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New Year's parties cost city

Officials spend 800,000 Kč for cleanup of downtown hotspots

January 3rd, 2008 issue

By Kimberly Hiss

Staff Writer
Although the combination of alcohol and amateur fireworks added up to a busy night for officials, the city was quick to recover from its New Year’s Eve festivities.
Overall, Prague Police reported a manageable evening.
“The situation was all right,” says spokeswoman Eva Miklíková of the activities on Wenceslas Square, where 200 officers were deployed (Old Town Square was handled by the municipal police). She adds that crime was not serious, resulting in, for example, the detention of 47 people suspected of minor offenses such as pickpocketing. “Nothing exceptional occurred. It is comparable with the previous year’s celebrations,” Miklíková says.
Prague’s Emergency Medical Service, however, told Radio Prague that Monday was its busiest night in five years, with 273 injuries. The situation was helped, however, by measures such as the cordoning off of the area near the Wenceslas Square stage, where anyone entering was inspected for glass and fireworks. Crowds in the square were reported to have reached 10,000.
Of course, after any party, there’s always the cleanup. Two companies, TSK and Pražské služby, were in charge of clearing trash. Although a spokesperson could not be reached for comment, a Dec. 28 Pražské služby press release stated that about 140 employees would be needed to clear the busiest places such as Wenceslas Square, Old Town Square and Charles Bridge.
“If there is no snow, waste will go straight to the trash-burning plant,” spokeswoman Miroslava Egererová stated.
According to the release, last year’s celebration produced approximately 60 metric tons of trash, which was transported in 23 fully loaded trucks, and the city spends about 800,000 Kč ($44,425) to clean up after New Year’s Eve.
As for the Jan. 1 fireworks, the traditional display started at 6 p.m. and was launched from Letná Hill by the company Flash Barrandov Speciální efekty. While no official crowd estimates are available, the display cost 1.5 million Kč, 300,000 of which was covered by City Hall, and the rest paid for by sponsors, according to the Czech News Agency.
“We are satisfied,” said City Hall spokesman Jiří Wolf of the display. “It was clear from the reaction of the people that they liked the fireworks.”
— Hela Balínová and Naďa Černá contributed to this report.
Kimberly Hiss can be reached at khiss@praguepost.com


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