Plzeň will have a third less money for the year 2015

Plzeň - Plzeň as the future European Capital of Culture (EHMK) currently has about a third less money available for the program in the key year of 2015 than originally planned. The application submitted for the title included non-investment projects worth 385 million CZK; after revision, the actual funding for the program amounts to 247 million. Funds are lacking for the so-called flagship projects, which sponsors should help finance. CTK was informed today by Tomáš Froyda, director of the city company Plzeň 2015.
     "We have now adjusted the projects from the application to the real budget we have. The amount of 247 million CZK is a kind of bottom line from which we will only rise. This money is secured," he stated.
     According to him, sponsors will still intervene in the budget, which need to be recruited for the largest "attractions" of the program that were not specifically detailed in the original application. "We want to have the main program points, the biggest attractions, prepared no later than the end of 2012. From these, we will create an offer and a kind of strategy with which we will visit potential sponsors," Froyda explained. He claimed that the company has already engaged with some firms, but entrepreneurs are waiting for a specific list of events.
     "I completely refuse to entertain the idea that it should be a disgrace. For this money, an interesting program can be prepared. Of course, we do not have any outright attractions at this moment, but we still have three years ahead of us, and we are seeking funding. Top attractive events will be those that sponsors will want," Froyda said. According to him, one can also proceed in the form of co-productions, which will reduce the cost of the event and prolong its lifespan. "It is better to create a significant project, such as a theatrical performance, with a foreign partner, which will then have its life and travel the world, rather than buying a one-time item on the market and paying a huge sum for it," he added.
     The company is currently preparing a monitoring report for Brussels, in which it will state how much money it actually has secured. It will send it in mid-August.
From the original application, most of the projects mentioned remain. According to the Deputy Mayor for Culture, Eva Herinková, 65 out of 68 will be realized. "The project of the Institute of Art and Design of the West Bohemian University has dropped out, another project, whose proposer is not communicating, and also the Cigistock project, which was to be implemented by the Plzeň church grammar school," she stated.