Czech culture, gastronomy and celebrations of success. Over 30,000 fans from all over the world passed through the Czech House
The Czech House in Paris on the premises of French cabaret closed its doors with the extinguishing of the Olympic flame. For seventeen days it attracted thousands of fans who wanted to meet our Olympians, enjoy good beer and food and a great atmosphere. Together with fourteen other countries, it was presented as part of the new "Park of Nations" project, where it stood out thanks to the beautiful French cabaret ambiance, mobile bakery with Czech bread, as well as the ability to offer a cultural and sports programme to foreign guests in different languages. The sculpture of Věra Čáslavská by David Černý, which was photographed by hundreds of passers-by every single day, was a unique feature in the whole park.
"I’m proud of how well we managed to present Czech culture and gastronomy in Paris. Representatives of other national houses came to the Czech House also for inspiration, to see how they could possibly improve their respective national houses for the next Olympics," said Jiří Kejval, President of the Czech NOC. "Another proof of the success of the Czech House in Paris is the very fact the French national television, watched by 40% of the national population, chose us to make a report about Czech gastronomy and, specifically, about our mobile bakery," he added.
We had a lot of French people here who kept coming back; they cheered alongside Czech fans for Jakub Vadlejch during the javelin throw final competition and enjoyed it very much.
The Czech House is well-known for its unique atmosphere, hospitality and openness. This goal was once again fulfilled in Paris, even as far as foreign fans were concerned. "We had a lot of French people here who kept coming back; they cheered alongside Czech fans for Jakub Vadlejch during the javelin throw final competition and enjoyed it very much. And I must also mention Olympic champion Giovanni De Gennaro, who came to celebrate his medal at the Czech House with our fans, because the Italian House was not open to the public," said Blanka Konečná, the project manager of the Czech House. All the foreign fans really enjoyed Czech beer and were happy to come back for it. Foreigners accounted for more than half of all visitors to the Czech House.
Fans had over 100 opportunities to meet an Olympians on stage and experienced five unique Olympic medal celebrations. However, the Czech House was also an attractive place for foreign journalists, who often came to evaluate the concept of the individual houses within the new "Park of Nations" project – a total of 15 countries were represented within the largest park in Paris. The Czech House stood out amongst them not only thanks to its mobile bakery with fresh products, but also due to its facilities for athletes, who could meet their loved ones there undisturbed.
In addition, the Czech House was also the main base for the Czech NOC media team. The aim of the digital production was to convey the experience to all fans both in the Czech Republic and France, and to interconnect three areas – the Czech Olympic team, the fans on site and the media.