On Friday 28 August, from 1.00 pm to 10.30 pm, the Palackého Live city festival will transform a bustling street in Trenčín into a space for people. This year, the programme of the Palackého Live city festival will focus more strongly on young people and what they need for a good quality of life in the city. It will feature music, sport, creative workshops, discussions, fashion and a summer cinema. Entry to the event is free.
PALACKÝ STREET COMES ALIVE WITH YOUTHFUL ENERGY
Palackého Live continues the idea of demonstrating that even a busy street and an area used for car parking can function quite differently – as a safe and calmer place full of life, greenery, socialising and experiences. Whilst last year’s event focused primarily on the potential for transforming the street and public space, this year the spotlight is on young people, their needs, ideas and opportunities to actively shape the city in which they live.
This afternoon, projects from Youngstar + Klubovňa, PlaceCamp and the Youth Film Club will be presented on the main stage. At 4.00 pm, this will be followed by a discussion on the topic ‘What do young people need in public spaces?’, moderated by city curator Omar Mirza. The discussion will feature urban planner Sandra Štasselová from the Metropolitan Institute of Bratislava and local skateboarding figure, skater and instructor Milan “Mentos” Hanuliak. Throughout the day, visitors will also be able to share their ideas about what young people in the city want and need in the community zone of the Trenčín Institute of Participation.
“This year, we want to open up ‘Palackého Live’ even more to young people – not just as visitors to the programme, but as those who should have a say in how the city looks and functions. For one day, Palackého Street will allow us to explore how public space can foster socialising, creativity, sport and new ideas,” said Hana Laššová from the Trenčín 2026 project.
FROM SURF-SKATE WAVES TO DJ-ING AND A FASHION SHOW
The programme will offer young people a range of opportunities to get involved. A sports zone will be set up on the street, featuring artificial turf, football goals, balls and table tennis, as well as the Youngstar Chill-out zone. A standout feature will be the Kokopeli surf-skate wave – a modular wooden wave designed to bring the feeling of surfing to an urban environment.
Those who’d rather get creative than play sport will be able to try out a T-shirt printing workshop led by Youngstar members from 3.00 pm, and a DJing workshop with Vahram from 4.15 pm. Trenčín 2026 will organise an upcycling workshop called ‘Giving Banners a Second Life’, where old banners will be transformed into original items.
Cultural institutions in the surrounding area will also be taking part in the programme. The Michal Rešetka Public Library will present a project for its new library following renovation; SmartLab will offer creative workshops and programming sessions for the mBot robot toy; and there will also be a book swap and a comic-book creation workshop. The Miloš Alexander Bazovský Gallery will organise creative workshops, a ‘Plyšárium’ and a fashion show right outside the gallery building, showcasing the work of recent graduates from the School of Applied Arts as well as well-known designers such as Tatiana Ďurkovová, Petra Paulo Pršová and Veronika Kostková. The local swap boutique Rezke will also be taking part in the show with its models.
ON SPORT, COMMUNITY AND MENTAL RESILIENCE
Youth-related themes will not be confined to the main stage. The organisation IPčko will take its Youth Club straight out onto the street and showcase its activities, offering visitors the chance to chat with its team or try out icebreaker games. At 3.00 pm, it will host a discussion on ‘Sport, Community and Mental Resilience’, featuring footballers from AS Trenčín as guests.
Meanwhile, the Trenčín Architecture Centre, based at the Miloš Alexander Bazovský Gallery in Trenčín, will be running a kirigami paper-cutting workshop entitled ‘Fragments of Architecture’. The individual activities thus interweave the themes of public space, culture, sport, creativity and community – areas through which young people can not only spend their free time but also forge a connection with the city.
MUSIC AND FILM WILL BRING THE SUMMER DAY ON PALACKÉHO STREET TO A CLOSE
DJ Vahram will set the musical mood from the start of the event. At 6.30 pm, Palackého Street will transform into a Music Picnic featuring the Polish band KOSMONAUCI. This quartet, with its jazz roots, blends hip-hop, drum & bass and improvisation in their music.
The evening will conclude at 8.00 pm with a screening at the open-air cinema of the animated film *Arco*, winner of the Fest Anča festival, preceded by a discussion with guests. Jakub Spevák, programme director of the Fest Anča International Animation Festival, and Erika Paulínska, the festival’s project manager, have been invited to take part in the discussion. Michal Hefty, director of the Myslím civic association, which is dedicated to making cultural events accessible to the deaf, will also take part in the discussion. Up-and-coming producer Tereza Kravecová will be in conversation with the guests.
An important part of this street’s identity is also the many local businesses, which have prepared various specialities and programmes for the event. You can find the full programme here: https://www.trencin2026.eu/podujatie/palackeho-nazivo-2/
TRAFFIC RESTRICTIONS
During the event, the section from the multi-storey car park on Palackého Street to the end of the car park in front of the Jozef Branecký Piarist Grammar School will be closed to traffic. The multi-storey car park will remain accessible. The cycle route will also be closed to cyclists in this section; however, cyclists may pass through the event site on foot after dismounting, and cycle racks will be available.
Part of the car park in front of the Piarist Grammar School will be closed from midnight on Thursday 27 August to allow for event preparations. A designated section of Palackého Street will then be closed from 18.00 until 06.00 on Saturday 29 August. The organisers recommend that visitors come on foot, by bike or use public transport.
‘Palackého Live’ is part of the ‘Transformed City’ project. Its aim is to showcase the street’s potential as a high-quality public space and, for one day, to transform the busy street and the area used for car parking into a safer and more peaceful place for people. The event follows on from previous activities aimed at revitalising Palackého Street and fostering discussion about the future of public spaces in Trenčín.
The project is organised by Trenčín 2026. It has received financial support from the City of Trenčín, the Trenčín Self-Governing Region and the Ministry of Culture of the Slovak Republic. The European Union is a partner in the project.
Media contact:
Tereza Fojtová tereza.fojtova@trencin2026.eu +421 918 412 621 www.trencin2026.eu
