Celebration of beer and music is about to begin, Plzeň will be filled with tunes from Pilsner Fest

Visitors to the festival classic and unfiltered Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus beer, brewed with the help of Pavel Nový, the rock band Chinaski and modern pentathletes David Svoboda and Michal Michalík. Besides Pilsner Urquell lager and all the variations of Gambrinus beer, 163 bartenders will also be serving the Master speciality beer and non–alcoholic Birell. The malt drink Frisco will also be available. At one point during the celebration, all of the festival visitors will share a toast, attempting to surpass the previous year’s record–sized mass toast which featured 5,331 raised cans of Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus beers.

Just like last year, the renowned bands in attendance will perform a music train, each band ushering in the next by performing a song from the upcoming band’s repertoire.

Tři sestry will try an AC/DC revival and No Name will try their hand at the funk stylings of Monkey Business. Even Pavel Anděl, festival manager and guarantor of the Prazdroj Talents competition, is excited about this interchange of professional bands: „I always look forward to this unique feature of Pilsner Fest. Last year’s music train was an unprecedented success for both the visitors and the participating bands. This is a unique experience that visitors to Pilsner Fest won’t be able to experience anywhere else.“

A brand new addition to the programme is the Prazdroj Talents competition, which pitted lesser known local bands against each other. After the semifinals took place at the Summer of Prazdroj concerts, these bands advanced to the final round: Loutky, Kulturní úderka, The Contact, Ocho Ríos, Liwid and Grande Tete. Fans voted on their favourite band, and the winner will be announced on the Evropa 2 stage on Bulvár Street during the festival.

Plzeňský Prazdroj also decided to hold a competition called Plzeň’s  Street Gallery, to celebrate the work of talented painters. Participants submitted photographs, paintings, sculptures or jewelery inspired by the themes „True fortune,“ „Real taste of friendship“ and„ Open Plzeň,“ or a theme of the artist’s choosing. The „Best Photograph“ and „Best Artwork“ winners were decided by a panel of professional judges, and were unveiled at an exhibition on August 6th. After that, they were shown for another week at the Olympia shopping centre in Plzeň. Subsequently, they were moved to the centre of Plzeň, and finally, visitors to the festival will have a chance to view the artwork and cast their votes on Bulvár Street, to decide the winner of the competition. Winners of the art and music competition will receive one year’s worth of beer, free of charge.

The Pilsner Fest programme also features a unique performance of handy keg makers, a show performed by the master of the kitchen, Emanuel Ridih, or Pilsner Urquell Master Bartender School of Serving Beer from Tap, under the supervision of the International Champion, Master Bartender Lukáš Svoboda. Visitors will enjoy many exciting attractions in the town of Gambrinus. For the first time, Pilsner Fest will host an XCLNT party in the garage of the hotel Angelo, featuring radio personalities from radio Evropa 2 and a  spectacular light show.

The festival is a big event for Plzeň every year, and affects more than just the attendees. This year, organisers got permission to partially close U Prazdroje Street, which will be converted to a so-called Bulvár, a recreation zone with a third stage. This enables the addition of many new events to this year’s programme. U Prazdroje Street will be partially closed from Friday at 9 p.m. until Sunday at 5 p.m. „Those driving though Plzeň will have to pay extra attention, because the festival is expecting tens of thousands of visitors. The partially closed street in front of the brewery will become a popular recreation zone; however the reasoning behind its creation is mainly for safety reasons. I believe that a  small detour will not complicate the traffic flow and hopefully drivers will understand the change,“ stated Vladimír Jurina from Plzeňský Prazdroj.

The programme also offers a visit to the brewery: the Pilsner Urquell sight-seeing tour will offer a visit to the barrel making workshop or a fire show, while the Gambrinus tour offers competitions and quizzes. This year’s new event is the “Pilsner Fest is not over, continue celebrating” event, which will brighten up weekends in September at the Beer Museum, the Plzeň Historical Underground and the brewery. At the brewery, we will offer an exclusive carriage ride, and a special underground programme which includes playing out various scenes or a tasting of a specially brewed batch of beer, which people drank in Plzeň before the founding of the brewery.

And even during the festival, Plzeňský Prazdroj does not forget about charity. Participants in the Run for Paraple can donate whatever amount they choose to Paraple Centre, or they can send a text message for the „Even your cell phone can run for Paraple“ project.

Pavel Maurer, organizer of the Prague Food Festival, made a bet with Václav Berka, Business Brewer from Plzeňský Prazdroj, that visitors to the Prague Food Festival would not drink 5,500 litres of Pilsner beer. In the end, Pilsner consumption far exceeded that amount, and thanks to losing the bet, Czech gastronomy guru Pavel Maurer will have to serve and present beer to the Pilsner Fest visitors.

Plzeňský Prazdroj supports responsible consumption at numerous festivals and Pilsner Fest is no exception. In the courtyard of the brewery, drivers will have the Promile INFO service at their disposal. People will be able to test the level of alcohol in their blood in a professional blood–alcohol test. Based on their blood alcohol level, the service will provide an approximate time frame when the level of alcohol will drop to zero. People can also take advantage of the Promile INFO service on the internet, Wap or via text messages.

To ensure smooth and safe consumption, a stand will provide all visitors who are of legal drinking age with a bracelet, so bartenders can easily tell who can be served alcohol.

The music programme of Pilsner Fest 2011

More information:

Vladimír Jurina, Plzeňský Prazdroj, Phone: +420 724 617 886

Notes to editors

• Plzeňský Prazdroj, a.s. and the City of Plzeň are natural partners and work together to promote the tourism industry. Based on a Cooperation Provision, Plzeňský Prazdroj a.s. supports a number of cultural events in Plzeň and the City of Plzeň traditionally co–organises Pilsner Fest. With total sales of close to 9.9 million hectoliters in the 2010 calendar year (including licensed production abroad) and with exports to more than 50 countries, Plzeňský Prazdroj a. s., is the leading producer of beer in the region and the biggest exporter of Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj, a. s., is a member of SABMiller PLC. Pilsner Urquell is an international flagship of the SABMiller portfolio of brands.
• SABMiller PLC is one of biggest beer companies in the world, with activities and distribution in more than 60 countries on six continents.

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