On Friday, May 3, 2024, three-day celebrations of the liberation of the city by the American army begin in Pilsen. It is expected that tens of thousands of people will not miss the exceptional atmosphere. The attraction is authentic period camps, Convoy of Liberty with almost three hundred pieces of historic vehicles, commemorative acts with the participation of descendants of American and Belgian veterans who liberated Pilsen 79 years ago under the command of General Patton. It will certainly interest me rich cultural program with the main stage at náměstí Republiky, with the country and folk scene in front of the Patton Memorial Plzeň and the LIBÉ RTY stage in Kopecky sady. Officially, the celebrations will begin on Friday with a ceremony on Republic Square, and will end with a commemorative ceremony at the monument Thanks, America! on Monday, May 6. The complete program is at www.slavnostisvobody.cz.
“I am personally very much looking forward to the opening ceremony. It is an opportunity for us to welcome family members of American and Belgian veterans together. It is thanks to them that we will remember the courage of their fathers and grandfathers, thanks to them the veterans can still be here with us, even if unfortunately only symbolically,” said the mayor Roman Zarzycky. Family members of war veterans will also take part in commemorative meetings at monuments, the Freedom Convoy, a run with the Memory of the Nation, or, for example, a debate with high school students.
Photo: H. Josefová
At the start of Friday, May 3 at 6 p.m. the American student marching band Stuttgart Legacy Drumline will perform, and thirty cadets from the American military garrisons in Ansbach and Vilseck, Germany will present themselves in a weapon exhibition. Space will also be given to military history clubs, without which the liberation celebrations would not have the appropriate atmosphere. On náměstí Republiky, accompanied by the Pilsner Jazz Band, they will perform not only examples of period military equipment, but also formations of members of the Czechoslovak and American armies of the time. The festive evening culminates with a concert by the Jazz Without Borders Big Band with a big musical star from Los Angeles, the famous singer Chuck Wansley.
Weekend days of May 4 and 5 they will mainly include military camps, a cultural program and, on Sunday, May 5 at 11 a.m., the Freedom Convoy. Military camps will be established in part of the garden circuit. Specifically, from Křižíkovy sady via Šafaříkovy to Kopecky, a period camp of the 16th Armored Division will be laid out with dozens of heavy and light armored vehicles, including the legendary Sherman tank, field kitchens, workshops and military quarters. The Tommy & Yankee Military History Club will show how the 45th Field Hospital, which actually operated in Pilsen, worked. The Czechoslovak Independent Armored Brigade camp or the RAF and WAAF camp will have their place in the gardens with a 1:1 scale replica of the Spitfire fighter aircraft. In the space near the General Patton Museum in Pobrežní Street, the JTF Raiders Military History Club will present the current US Army, especially its 2nd Infantry Division.
In addition to Náměstí Republiky, the cultural program will take place in Pobřežní Street, near the General Patton Museum, where folk and country music enthusiasts will enjoy themselves. The third scene called LIBÉ RTY will be created in Kopecky orchards.
It will then be the main event of the weekend Convoy of Liberty, when on Sunday, May 5, a traditional convoy of military historical vehicles, headed by a renovated Sherman M4 tank and jeeps, will pass along the route along Klatovská Street. The convoy will be accompanied by a flyover of period airplanes P-51D Mustang, Boeing B 75 Stearman and Stinson AT 19B / Reliant Mk III.
The program and other information can be found on the website www.slavnostisvobody.cz.
Text: Eva Barborková
Tags: Freedom Celebrations starting Pilsen started Fridays early evening ceremony Pilsen
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