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The 20th NATO Days in Ostrava will celebrate anniversaries and thank those who protect us

This year's jubilee NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days, despite the COVID-19 epidemic, will take place at the Leoš Janáček Ostrava Airport on September 19-20, 2020. It will be exceptional in its idea, which is to thank the members of the Integrated Rescue System (IRS) and security forces, who were heavily involved in managing the coronavirus crisis. As part of the programme, we will also commemorate two significant anniversaries, 75 years since the end of World War II and 15 years of service of JAS-39 Gripen aircraft in the Czech Air Force.

As a result of the pandemic of a new type of coronavirus, almost 80% of airshows across Europe have been cancelled or postponed. The NATO Days in Ostrava & the Czech Air Force Days thus remain one of only few events in Europe and the only one in Central Europe, which will take place in its original date with a live program that can be watched live on Czech Television and the Internet.

"Unfortunately, the epidemiological situation and the measures taken against the spread of coronavirus in the Czech Republic do not allow us to organize NATO Days in their traditional form," says Zbyněk Pavlačík, Chairman of Jagello 2000 and main organizer of NATO Days in Ostrava. "Other airshows, including the biggest ones such as Air Tattoo, Sanicole or SIAF, have been cancelled for this year or are taking place in a so-called virtual format without live demonstrations."

The weekend program will also include an award ceremony with the subtitle "Thank you to those who protect us", where a thousand of members of the IRS and security forces will be awarded. The ceremony will be attended by the highest representatives of the Government of the Czech Republic. On Saturday, 500 members of the Czech Army, the Czech Prison Service, the Czech Customs Administration and the Ostrava Municipal Police will be awarded. In addition, 500 members of the Czech Police, the Czech Fire and Rescue Service, hygienic stations and the medical rescue service which have significantly contributed to the handling of the coronavirus crisis, will be awarded on Sunday .

All traditional Czech participants, which are already preparing attractive ground and flight demonstrations, have confirmed their attendance at the event. Despite the current measures, we also count with the participation of foreign air forces, which in most of the cases will not operate from the Mosnov Airport. We, therefore, negotiate with them displays on a so-called one-day basis.

As a result, for the first time at our event, the Saturday and Sunday program will be intentionally different. It will offer about eight hours of demonstrations over the weekend, none of which, unlike other events, will be screened from the recording, and it will also include several attractive premiers. This year it will be worth watching the largest security event in Europe.

As usual, the live stream from the NATO Days programme will be broadcasted by Czech Television, the iDnes portal, and it will be possible to watch it on our social media. Compared to previous years, due to the change in the format of the event, the technical preparation of the live broadcast will be significantly improved. For the first time, the Wave Relay technology provided by Pramacom Prague will be used at this type of event to provide viewers with the best possible experience.

Not only the venue itself will be closed to visitors, but for security reasons, as in previous years, there will be a ban on entering the properties of the Moravian-Silesian Region nearby the Mošnov Airport. Furthermore, the access roads between Nová Horka, Petřvald and Košatka will be closed, as a result of which it will not be possible to enter Petřvaldík. Therefore, we do not recommend planning to watch the airshow in the proximity of the event area.

The General Partner of NATO Days in Ostrava & Czech Air Force Days is the company