The statue of David Černý in front of the Czech House in Paris has been unveiled. It will return to Prague after the Olympics

The statue "Vera", which has been standing in front of the Czech House in Paris since Thursday, was officially unveiled during the opening ceremony. The artist David Černý came to inspect it. The statue, created in honour of the seven-time Olympic champion, is currently one of the most striking artistic elements of the La Villette park in Paris. After the Olympic Games, the statue will return to Prague.

"Vera and I have known each other since the 1990s and we worked together on Karel Schwarzenberg's presidential campaign. It was her who initiated the idea that a statue should be created in Tokyo for the Olympic Games, which would remain there forever after the Games. She herself wrote a letter to the Japanese emperor," David Černý described the original version of his artwork. "Then, unfortunately, she fell ill and died. And we agreed with the Czech Olympic Committee president Jiří Kejval that we would change the concept of the statue and make it in honour of Věra Čáslavská. However, our plans to place the statue in Tokyo were ruined by the covid pandemic, that influenced also the Olympics with many restrictions. So we decided to bring it to Paris," he added. This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the first gold medal won by the most famous Czech gymnast.

The statue will return to Prague after the Olympics

"Vera was a wonderful person. A great athlete, but most of all a wonderful person, who was a pleasure to spend time with, because she transferred her enthusiasm to everyone. She loved sports and cheered on all the athletes. That is why we want to remember her again - to our fans and to the whole world," said Jiří Kejval, President of the Czech Olympic Committee. Every now and then tourists stop in front of the statue and read with interest the plaque that represents the statue. The production was financed by the Rockaway investment group. After the Olympics, the statue will stand in Prague's Kampa street, not far from the Tyrš House, where the Czech Sokol community is based. "Věra also trained in many Sokol halls during her youth. I am glad that we have agreed with the Czech Sokol Association to have it there," Černý said.

She loved sports and cheered on all the athletes. That is why we want to remember her again - to our fans and to the whole world

The statue is made of stainless steel, weighs 7.5 tonnes and reaches a height of over 9 metres. It consists of three gymnastic figures in the colours of the national tricolour. The individual parts traveled from the Czech Republic to Paris in three trucks, and a team of technicians spent a week on site building and fine-tuning it down to the last details. "The movement of the sculpture uses the principle of the gimbal hinge, where the central part is free to rotate in all three axes of the Cartesian system. It is a beautiful mechanical play, in its own way as graceful as the figures Vera was able to conjure with her body," described David Černý.

David Černý's collaboration with the Czech Olympic Committee in the context of art in the Czech House has been going on since 2012, when the Doublecker doing push ups welcomed visitors during the Olympic Games in London. This was followed by the installation Zátopek's Feet, which in 2016 connected the Rio Olympics with fans in Prague and the Olympic Park in Lipno.