One of 90 non-stop interviews conducted to mark Czech Radio’s 90th anniversary

The first regular Czech radio broadcast took place in a scout's tent in 1923. (Courtesy of Czech Radio

EBU Member Czech Radio has been celebrating its 90^th anniversary this month with a series of one-off events, including a record-breaking 48-hour interview marathon with 90 different guests.

Celebrations began on 18 May, 90 years to the day after the first regular radio broadcast in Czechoslovakia started from a scout’s tent in Prague’s Kbely district. To mark the occasion, Czech Radio held an open day at its Prague headquarters, offering the public guided tours of the usually restricted access studios and newly rebuilt Czech Radio Radiožurnál newsroom.

Czech Radio Radiožurnál also managed to set the first Czech record for a non-stop series of interviews and broadcasting by a pair of presenters. The “Magnificent Ninety” project, run in a special studio in Prague’s main square, saw the station’s top presenters Lucie Výborná and Jan Pokorný, interview 90 personalities from Czech political, cultural and sporting life. The project was broadcast live by Radiožurnál and on Czech Radio’s YouTube channel, where it was watched by 18,000 viewers.

In the evening, a special vigil was held in honour of the people who fell in violent clashes in 1945 and 1968 defending what was then Czechoslovakian Radio.

Events continued the following day with a gala evening of music and entertainment at the Vinohrady Theatre, which was open to the public and broadcast live by Czech Radio Dvojka, all regional stations and on Czech Radio’s YouTube channel. During the evening famous actors and singers recalled special moments from the history of Czechoslovakian, and Czech Radio, and Czech Radio Director General Peter Duhan presented prizes to notable figures for services to Czech Radio.  

In addition, Czech Radio has launched a web-based station called Radio Retro, drawing on its rich archives to revisit some of the best content from Czechoslovak and Czech Radio’s 90-year history.

For a full rundown of Czech Radio’s 90-year celebration events and initiatives, see Czech Radio’s English-language pages.