Civic groups organize wake-up call

Civic associations perceive the anniversary as an opportunity to take stock of the country’s post-1989 development and there has been criticism of how far Czechs have strayed from the ideals of the Velvet Revolution and the country’s first post-communist president Václav Havel. Concerts, gatherings and marches took place around the country within so-called Festival of Freedom celebrations; among others, an allegorical procession poking fun at populist leaders. At 7.30 pm thousands of alarm clocks will go off around the country as a wake-up call to the nation that values linked to the Velvet Revolution are being questioned and sacrificed.