Few things can spoil the urban landscape like improperly placed advertisements. This is especially valid for a historical city like Prague, whose beauty has few rivals in Europe.
New adverts have to be in accordance with the “Manual for a Cultivated Prague“.
The document, which stresses that “Prague is not Disneyland”, also offers guidance on how to obtain the required advertising permits, navigate the approval process and access a consultation.
Entrepreneurs will be able to ask for financial assistance from 15-19 July, September 2021. The subsidy will be paid for the already present advertising signs within the following year.
“Money can be used for work relating to graphic design, creation, and installation. This can include for example a signboard, a company sign, display cases, menu, and boards or changes to the shop windows,” describes Prague spokesman Vit Hofman.
The guide covers the acceptable sizes, materials and positioning of shop advertisements and highlights both good and poor examples. For example, the city urges businesses not to cover shop windows with photographs or stickers.
“The center of Prague is advertising for the entire country, but for a long time, it hasn’t been a particularly attractive sight. Flashy advertising, the legendary plastic of trdelnik, mass-produced signboards which you are equally likely to find in a historic alley and a housing estate… We are trying to gradually do something about it – and one puzzle piece in this plan is also a grant program. We want to support entrepreneurs that want to have tasteful and high-quality advertising for their establishments,” says Prague council Hana Třeštíková (Praha sobě).
Entrepreneurs will get grants for work that began and was completed between September 1 2020 and September 29, 2021. The subsidy will cover up to 70% of the costs, with a maximum of CZK 200,000 in total.
The expected overall amount of funds allocated in the budget towards financing this program is CZK 5 million. The applicant can be an occupant of a building in which they are the owner, renter, or lessee.
“Our goal is for public spaces to have the highest quality possible. On a walk through the center, both locals and tourists often feel like they’re in Disneyland. Unfortunately, the state legislature doesn’t allow Prague to regulate visual smog very effectively, so we’re betting on positive motivation. I believe that a contribution to a new look for establishments is particularly suitable as help after the covid crisis,” added Třeštíková.
