Reducing the festival’s environmental footprint, acting responsibly.
At Colours of Ostrava, your satisfaction is our highest priority. We know that the quality of the programme and festival services are its key aspects. Equally important is the festival’s unique atmosphere, which today inherently includes reflecting on all the wider connections of our lives, actions and entertainment. A long time ago, we embarked on a journey during which we have been taking steps to reduce the festival’s environmental footprint and to help compensate for the health disadvantages some of us face.
All these activities became the foundation for a comprehensive long-term sustainability programme for organising the festival. We called it Our Journey of Responsibility. We carefully evaluate all activities connected with the preparation and organisation of the festival and look for possible alternatives with a lower environmental impact and added value for the festival community as well as society as a whole. We are aware that, as a publicly active organisation, our actions have a broader social impact, which is why sustainability is and will remain an inseparable part of all our activities.
We sort waste
Waste is sorted directly within the festival area into specially colour-coded bags. Yellow bags are used for plastics and cans, blue bags for paper and black bags for mixed waste. The first stage of sorting takes place directly at the festival site in large-capacity containers, from which the waste is transported for further sorting and processing in facilities located near the venue. Additional sorting for recycling and further use is then carried out by our partners OZO and EKO-KOM
We hold the Clean Festival certification Čistý festival
Join us in sorting waste too! This year, you can once again sort waste easily throughout the festival thanks to our cooperation with the Clean Festival project. Across the entire venue, you will find special colour-coded bins for different types of waste – yellow for plastic and metal, blue for paper and black for mixed waste.
Sorting waste properly can also pay off. If the Clean Festival team spots you sorting waste into the correct bin, you can receive a voucher for a recycled reward, which you can spin for on the wheel of fortune at the Clean Festival stand. You can also enter a competition to win tickets to festivals in 2027.
The system for sorting and recycling packaging waste in the Czech Republic is managed by EKO-KOM, which has been awarding the Clean Festival certification to responsible summer festivals for the past 18 years. These festivals enable visitors to sort waste, ensure its subsequent recycling and keep the festival grounds clean.
Thanks to waste sorting and recycling, significant amounts of natural resources are saved in the Czech Republic every year — including hundreds of millions of cubic metres of water. Recycling also reduces the consumption of raw materials, saves energy and protects natural resources.
Even one properly sorted PET bottle, can or piece of paper makes a difference.
More information can be found at Čistý festival.
Food Waste
Food waste, which we now collect from both festival visitors and food vendors, is transported to a nearby biogas plant in Horní Suchá, where the companyt Organic Technology v processes it into two products: biomethane and organic fertiliser.
We recycle single-use cups to the max!
This topic is very important to us. Single-use cups only make sense if their life cycle is completed — meaning they are properly recycled and returned back into the economy. We want to make waste sorting easier for our visitors, which is why we continue to increase the number of sorting stations across the festival area. Special bins designed exclusively for cups are available throughout the venue. These “cup bins” were created by members of our festival team themselves.
Partners
For many years, Colours of Ostrava has been cooperating with OZO Ostrava and EKO-KOM. on measures aimed at improving the efficiency of waste collection and recycling. Cups and other plastics disposed of in OZO Ostrava containers are sorted at a modern high-capacity sorting line, where recyclable materials are separated for further use. Plastics and other waste sorted by visitors, cleaning crews and vendors within the Clean Festival project are transported for additional sorting to the Frýdecká landfill facility located 18 km away. They are then recycled and reused by specialised processing companies.
Free drinking water
Free drinking water is available to all visitors throughout the festival area. We kindly ask you to use water responsibly and help us make efficient use of this valuable resource.
Beverage distribution
Together with our partners, we continue to expand the range of drinks served on tap and in cans throughout the festival. This helps reduce the number of glass bottles and other disposable packaging commonly used in beverage distribution from producer to consumer. Serving beer and soft drinks from large-capacity tanks also reduces the need for packaging production and transportation.
Ecofoodbox – special food packaging
One of the new features introduced in 2024 is special food packaging. In cooperation with OPTYS, a company based in nearby Dolní Životice, the festival has developed its own packaging for food served at the festival. The packaging material is certified for food contact and comes from responsibly managed forests. By working with a local supplier, the festival further reduces its environmental footprint.
More sustainable dining
A wide selection of food has naturally become an essential part of the festival experience, carefully chosen each year with the strict eye of a food critic. We place emphasis not only on taste, but also on the quality of the products, locally sourced ingredients and environmentally responsible approaches of our food vendors. A vegetarian and vegan food zone has become an inseparable part of the festival.
Public transport
Another area we have been focusing on long term is the public transport system for festival visitors. Our goal is to transport as many visitors as possible to and from the festival without the use of private cars. Who really wants to drive around the centre of Ostrava during the festival? Not us, and we believe not you either. In cooperation with our partner DPO we traditionally strengthen public transport connections serving the festival area.
In cooperation with our long-term partner Heimstaden, we are once again operating the very popular “We’ll Take You Home” project, through which our buses transport more than 9,000 visitors.
Together with our partner České drahy the Colours Express train from Prague to Ostrava and back will once again operate this year. You can already reserve your seat here.
Festival visitors can also use the P+R parking system in Ostrava. For holders of the DPO Festival Ticket, P+R parking is available for just 1 CZK per day.
Public transport from abroad
In cooperation with the carrier Slovak Lines, s, we bring our Slovak fans from Bratislava and Trnava directly to the festival gates and safely back home after the festival ends. More information and tickets are available here or in the Slovak Lines app.
Shared bikes
In cooperation with Nextbike, we offer festival visitors 30 minutes of free rides and the possibility to use two stations near the festival area. During the festival, a temporary station called LÁVKA across the Ostravice River is available. Additional DOV/Hlubina stations are located right next to the festival’s main entrance.
Colours Without Barriers
Colours Without Barriers is a project established in 2011 that enables visitors with disabilities to fully enjoy Colours of Ostrava. Every year, approximately 1,000 visitors with visual, hearing and mobility impairments attend the festival, including people on the autism spectrum. More information about the project can be found here.
Dance with Grandma
This social project, inspired by real-life stories, is entirely organised by the Colours of Ostrava festival team. We bring local cimbalom music to retirement homes and provide seniors with the joy of music, dancing and singing directly in their home environment. The first meeting of seniors with live cimbalom music and homemade cakes took place in March 2020. The project travels between retirement homes in Ostrava and the surrounding region.
Musím říct, že projekt jménem “Dance with Grandma” je přesně ten typ lidské věci, který zní nejdřív trochu absurdně a pak tě dojme víc, než bys čekala. Což je bohužel dost častý lidský mechanismus.
Colours of Ostrava Across Generations
The festival aims to be accessible to everyone regardless of age. Our youngest fans can enjoy the ČEZ Family Park, full of games, fun and excitement. If you would like to learn more about its programme, take a look here.
At the same time, we also focus on including our oldest visitors, which is why seniors have free admission to the festival every Saturday. Active seniors have also joined our festival crew as part-time staff members working across the venue.
Non-profit organisations
At Colours of Ostrava, we provide space for nearly ten non-profit organisations of various focuses to connect with festival visitors and present the mission of their organisations. The festival offers non-profit organisations above-standard conditions for their activities and sales in order to support their presence at the event.
Festival in the Streets
You may not know this, but Colours of Ostrava also gave rise to the unique city event Festival in the Streets. During two days, we bring countless musicians, dancers and live cultural performances free of charge to the streets of Ostrava-Poruba. The festival programme also includes a design zone featuring Czech creators, a children’s fair, workshops and sports activities. For more information, take a look here.
Czech Music Crossroads
Presenting music talents from the Czech Republic and abroad to music producers — that is Czech Music Crossroads. For almost 10 years, the Czech Music Crossroads showcase festival has been connecting Czech and international musicians with music industry professionals. We give you the opportunity to discover unexplored corners of the music industry and broaden your musical horizons. For more information, take a look here.
Job opportunities
Every year, the festival provides work opportunities for several thousand temporary staff members and volunteers. This year, we recorded enormous interest from the public, which we truly appreciate. Thank you very much for your dedication — without you, Colours of Ostrava would not be what it is.
Energy
In the coming years, Colours of Ostrava plans to further develop electromobility. The goal is to increase the use of electric vehicles for transporting artists, guests and festival logistics. Another future challenge is the gradual introduction and expansion of hydrogen technologies, which will help reduce dependence on electrical energy. Following last year’s successful premiere, we will once again use a hydrogen-powered generator to operate the festival merchandise stand.