May 2019 marked the 120th anniversary of the establishment of the Czech Olympic Committee.

This provided an appropriate opportunity for promoting the principles of Olympism to the general public and demonstrating that Olympism and sport have had a major impact on the formation of Czechoslovaks and Czech society. The Czech Olympic Academy has been working with important institutions such as Charles University, the Military History Institute, the Memory of Nations, Czech Television, Czech Radio, the International Olympic Committee, and the European Olympic Committees. On Monday June 17, the concert “Masters to the Masters” took place at the Prague Rudolfinum, former seat of the Czechoslovak Parliament.

The concert was held in honour of the Czech National Olympic Committee by the Academy of Classical Music, which also organises the Dvořák Prague International Music Festival.During the concert, important sports personalities were honoured by the Czech Olympic Committee. Awards were given to three-time javelin Olympic gold medallist, Jan Železný, and double Olympic rowing medallist and Chairman of the Czech Olympians Club, Oldřich Svojanovský. Honorary plaques were awarded to commemorate gymnastics Olympic champion, Věra Čáslavská, and Olympian, Sokol member, and member of the war-time Resistance, František Pecháček.In the second half of June, a book was published that imaginatively depicts the story of Czech Olympism at all levels: the establishment of the Czech National Olympic Committee by Jiří Stanislav Guth-Jarkovský, one of the founders of the International Olympic Committee; the development of sport during the First Republic; and the story of Olympism during the Protectorate and the communist era.

A significant part of the book also covers the modern sports history of the Czech Republic. The book includes photos and facts not previously published.In the autumn, in the framework of the 30th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, which in 1989 overthrew communism in Czechoslovakia, an outdoor photo exhibition in Prague has been planned, entitled “Key Moments in Czechoslovak History and Sport”. It will highlight important milestones for the modern Czech state and sport.