one hundred and thirty artefacts and twenty historical recordings. And for today only, Czechs can click through to the collection directly from the main page of Google's search engine.
"On the occasion of Czech Radio’s centennial, we have prepared a look back into its history, as well as at projects from more recent times. Visitors to our Google Arts & Culture profile will see, for example, the borrowed tent in which the Radio began its broadcasts, or various vehicles, such as the Radiojournal promotional bus from the 1930s. There are also examples of important radio plays or speeches from turning points in Czech and Czechoslovak history. I am very happy about this partnership and we plan to continue to expand the collection on Google Arts & Culture," said René Zavoral, Director General of Czech Radio.
"We are honoured to welcome Czech Radio, the oldest radio station in continental Europe, as a new partner of Google Arts & Culture on the occasion of its centenary. Starting today, people around the world can explore the history of Czech Radio and discover treasures from its archives on Google Arts & Culture," said Laurent Gaveau, Director of the Google Arts & Culture Lab.
Czech Radio will also celebrate its centennial today with a concert in Prague's park Riegrovy Sady, which will be streamed live on its YouTube channel.
Google Arts & Culture is a non-commercial initiative working with cultural institutions and artists around the world. Its mission is to preserve the world's cultural heritage and make it accessible online for anyone, anywhere. Together with more than 3,000 partners from over 80 countries, it explores innovative approaches to culture and interesting cultural interactions. In collaboration with 19 partners, a digital collection celebrating the art, culture and architecture of the Czech Republic, "The HeART of Czechia", was launched last year on the occasion of the Czech EU Presidency.