BUSINESS

Ostrava Plays in the Top League!

New Mayor Declares War on False

Myths About His City

Jan Dohnal assumed the leadership of the Moravian-Silesian metropolis in response to rapid changes

at the local city hall. As a former councillor and deputy mayor of the region’s most populous municipal

district, he brings a sense of calm and confidence to his role as mayor. Dohnal announced that he

does not intend to implement any radical changes but will focus on ensuring that the key projects he

has initiated will continue to go ahead successfully. His primary objective is to address the significant

mitigation of the population outflow and transform the nationwide perception of Ostrava.

Letos otevřený univerzitní City Campus Ostrava na Černé louce. Foto Lukáš Kaboň

Although you have been mayor since the end of

April this year, you are not new to the municipality.

In the previous coalition, you held the position for

deputy for sport and transport. You will continue

to retain the responsibility for sport. What led you to

continue to oversee the field of sport?

The sports sector is a key component to reshape

Ostrava‘s image beyond our region’s border. By

hosting top international tournaments, we will not

only make the city famous, but above all we will

attract a large number of visitors from other places

to Ostrava. Through a first hand experience, these

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visitors will see for themselves that this characterised

„black city“ is in fact a green and vibrant city with many

interesting attractions. In fact, they will discover that

Ostava is a city that looks completely different from

the surviving media clichés or artificially constructed

dark panoramas from commercial „crime TV series“.

We are already making great progress in this

direction as Ostrava has established itself as

host city for many prestigious sporting events.

The Golden Spike, Czech Indoor Gala, Ostrava

Beach Open (which is a truly unique event

combining beach volleyball in an industrial setting),