The Golden Prague International Television Festival will be held for the sixty-third time this year. From 23 to 26 September, Prague’s Municipal House will become a meeting place for filmmakers, artists, television professionals and the general public. The festival will feature screenings of competition entries, previews of new Czech Television programmes, encounters with leading figures from the worlds of music, theatre and dance, as well as a programme for families with children. This year’s edition will also include the Golden Dance Floor with stars of StarDance, the Closing Opera Gala and the Festival Awards Ceremony.
Golden Prague is one of the oldest television festivals in the world. Founded in the first half of the 1960s, it established a prestigious international position after the Velvet Revolution thanks to its unique focus on television programmes devoted to music and dance.
“What makes the Golden Prague Festival so exceptional is above all its long tradition and international prestige, as well as the simple fact that it is one of the oldest television festivals in the world and virtually the only competitive festival devoted exclusively to television programmes about music and dance,” says Festival Director and Executive Director of ČT art Tomáš Motl. “We want audiences to experience this uniqueness not only through the opportunity to watch such films, but also to meet fascinating guests and enjoy something truly special.”
A total of 84 films have been entered in this year’s competition, representing an exceptionally broad range of genres, subjects and artistic approaches. Audiences and industry professionals alike can look forward to opera and dance productions, music documentaries and recordings of outstanding concert events.
Among the films in competition is Platée, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s French Baroque opera staged by the directing duo SKUTR at the State Opera in Prague; the documentary The Power of the Voice – The Story of the Prague Philharmonic Choir, which follows the oldest Czech professional choir during its 90th season and offers both a behind-the-scenes perspective and the personal stories of its members; and Rusalka, director David Radok’s production of Dvořák’s celebrated opera, conceived as a fateful drama of unfulfilled longing, love, erotic desire and human failure.
The diversity of this year’s competition is further demonstrated by other entries from around the world. “They range from Sting’s performance at Amsterdam’s Rijksmuseum and a documentary presenting the world’s five longest continuously operating orchestras to a production of Tosca in Rome that faithfully reconstructs the original staging from the opera’s world premiere in 1900,” adds Tomáš Motl.
The winners will be selected by an international jury chaired by Maria Willer, a German producer and Managing Director of 3B-Produktion. The other jury members are Katharina Jeschke, an Austrian arts and media management expert and strategic consultant; Anja Stabell, a Norwegian project manager specialising in culture and music; French producer Boris Berger; and Jiří Heřman, opera director and Artistic Director of Opera at the National Theatre Brno.
The jury will present Czech Crystal awards in three categories, the festival’s main prize, the Grand Prix Golden Prague, and a Special Mention for Extraordinary Artistic Achievement. Further awards will be presented by Czech Television and the Dagmar and Václav Havel Foundation VIZE 97.
EBU and IMZ Events
Golden Prague will also host a series of events organised in cooperation with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and the International Music + Media Centre (IMZ). On 23 September, the festival will welcome delegates to the EBU Music Plenary Meeting, followed by a meeting of the IMZ Board and an international panel discussion exploring the challenges currently facing public service media. The panel will bring together representatives of RAI, ORF, LRT and SRG and will be moderated by Cecilia Beacon of Marquee TV. The professional programme will also provide opportunities for networking and the exchange of ideas among international broadcasters, producers and representatives of cultural organisations. On 24 September, the 2026 EBU–IMZ Outstanding Achievement Award will be presented to renowned French producer François Duplat of Bel Air Media during the Festival Awards Ceremony.
Previews and encounters with filmmakers and leading figures in Czech music
Previews of new Czech Television films will form an important part of the programme in the Municipal House’s Sladkovský Hall. Audiences will have the opportunity to see the films on the big screen and meet their creators and protagonists in person.
Festival guests will include jazz musician Jiří Stivín, the central figure in the documentary Stivín: An Improvised Portrait; choirmaster Jiří Chvála, featured in Jiří Chvála and the Kühn Children’s Choir – The Infinite Search for Music; Jaroslav Krček, founder of the Musica Bohemica ensemble, who will introduce the documentary Jaroslav Krček and Musica Bohemica: The Soul Never Grows Old; and guitarist Štěpán Rak, the subject of the film Štěpán Rak: Guitar Bridges.
The Golden Dance Floor gets children and adults moving
One of the highlights of Friday’s programme will be an afternoon of dance for young visitors, followed in the evening by the Golden Prague Dance Floor. Children and adults alike will have the chance to dance alongside stars of StarDance, collect autographs and meet popular personalities from the televised dance competition. The programme will feature Jan Tománek, Martin Prágr, Marta Dancingerová, Dominik Vodička and Darija Pavlovičová, among others. The afternoon autograph session will also welcome personalities associated with this year’s edition of StarDance, including Marta Jandová, Petra Nesvačilová, Tomáš Matonoha, Tomas Sean Pšenička, Radek Štěpánek, Natálie Otáhalová and Adriana Mašková.
A gala evening bringing opera and jazz together
The Festival Awards Ceremony will feature performances by mezzo-soprano Ester Pavlů and jazz pianist Emil Viklický with his Trio. Their collaboration will bring together two distinctive musical worlds: opera and jazz.
“Bringing opera and jazz together always creates something new. One might think these are merely musical interludes, but anyone who saw what violinist Josef Špaček and members of his family brought to last year’s ceremony will know exactly what I mean,” says Tomáš Motl.
Golden Prague on ČT art
Viewers unable to attend the festival in person will also be able to enjoy part of its programme on ČT art. During the week preceding this year’s festival, the channel will broadcast the winning films from last year’s Golden Prague.
ČT art will broadcast two events live from the festival: the Festival Awards Ceremony and the Golden Prague Closing Opera Gala. Accompanied by the Prague Symphony Orchestra FOK, the gala will feature Simona Šaturová, Štěpánka Pučálková, Daniel Matoušek and Svatopluk Sem. Following the festival, Czech Television documentaries previewed at Golden Prague will also be gradually introduced into the channel’s broadcast schedule.