Footfest 2026: A Record-Breaking Edition Tested Fans with Rain and Rewarded Them with Great Music

July had moved into its second half, which for people in South Bohemia and not only them could mean only one thing: another edition of the Footfest festival in Želeč near Tábor. The festival has a long-standing tradition. It originally began as a five-a-side football tournament accompanied by an increasingly diverse music programme. We are taking a look at it from the musical perspective.

The festival took place on Friday and Saturday, 17–18 July. This year's eighteenth edition was its biggest to date, drawing fans from all over the Czech Republic. A record 44 acts performed across four stages: the main Aston Stage, the secondary Mastercard Stage, the tented Vision Stage and the DJ-focused Pandaland K#rwa Stage.

Mud baths, adrenaline and a family-friendly vibe

Unfortunately, the weather was not particularly kind to us on Friday. Heavy rain began as the event opened and continued in showers of varying intensity until the evening. It eventually eased, but the mud baths were guaranteed for the rest of the festival.

In addition to the four stages, the site featured numerous stalls where visitors could buy food and drinks as well as beads, humorous balloons and funny hats, or have their hair braided and get a temporary spray-on tattoo. Alongside the Ferris wheel, which has become almost standard at festivals, there was also a more adrenaline-fuelled attraction for the brave: the Booster ride. Younger fans could enjoy the bouncy castles next to the Mastercard Stage.

Pokáč took to the main stage in the afternoon, attracting fans from several generations. He performed many of his songs inspired by everyday life, including Rodinný typ, Prázdniny u babičky, Kočka and Rád chodím na poštu. He also read several poems from the children's book he wrote, each intended to teach young readers a lesson. It was an ideal opening for the "family-friendly" festival Footfest presents itself as.

Rap, trauma party and Bomby

We then moved to the neighbouring stage, where rapper Renne Dang began his set. A large crowd of mostly teenage girls, and surprisingly quite a few boys as well, had already gathered in front of the stage. Renne was grateful for the opportunity to perform here, particularly because his backing band comes from South Bohemia. He played tracks from his current album trauma party, including v cizí posteli and dealer, as well as older material such as nevěřím v letní lásky.

Immediately afterwards, most of those younger fans, along with many more, crowded around the main stage and waited for Ben Cristovao to launch into Bomby or Sweet Chilli, the song with which he opened the show. Or rather, the fans opened it for him with their singing. Some looked perfectly happy to sing the entire set themselves, provided they could keep smiling at the man who wrote the songs. The line "my baby, I can't do it without you", from the hit Ledová, echoed across the grounds in thousands of voices. During Ben's concert, Renne Dang appeared in an improvised tent at the side, where he willingly posed for photographs and signed a wide range of items for fans.

Rain, Dynamit, band commandments and Sůvy v mazutu

It was then time for something aimed at the older fans, as veteran rockers Olympic took over the stage after Ben. They brought songs including Osmý den, Dynamit and Želva. Heavy rain returned during their set, but the tough rock audience clearly was not made of sugar. They pulled on their raincoats and carried on.

Singer-songwriter Pekař, who did not have far to travel from České Budějovice, was preparing on the neighbouring stage. This time the band performed as a trio without bassist Roman Pospíšil, as they appear to have been doing since the beginning of this year. Even so, his absence was not noticeable in the sound. Their original entrance intro is a customised, musical version of the Ten Commandments, although it does not actually contain ten points, with rules such as "Thou shalt not fornicate at every concert" and "Thou shalt not vomit in the band van." During the second song, Vrcholky a pády, they joked that they hoped the stage would hold together better this year, as last year it blew away immediately after their second song. Spoiler: it survived. So did Ikaros, Hrdou and Boha.

After Pekař came Homosexuál, Aida and Sůvy v mazutu, delivered by none other than Tři sestry, led by Fanánek. The band was bursting with energy and sent it straight into the crowd. The rockers danced, jumped, spilled more than just beer and enjoyed the band's irresistibly catchy lyrics.

Pink suits, power cuts, Friday Svařák and Stánky

We also stopped briefly to see Prague ska-reggae band Fast Food Orchestra. The group always pays close attention to perfectly coordinated costumes and currently performs in pink suits, probably continuing the visual theme of its spring Vidíme to růžově tour. We heard songs such as Jízdní řád and the new track Správnej směr.

At the same time as Fast Food Orchestra, Mladá Boleslav band Wotazník performed beneath the Vision Stage tent on the opposite side of the grounds. Around halfway through their set, they encountered an unpleasant technical problem. Apparently because of the rain, wind or another fault, the tent lost power. Fortunately, the musicians responded with pure improvisation. While the electricity was being restored, they sang Svařák, Stánky and Kozel with the fans. The audience then carried the singer away from the stage like a major star. In the meantime, the technical issue was resolved and the band was able to finish (its slightly shortened set).

The final act on the main stage for us was the rock staple Harlej, which simply could not be missing from the line-up. Although the rain returned from time to time and our bodies were exhausted, nothing stopped the fans from jumping and singing along to hits such as Zfetovanej, Svařák, Pověste ho vejš, Kapitán Morgan, Zrzi zrzi and Přirození. It felt like the perfect ending to the first day.

The sun returns, thrash and parody

Saturday's music programme began shortly after noon in a much better mood and, most importantly, in sunshine. The mud baths remained across the grounds, but the organisers had prepared (for this possibility), albeit perhaps on a smaller scale than necessary, and covered the busiest paths with wood chips.

We began the day in a slightly less family-friendly way, with the thrash-metal sound of Mladá Boleslav band Debustrol. The sun was blazing, and visitors recharged with fresh energy sang along, while families stood around deciding which food would provide the best start to another festival day.

They were followed by Brno rock-metal band Morčata na útěku. As usual, the musicians walked onto the stage wearing cloaks and carrying toilet brushes. Every generation, both directly in front of the stage and far beyond it, sang Bych blil, Kakala and other assorted sh*t, while the legendary Twajlajt provided the finale.

New blood, Noc v opeře and a local Léto

Prague rock band #Černá were meanwhile getting ready on the Mastercard Stage. They performed with their new singer, Honza Tláskal, who has replaced Feri, František Ciml, after the vocalist left the band last year following many years together. The fans accepted the change fairly well, singing lyrics from songs such as Bojuj nebo uteč and Zastavil se čas along with the band.

Paintings, armchairs and theatrical spectacle were already visible while Moravian alternative metallers Panoptiko were setting up. Their shows combine melodic metal with theatricality and extravagance, with great attention paid to suits, masks and other props. Footfest was no exception. After Rammstein's Mein Herz brennt intro, they brought Noc v opeře, Mozartovy kule and Gilotina to the stage.

We then stopped beneath the Vision tent for an energetic concert by Milevsko rockers FuskyDus. The group is made up of friends, with their charismatic female singer providing a striking contrast within the line-up. As they are essentially a local band, this was certainly not their first Footfest appearance, and it was clear that they have built a sizeable fan base here. They played Léto as well as the older song Kostřička.

Scházíš mi bejby, Horizont změny and the Footfest Contest

Láďa Křížek and his heavy-metal band Kreyson meanwhile appeared on the main stage. The band no longer performs very often, so visitors were curious to discover what they could expect. Yet despite the singer having spent more than forty years on the music scene, neither his rocker's heart nor his energy has faded. Even though his microphone occasionally cut out, the entire festival grounds still sang Scházíš mi bejby and Vzdálená with him.

We briefly went to see Arzzen, a heavy-metal band from near Pilsen. They are completely at home on stage, and their fans know how to turn the pit into a proper party. The band also performed the brand-new Neděje se nic, which will appear on an upcoming EP, as well as Horizont změny from the album of the same name.

At the same time, rock band Horizont from Luhačovice were playing on the opposite side of the grounds. Along with several other acts, they earned their place at the festival through the Footfest Contest, a competition organised directly by the festival to support emerging bands. They delivered an energetic show that visitors will not forget in a hurry.

Eldorádo, masks and Adieu

Walda Gang then took over the main stage. The rock band focuses on cover versions of Czech and international songs. They rushed onto the stage with Čert ví, kdy kotvy zvednem and immediately captured the attention of the entire festival. Familiar favourites included Pověste ho vejš, Eldorádo and Lásko má, já stůňu, which the audience practically sang by itself. Energy and voices surged through the pit, and the finale featured Walda style and Je tu léto.

Walda Gang left the stage and the crowd in the pit became extremely dense, with everyone waiting impatiently for the evening's climax. That honour belonged to masked metal band Dymytry, fronted by Vašek Noid Bárta. Anyone who did not know what the crowd was waiting for only had to look at the curtain in front of the stage. These masked musicians are iconic and impossible to overlook. The band had apparently booked a double-header and arrived directly from Rock in Kačina.

The curtain dropped and the musicians appeared to have even more energy than usual, evidently fuelled by their previous concert. The heat became intense from the opening notes of Chernobyl, helped not only by the jumping crowd but also by the band's characteristic flames. The set included Revolter, V dobrým i zlým and S nadějí, while Miloš Meier delivered a drum solo halfway through. The band continued with songs including Žít svůj sen with piano, Ocelová parta, during which the entire pit began marching as one, and Adieu, when Noid climbed down into the audience to shake hands with the fans.

Finding the parents and one last party

After the set, Noid returned to the stage with a small lost boy and asked his parents to come and collect him, adding that the two of them would have a non-alcoholic beer in the catering area in the meantime. We trust that he was reunited with his parents and that everything ended well.

Anyone who still had not heard enough punk could jump around to the final band of the evening, the full-force punk attack of Příbram's E!E. They gave the fans no chance to catch their breath, and everyone found a second wind before eventually collapsing into sleeping bags or car seats.

In conclusion…

Although there were a few minor organisational details that could be improved in future years, such as greater (preparation for heavy rain), Footfest confirmed its status as one of South Bohemia's most prominent summer festivals. This record-breaking edition overcame the unpredictable weather and offered two days packed with music across a broad range of genres. Thank you for giving us the opportunity to be part of this long-standing event.

Šári