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SpecialTalks with Joan Baez, Lou Reed and Suzanne Vega: musicians of the revolution era

Celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution began at the weekend and, of course, they began with Václav Havel. The dissident playwright cum philosopher-president was the main figure behind the bloodless uprising that toppled 40 years of communism within just a few weeks. At the weekend, Mr Havel held a semi-private concert to commemorate the music that accompanied the overthrow of communism, inviting Joan Baez, Lou Reed, and Suzanne Vega, among others. In exclusive interviews, Radio Prague spoke to some of the guests who “laid the soundtrack”, so to speak, to the period of the revolution.  More

Current AffairsVáclav Havel and guests mark 20 years since Velvet Revolution

The former president and one of the key figures of the Velvet Revolution Václav Havel marked on Saturday the 20th anniversary of the fall of communism. A conference “Freedom and its Enemies”, held at Charles University, was followed by a concert “It’s Here at Last”, featuring artists such as Joan Baez, Suzanne Vega and Lou Reed.  More

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ArtsHow the Velvet Revolution overturned the literary landscape

Writers were at the forefront of the Velvet Revolution. But when the dust settled on the political changes they found a fast changing publishing revolution underway that left some of them sidelined. We look at the changes in the publishing and literary world over the last two decades.  More

PanoramaSuccessful Czech-Japanese entrepreneur Tomio Okamura on how Velvet Revolution changed his life

Czech-Japanese entrepreneur Tomio Okamura is a household name in the Czech Republic, both for running a successful tourist business to representing one of the country’s largest tourist associations. As an expert in his field, Tomio makes numerous appearances on TV and radio and is also jury member on a well-known business reality programme. His success, in a way he says, is linked to one thing: the Velvet Revolution. Ahead of the upcoming 20th anniversary, Tomio agreed to come in to the studio to discuss how the fall off Communism changed his life. He began by recalling the atmosphere of 20 years ago. More