Czech Olympic House opens in London

President Václav Klaus has opened the Czech House in London’s Islington neighbourhood, which will serve as the country’s public hub for the Olympic Games. The large hall has space for 5,000 people and will be a meeting place for athletes and fans, sponsors and journalists. Concerts will also be held there, as will ceremonies for victorious Czech athletes. Czech Television has an open studio in the house, from which it will be broadcasting throughout the Olympics. A mechanical statue of a double-decker bus doing push-ups, the work of Czech artist David Černý, has reportedly drawn large numbers of passerby into the building.