Ed Sheeran, a British singer and lyricist with Irish roots, whose song Shape of You became famous, will return to the Czech Republic after five years.
The winner of several Grammy awards will perform in Hradec Králové as part of the Rock for People Concerts series.
Those who are going to his concert in the multifunctional Park 360 in Králové-Hradec on July 27, 2024, must prepare for a logistical problem – almost all accommodation capacities are already full on that date.
For example, there are three luxury apartments in the center left in the regional capital on the platforms Airbnb, Booking and Trivago.
The hotels that Nauzal contacted then state that they are already full. For example, Chernigov, with a capacity exceeding 300 beds, is fully booked by the organizers of the event.
The surrounding towns are no better off either. For example, in Pardubice, 20 kilometers away, an annual international chess tournament is taking place at that time, and the participants also have booked local hotels.
The organizers want to solve the accommodation problem with a camping town, where it will be possible to come with a caravan or motorhome.
“There will also be alternatives,” says Michal Thomes, CEO and co-founder of the Rock for People festival, to Seznam Zprávám. “We will build tents in the style of a camping hotel, and visitors can come to a pre-equipped tent and sleep in it,” he adds.
Hradec chose Sheeran’s team
The expected concert became a pretext for political gossip. The opposition movement Rozvíjíme Hradec claims that Mayor Pavlína Springerová (HDK) is abusing the event for personal PR, although she did not deserve it.
The politicians were especially outraged by the press conference at which she announced the concert with her personal patronage.
“Combining the organization of a concert by a world star, which will attract tens of thousands of people to the city, with the self-promotion of the mayoress is complete nonsense,” reflects the mayor of the reproach. “Such a huge project cannot be done without the maximum cooperation of the city.”
According to Thomes, the site of the Hradec airport caught the eye of Sheeran’s team, who proposed it to the German organizer of the concert. And he contacted a Rock for People representative. “It was definitely created without any political input, so I can really disprove it unequivocally,” he says.
Some representatives regret that the organizers announced the concert late. “It’s a shame that the operators of accommodation facilities in Hradec were not informed about the upcoming event in time and thus could not prepare for the event,” expresses dissatisfaction Jan Holásek (for Rozvíjíme Hradec).
Thomes counters that it wasn’t possible before. “I had a non-disclosure agreement signed, so I wasn’t allowed to talk to anyone about the concert,” he says, adding that it’s a common strategy.
Capacity exceeding 37 thousand fans
The city is used to similarly large events, as the Rock for People festival takes place every year in Park 360. This year, 37,000 people visited it during four days in June.
According to the organizers, even more will probably arrive for the concert, which is almost sold out after two weeks. Therefore, a team was created, which includes representatives of the state and city police, the Directorate of Roads and Highways and also the airport.
“We really want to prepare it well so that the burden on Hradec is minimized as much as possible,” explains Thomes, adding that people from the Králové-Hradec transport company will also be invited.
The head of the Public Transport Center, Jan György, said that due to the expected interest, traffic measures will undoubtedly be provided, but he cannot specify their form at the moment.
