Light garlands will disappear from the center of Brno due to malfunctions, the city will get the money back

Brno - The light garlands, which have been hanging in several streets in the center of Brno since the fall of 2022, have not functioned properly even after two years. The design studio Visualove has agreed with the city to terminate the contract, will dismantle the garlands at its own expense, and will return the money that Brno paid for the decorations. The Brno City Hall informed about this in a press release. The contracting authority was the municipal company Technické sítě Brno (TS Brno).

"We have a track record of dozens of successful projects, including the Planet Festival and the Brno Christmas Star. Unfortunately, we were disappointed by the subcontractor for the garlands, who promised their durability even in much worse weather than is common in Brno, which they did not deliver. Therefore, we decided, in accordance with the contract, to offer the city and Technické sítě a solution, namely a refund and the uninstallation of the garlands," said Jan Machát from the Visualove studio.

Brno announced a competition for new decorative lighting in the city center in 2020, with results known two years later. The Visualove studio won with garlands made of vertical sticks that shine in red and white, the colors of the Brno city emblem. For the new lighting, the city provided Technické sítě Brno with a grant of 5.5 million koruna, which was meant to cover half a million for securing the competition, while the rest was paid by TS Brno to the contracting studio.

The contractor will begin removing the garlands on Monday, October 28. TS Brno will ensure the decorations for this year's Advent. "In cooperation with TIC BRNO, we examined possible technical solutions to the current situation for this year's Advent, and we suggested to the city management to place structures with simple white and red filling between the supporting cables where the garlands are currently attached. We anticipate costs amounting to 300,000 koruna," said Pavel Rouček, the general director of the municipal company.

The festive lighting of the streets in the center of Brno has been operational since 1959. Over the years, it has been repaired several times, even at the cost of losing its original character. The last major renovation took place 17 years ago. The existing garlands were launched on November 17, 2022, on the streets of Kobližná, Běhounská, Česká, Masarykova, and Středova.