Czech Interior Ministry asks town halls to cancel fireworks following Prague terrorist attack

Even before the shooting spree Prague had already decided not to hold New Year’s Eve

Last week, Christmas festivities in Czechia were darkened due to the mass shooting in Prague, which left 14 people dead on the campus of Charles University and two people in a forest. As a result, the atmosphere in the country is so sorrowful and tense that the national interior ministry has asked town halls to abstain from fireworks celebrations on 31 December.

Vit Rakušan, who heads the interior ministry, has sent letters to Czech municipalities with a “personal plea” for them to demonstrate sensitivity given the current context.

A few days ago, we experienced two acts of violence involving shootings. The least we can do for those who have been painfully affected by these events is not to increase nervousness and not to deepen the trauma left by the violence,” Rakušan wrote on X (formerly Twitter). 

This Czech city has cancelled firework displays in response

It remains to be seen how many municipalities will heed the plea since ultimately the decision on the fireworks displays has been left with the local authorities.

One city at least, Olomouc, has already announced that it will call off the fireworks on 31 December and postpone them to a later, unspecified date, citing not only the social situation in the wake of the terrorist attack but also concerns regarding the hydrological situation in the region. The warm winter has caused the snow to melt, which has triggered warnings for flooding there.

As far as Prague itself is concerned, its central district had already decided to cancel the annual fireworks even before the mass shooting took place on 21 December. The reasons the local authorities had decided to turn their back on the celebratory displays were in line with the ever more growing concern about the unsustainable and harmful nature of fireworks with regard to the environment and domestic animals.