The most important value for us is Colours of Ostrava is your satisfaction. We know that the quality of the program and festival services are its main strengths. However, equally important is the unique atmosphere of the festival, which today inherently includes thinking about all the aspects of our life. A long time ago we embarked on a journey where we are taking steps to reduce the environmental footprint of the festival and improve the experience for those with health challenges.
We have taken all these activities as the basis for a comprehensive programme for the long-term sustainability of the festival. We've called it Our Journey of Responsibility. We are very carefully evaluating all activities related to the preparation and organization of the festival and looking for possible alternatives with lower environmental burden and added value and inclusion for the full spectrum of festival fans and society. We are aware that as a public organisation our actions have wider social impact, so the topic of sustainability is and will be an integral part of all our activities.
At last year's festival, we managed to sort 80 % of all waste on site! Our targets for coming years are even higher. There are 45 sorting points and countless waste containers on site. A cleaning crew of 300 people is responsible for cleaning the grounds.
Recycling
We sort all waste into special colour-coded bags on site. The yellow ones are for sorting plastics and cans, the blue ones are for paper, and the black ones for mixed waste. The first sorting takes place at the festival site, then the sorted waste goes for re-sorting and further processing in the immediate vicinity of the site. Sorting for further use in recycling takes place at the facilities of our partners OZO and EKO-KOM.
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Clean Festival certificate
For the past 16 years, EKO-KOM has been certifying responsible festivals for allowing their visitors to sort their waste, providing waste collection for recycling, and keeping their grounds clean. Together with you, we contribute to saving up to 30 km2 of nature in the Czech Republic every year. More information can be found at Clean Festival.
Jednoraz vytřídíme nadoraz!
The festival uses disposable cups for various reasons. Disposable cups only make sense if their life cycle is complete, i.e. if they are recycled and reintroduced into the economy. We want to make sorting easier for our visitors, which is why we are constantly increasing the number of sorting points on site. On top of that, you can find special trash bins designed only for disposable cups (kelimkoš), which were made jointly by members of our festival team. There are also two mobile kelimkoš´s - two-wheelers operated by cup specialists.
Partners
For a long time Colours of Ostrava has been cooperating with OZO Ostrava and EKO-KOM on measures to increase the efficiency of waste collection and recycling. Cups and other plastics disposed of in OZO Ostrava's containers are sorted on a sorting line and the parts suitable for recycling are further used. Plastics and other waste sorted by visitors, cleaning crews and stallholders as part of the Clean Festival project go to the Frýdek-Místek processing facility 18 km away for re-sorting. They are then recycled and reused by specialist processors.
Free drinking water
Free drinking water is available at the festival grounds for all visitors. Please use water responsibly to help us use it efficiently.
Beverage distribution
Together with our partners, we are expanding the range of beverages that will be provided to festival visitors on tap and in cans. This means reducing the number of glass bottles and other pint plastic bottles standardly used in the distribution of drinks from producer to consumer. The tapping of beer and soft drinks from bulk tanks reduces the requirements for the creation and transport of packaging.
Eco-friendly tableware
The festival had already started to use other, more eco-friendly options before the ban on selected single-use plastic products was introduced, e.g. disposable straws are a thing of the past. We are continuing to implement other steps to reduce the Festival's environmental footprint. In the festival backstage and VIP areas, food is served on porcelain tableware. Members of the organising team are welcome to bring their own crockery. We have introduced palm leaf plates in selected areas of the venue and encourage stallholders to use environmentally friendly materials.
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Food selection
Of course, we have a large range of different types of food that we select for you each year with the strict eye of a food critic. We put emphasis on the taste of the products on offer, as well as on the quality, locality of the ingredients and the environmentally friendly approach of our stallholders. The vegetarian and vegan food zone is already an integral part of the festival.
Public transportation
Our aim is to transport as many visitors as possible to and from the festival without using their private vehicles. Who wants to drive in the centre of Ostrava during the festival? We don't and we think you probably don't either. Therefore, in cooperation with our partner DPO, we have strengthened the public transportation services for the area of the festival during its duration. All festival visitors can once again take advantage of the discounted DPO festival ticket. In 2022, 4,700 people purchased the festival ticket. This was a 50% increase compared to 2019. You can find out more about the festival ticket here.
In cooperation with our traditional partner Heimstaden, we are once again implementing the very popular We Take You Home project, in which our buses can transport up to 9,300 visitors. We've gone to the trouble of crunching the numbers and have some interesting information for you. The difference between the car transport and our public transport for the We Take You Home project alone is almost 15 tonnes of CO2! And that's not nothing. Tickets are already on sale here.
In cooperation with our partner Czech Railways, the Colours Express will be running again this year from Prague to Ostrava and back. You can book your seat now here.
The P+R parking system in Ostrava is available for festival visitors. For holders of the DPO Festival Ticket, P+R parking is available for only CZK 1 per day.
Public transportation from abroad
In cooperation with the carrier Slovak Lines, we bring our Slovak fans from 10 Slovak cities directly to the festival gates and back home after the festival. Tickets are available on the website here or on the Slovak Lines app.
Shared bikes
In cooperation with our partner Nextbike, we offer festival visitors a free 30-minute ride and the possibility to use two stations near the festival grounds. A temporary station LÁVKA across the Ostravice River is set up during the festival. The other station DOV/Hlubina is located next to the main gate to the festival grounds.
Colours without barriers
Colours without Barriers is a project founded in 2011 which enables all visitors with physical disadvantages to enjoy the festival to the fullest. Each year, approximately 1,000 people with visual, hearing and physical disabilities, including people with autism spectrum disorder, visit the festival. More information about the project can be found here.
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Make your grandma dance
This social project inspired by real life events is entirely directed by Colours of Ostrava team. We bring local dulcimer music to retirement homes and provide them with the pleasure of music, dance and singing in their home environment. The first meeting of seniors with dulcimer music and home-baked cakes took place in March 2020. The project is a travelling one, so seniors in retirement homes in Ostrava but also in the surrounding area can take part in it.
Colours of Ostrava across generations
The festival wants to be accessible to everyone regardless of age. ČEZ Family Park is for our youngest fans. There they can find lots of games, fun and excitement. If you want to learn more about its programme, take a look here.
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However, we also think about our oldest fans. We therefore decided that seniors will get free entry to the festival all day Saturday. At the same time, active seniors have joined the ranks of our temporary workers on the grounds.
SACHAWA Forest Nursery and School
Meltingpot, together with Colours of Ostrava, promotes indigenous and natural wisdom. This year we present the organisation Living the Older Life and its project, which was created to support the rainforest school and nursery at the Amazon. After working closely with Agustin Allpa Grefa for three years, Meltingpot has chosen to dedicate itself to supporting the indigenous culture of the "Kichua" tribe in the Ruku Samay region of the Ecuadorian Amazon, which is on the verge of extinction. More information about the project and the opportunity to contribute can be found here.
Non-profit organisations
At Colours of Ostrava, we are giving space to almost a dozen of non-profit organizations of different focuses to reach out to festival visitors and inform them about their missions. The festival supports their activities at the event by granting them above-standard conditions for their sales.
Festival in the Streets
You may not know it, but Colours of Ostrava is also behind the birth of the city's unique Festival in the Streets. Over two days, we bring a plethora of musicians, dancers, and live culture to the streets of Ostrava-Poruba for free. The festival offer includes a design zone of Czech artists, a children's fair, workshops, and sports activities. For more information, see here.
Czech Music Crossroads
Presenting musical talents from the Czech Republic and abroad to music producers, that's Czech Music Crossroads. For almost 10 years, we have been bringing together Czech and international musicians and music industry professionals during the Czech Music Crossroads showcase festival. We give you the opportunity to discover unexplored corners of the music industry and expand your musical horizons. Find out more here.
Job opportunities
Each year the festival provides work for several thousand temporary workers and volunteers. This year we have seen a huge interest from the public, which is very much appreciated. Thank you very much for all your hard work, without you Colours of Ostrava would not be what it is.
Energy
In the coming years, Colours of Ostrava will work hard towards developing its electromobility. The aim is to use greater proportion of electric cars for transporting bands and guests as well as providing other logistics. Another step is the gradual introduction and expansion of hydrogen technology to reduce dependence on electricity. This year, our pilot project is the use of a hydrogen generator for a sales stall offering festival merchandising.