Forty–two thousand people came to this year’s Pilsner Fest, and they all drank 650 hectolitres of beer

For whole two days, 163 taps with Plzeň beers did not get a minute rest. As expected, unfiltered lagers Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus became the biggest hits. Other brands available to visitors for tasting during Pilsner Fest were primarily nonalcoholic beer Birell, and special brews Master and Frisco. 

Last year’s  record in collective toasting has fallen on Friday already. Unbelievable number of 5,493 people toasted with 0.33l cans of Pilsner Urquell and Gambrinus beers to the success of Pilsner Fest as well as to a historic advancing to Premier League of Plzeň soccer team! The record has been validated and acknowledged by the commissioner of Pelhřimov agency Good Day. 

Unstable weather had major influence on Pilsner Fest celebrations. Friday’s heat pushing the mercury of the thermometer all the way up to 95 degrees was followed by rain and falling of the temperature by more than 68 degrees. But not even such vagary weather could diminish wonderful atmosphere of the festival. The spaces around the stages were always full while bands such as No Name, Kryštof, Three Daughters, Monkey Business, and Chinaski performed.

The festival program also included a brand new contest, having its Czech premiere right here during the Fest – Championship in holding of two double beer steins. Miroslav Duda became a strongest iron–beer–man with his record time of 10 minutes and 21 seconds of holding one full double beer stein in each hand with outstretched arms for which he has won the title the Champion of Czech Republic in this event.

Festival contests were concluded on the stage of Europe 2 on Bulvár. In the art competition Plzeňská Street Gallery, the visitors awarded the most votes (8,767) to the picture of Adriana Prokopiusová shot on a theme of The True Riches. The winner in the music competition Urquell of Talents with total count of 15,763 votes was band Grande Tete from Mariánské Lázně. The winners will enjoy not only their glory of absolute victory but also free beer for a  year.

Another „first“ of this year’s festival was connecting of the festivities with charitable event Run for Umbrella race on Bulvár. Here, two visitors and also celebrities competed in duels on a race track, and the loser of the two donated a beforehand placed bet to the account of Center Umbrella. The participants donated more than 15,000 CZK (about 800.00 USD) to the Umbrella account. Brewer Václav Berka presented Center Umbrella with a gift from Plzeňský Prazdroj in form of check for 100.000,- CZK. The sum has been put together from profits generated by beer lovers in selected Plzeň pubs during the month of August.

Visitors’ trails of both breweries were busy especially on Friday since people decided to fend off the heat with pleasant visits to beer cellars. The visitors’ trails’ capacity has been therefore used fully and hundreds of visitors marched through Prazdroj and Gambrinus breweries. XCLNT party took place in garages of Hotel Agelo during both days of Pilsner Fest until the wee hours. The name of the light music event was inspired by a  special 0.33l trendy bottle of the 11–degree Gambrinus beer XCLNT. Europe 2 radio station’s MCs took care of the music, and the overall ambiance of the party was supported by special visual effects. XCLNT party had its Pilsner Fest premiere this year.

Traffic restrictions put in place because of Pilsner Fest, which were brought down to a minimum this year, brought more fun on the third stage of so-called Bulvár but also more safety during the festival.
 
„This year as well, visitors enjoyed not only great music productions but also a rich accompanying program. The atmosphere was great for two whole days regardless of sweaty conditions of Friday’s heat and the need for raincoats and umbrellas on Saturday. We are, of course, extremely pleased with the fact that we were able to beat the last year’s record in collective toasting. To conclude, we would like to say thank you to all Plzeň beer fans for their high number participation,“ said Tereza Nováková of Plzeňský Prazdroj for organisers of the Pilsner Fest while evaluating the success of the festival.

For more information contact:
Jiří Mareček, phone: +420 724 617 219

Notes for editors

• Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. and City of Plzeň are natural tourism marketing partners. Based on the Declaration of Cooperation, Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc. supports number of cultural events in the town, and City of Plzeň is traditional co-organiser of Pilsner Fest. With the total sale of nearly ten millions hectolitres in calendar year of 2010 (including its licenced production abroad) and with its exporting activities to more than 50 countries all around the word, Plzeňský Prazdroj Inc, is the foremost beer producer in the region and the biggest exporter of Czech beer.
• Plzeňský Prazdroj, Inc. is a member of SABMiller plc. Company. Pilsner Urquell brand is the international flagship brand of SABMiller brand portfolio.
• SABMiller plc. is one of the world’s biggest beer brewing companies with beer brewing and beer distribution activities in more than 60 countries around the world and across six continents.

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