On Thursday, May 14, writers, diplomats, cultural figures, politicians, and long-time friends of the Prague Writers’ Festival gathered in the historic premises of the Residence of the Mayor of Prague in Platnéřská Street for a special evening of remembrance and tribute. The event was dedicated to the festival’s founder, Michael March, who passed away last year and would have turned 80 this year.

At the beginning of the event, Prague Mayor Bohuslav Svoboda delivered an honorary speech, emphasizing the extraordinary cultural importance of the Prague Writers’ Festival for Prague and Europe as a whole. He recalled how Michael March contributed for decades to re-establishing Prague as an international capital of intellectual and cultural dialogue.

Among the distinguished guests were Michael March’s widow, Mrs. Vlasta March, Hanane Saadi, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, Czech Prime Minister’s Security Advisor Hynek Kmoníček, as well as numerous representatives from politics, culture, and diplomacy, together with many long-time companions and friends of the late festival founder.

Since the early 1990s, the Prague Writers’ Festival has been one of the most important international literary and cultural events in Central Europe. Following the fall of communism, the festival emerged as a symbol of newly regained intellectual freedom and open dialogue between East and West. Michael March, originally from the United States, made Prague his spiritual home and created through the festival a platform where Nobel Prize winners, dissidents, philosophers, writers, and intellectuals from around the world could meet.

Over the years, many world-renowned authors and thinkers participated in the festival. It was never solely about literature, but also about freedom, democracy, identity, history, and the role of culture in a changing world. Prague, with its rich literary tradition from Franz Kafka to Václav Havel, provided the ideal setting for such discussions.

During the evening, several speakers reflected on the personality and life’s work of Michael March. Many described him not merely as a festival organizer, but as a cultural visionary and bridge-builder between nations and political systems. It was repeatedly emphasized that he believed literature and culture could unite people and overcome social and political divisions.

Musical performances between the speeches created a festive and emotional atmosphere. The historic representative halls of the Mayor’s Residence gave the evening a dignified and almost timeless character.

At the conclusion of the evening, the City of Prague invited the guests to a reception in the residence, where diplomats, cultural personalities, and long-time companions exchanged personal memories of Michael March and honored his cultural legacy.

The evening made it clear that although Michael March, one of the defining personalities of the international cultural scene, is no longer with us, the intellectual legacy of the Prague Writers’ Festival continues to live on — as a symbol of dialogue, cultural openness, and Prague’s international role as a city of literature and free thought.