"Colours of Ostrava" a music festival not to be missed

Summer and the good weather are no doubt prime time for being outdoors, listening to live music, partying and having the time of your life. This is a short guide, which will lead you through one of the most popular music festivals and events, taking place in Czechia this summer.        

Colours of Ostrava is one of the most popular music events in Europe, which takes place every year in mid-July. This year the event will take place from the 17th until the 20th of July 2019, in the beautiful city of Ostrava. Ostrava is located in the Eastern part of Czechia, close to the Polish and Slovak borders, and about a four hour drive from Prague. After the festival launched in 2002 for the first time, it gained immense popularity around Europe and has won numerous awards. Just to give you an idea, over the years the event hosted numerous popular artists, such as Alanis Morissette, John Newman, ZAZ, Bjork and many more.

Colours of Ostrava takes place in a unique location called Dolni Vitkovice (lower area Vitkovice), which is actually a European Cultural Heritage. It is an abandoned mining area and an industrial site, which resembles a town of steel with an incredible panorama and setting. It is filled with iron towers and pipes, giving it a bit of a sci-fi feel. In other words the space and setting looks like a scene from some crazy Hollywood film. The industrial site contains around **21 open air **and covered stages. It is also known for the famous Bolt Tower, that was named after the Olympic gold medallist Usain Bolt, when he competed in Ostrava in the Golden Spike track event. The tower is 78 meters high and has a café inside its premises. 

The festival covers a large range of music genres, such as jazz, rock, blues, soul and pop, as well as dozens of artists, who have come to preform here over the years. The music festival is a unique event as it also hosts a number of films, theatre performances and other creative workshops. Hence it is not your typical music festival event, but more of a rich cultural experience and a massive party which extends over four days.   

The line up for this year’s festival includes artists such as Florence & The Machine, Years & Years, The Cure, ZAZ, Rosalia, John Butler Trio, MØ and many many more. The tickets for the four-day festival this year  range from 100 to 130 Euros. There is also a camping site if you wish to bring your tent, however other accommodation such as hostels, hotels and airbnb are also available. To get around the premises of the festival, you also have the possibility of renting a bike, which many people end up doing to make their festival days easier.