No Room to Breathe at Lake Most: Electronic Music Festival Draws Thousands Amid 40-Degree Heat

The town of Most is hosting one of the world's largest electronic music festivals. According to organisers, this marks the seventeenth edition of the event, and the second year running that it has taken place on the shores of Lake Most, following its relocation from the Milovice site.

On Friday afternoon, several hundred festival-goers gathered on the beach by the lake, seeking relief from temperatures that climbed to nearly 40 degrees Celsius by cooling off in the water. "It's great here, brilliant atmosphere. There's no comparison with Milovice," said Petr Beran from Prague, a regular at the festival.

The biggest crowds gathered around one of the stages set up right on the lake's pier, where people danced to electronic beats on the pier itself, in the water, and on the shore. Organisers estimate that around half of the festival's guests travelled from abroad — alongside Czech, English, German and Slovak could all be heard among the crowd.

Not all local residents of Most, however, share the visitors' enthusiasm. "It's usually crowded here anyway, but now you sometimes can't move at all. It's crazy how many people there are. On top of that, some of the young people are pretty tactless," said local resident Daniel Šonka, who had come to the lake with his large family. Still, he admitted he enjoys the music and isn't really complaining, even though the genre isn't quite his taste.

Most locals took the loud music in stride, though some noted that a number of festival-goers appeared to be under the influence of alcohol or other substances — the smell of marijuana was noticeable at nearly every turn.

While the lakeside was packed, the fenced-off festival grounds were still gearing up for the evening and nighttime peak of the programme: dozens of people danced under the covered stages, while others sheltered from the sun in huge tents.

The extreme weather caused headaches for the organisers themselves later that evening — the heat gave way to heavy rain, forcing a temporary halt to the programme. Performances resumed less than an hour later, however, and thousands of guests were able to dance to their favourite music until dawn.

Compared with last year, organisers have improved the entry system for guests — there are no longer queues at the gates. The main stage has been turned to face away from the town to reduce noise for local residents, and a coordinator now works around the festival grounds, measuring noise levels and handling complaints from residents.

Due to the intense heat, organisers also increased the number of points selling 1.5 litres of drinking water for 20 crowns, and set up a free water refill station in the rest area. As an exception, guests were also allowed to bring in one large bottle of water each.

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Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz