Good evening. Here is the Wednesday, November 20 edition of Today in Slovakia - the main news of the day in less than five minutes.
Thousands of euros for new version of anthem
Culture Minister Martina Šimkovičová (SNS nominee). (source: TASR)
Earlier this week, the Culture Ministry published the contract the result of which will be a new musical arrangement for the Slovak national anthem, reports the Aktuality news site. The original melody and text will remain intact.
The ministry will pay €45,600 for the arrangement, created by well-known composer Oskar Rózsa. However, the news site reports that the actual amount of money could be higher as the sum does not contain pay for participating musicians and singers. Rózsa himself will earn €20,000 while the rest will cover the production.
Recording took place a month ago, the final version will be presented to the public on January 1, 2025.
"The new arrangement of the anthem will be more symphonic, monumental and imaginative," explained the ministry spokeswoman Petra Bačinská, adding that the goal is to reach the younger generation.
The ministry will pay €46,500 for the entire project. Rózsa will receive €20,000 of this as an author's fee for creating the work. The rest is to cover the creation of the audio recording.
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FEATURE STORY
Greatness from small beginnings
The IWCB's Charity Christmas Bazaar. (source: SME)
When the International Women’s Club of Bratislava was launched in the early 1990s, charity was something completely new in Slovakia, while the fact that it arrived from the West made it somehow fancy. Since its establishment, the IWCB has raised over €1.3 million via its Christmas bazaar. The 30th charity event will be held this Sunday.
EVENT FOR THE NEXT FEW DAYS
The courage to live your life
The Kino Lumiere cinema. (source: TASR)
Taking place between November 20-26, the 18th edition of the Slovak Queer Film Festival bring more than 30 feature and 30 short movies focusing on the lives of LGBT+ people. Most of them will be screened in the Kino Lumiere cinema in Bratislava. In addition to screenings, the accompanying programme features discussions, workshops and talks centred around the topic of courage, which, according to the organisers, LGBT+ people need to live their daily lives. Find out more here.
IN OTHER NEWS
Two international organisations expressed concerns at recent culling of brown bears in Slovakia. Large Carnivore Initiative for Europe (LCIE) and the International Association for Bear Research and Management (IBA) sent a letter to the Slovak Environment Ministry and the European Commission. Both organisations know of recent bear attacks and acknowledge that lethal control might be justified under certain circumstances, but it is their opinion that recent bear management policies and actions in Slovakia have not met these criteria. According to an early October report, 71 bears had been shot by then. The organisations offer Slovakia their expertise in dealing with the issue. (SITA, LCIE)
The controversial street in the village of Varín, Žilina Region, named after Jozef Tiso, president of the inter-war Slovak state, will be renamed. Tiso is responsible for tens of thousands of Slovak Jews being sent to their deaths during WWII. In June, a court confirmed that the name breaks the law. In December, councillors will vote on the name, and on January 1 it will be officially renamed. (TASR)
The government approved that the electricity price for households will remain unchanged at €61 per megawatthour next year. (TASR)
Justice Minister Boris Susko (Smer) conceded that setting up a press agenda court specialisation is being considered. He denied that such a motion will be used to bully media or that media would face a deluge of lawsuits as a result. According to Susko, everything is being done to make courts more accessible. (TASR)
With a profit of almost €160 million, Lidl became the most profitable retail chain in Slovakia last year, again maintaining its position in the list according to FinStat. Its sales reached €2.09 billion, a 10 percent increase year-on-year. The second most profitable chain was Kaufland, whose profit rose to more than €93 million, followed by Tesco with more than €82 million. (TASR, FinStat)
Physicist Martin Venhart was elected the new chair of the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV) and will hold the post from 2025 to 2029. He is going to replace the current chair Pavel Šajgalík, who chose not to run for re-election. In addition to Venhart, only one other candidate ran. Click here to read an older interview with Martin Venhart focusing on science in Slovakia. (SAV)
A Barbary macaque youngling on a picture from early November. The animal was born in August in the Košice Zoo. It is not known whether it is male or female as it constantly holding to their mother's back. In Europe, the Barbary macaque is a threatened species, which prompted the zoo to take part in a preservation programme. (source: TASR)
WEATHER FOR THURSDAY: Overcast skies, occasional snowing expected as level 1 snow warning was issued for the entire country. Daily temperatures will rise to between -2 °C to 6 °C. In addition, level 1 ground ice warning was issued for the country with the exception of the western-most and southwestern-most districts, and level 1 wind warning was issued for the Low Tatras and High Tatras ranges. (SHMÚ)
NOVEMBER 21 NAME DAY IN SLOVAKIA: Elvíra
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