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This year is very important to Ostrava - in autumn, it will be the three quarters of a millennium anniversary of the first written mention of the city contained in the last will of Olomouc Bishop Bruno. So despite the fact that the site has been inhabited since prehistoric times, the date 29 November 1267 is considered the symbolic day of the founding of Ostrava.

For the past two decades, Ostrava had been an annual participant at MIPIM, the prestigious global real estate and investment event held in the French city of Cannes. This year, for the first time ever, the city appeared alongside Prague and Brno as part of the joint ‘Czech Cities’ presentation.

Ostrava has hosted many top international sporting events over the years, and in January 2017 it will add another to the list – the European Figure Skating Championships.

Ostrava is a modern hub for shared business services – and the third most popular destination for investors in the Czech Republic. That was the key message presented by Ostrava’s Mayor Tomáš Macura at the ‘Business Services in Ostrava’ meeting held on 23 November at the Nová Karolina Park office complex.

Professional jury together with the public has chosen the best building of the year 2016. From 65 registred projects the most votes received the completion of the Municipal Stadium in Ostrava-Vítkovice. This victory completes Ostrava successful story as last year other two projects - Bolt Tower construction and renovation of buildings in the area of Hlubina Mine in Lower Vítkovice were awarded.

The City of Ostrava attended Expo Real for already the 15^th year in a row. The exhibition stand and program was organized in partnership with Asental, Multi Czech Republic, PRK Partners, CASUA and UBM Bohemia Development. Thanks to the traditional as well as to new co-exhibiting partners the investors obtained an overall view of the entire region and investment opportunities in the area.

This year’s annual investment event EXPO REAL in Munich takes place on 4–6 October. The City of Ostrava is a regular participant at EXPO REAL, and this year is no exception. Ostrava will be represented by the Mayor Tomáš Macura, heading a delegation of the City’s investment specialists. 

In June 2016 the international rating agency Moody’s re-confirmed the City of Ostrava’s existing A2 rating, but raised the City’s outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘positive’.

On 7 and 8 April 2016 Ostrava’s New City Hall hosted a conference entitled “Smart Cities: The Path to Sustainable Urban Development”, featuring delegates from the Visegrad Four (V4) grouping of Central European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia). The conference included an expert round table discussion. The City of Ostrava issued a Joint Declaration on smart city development alongside the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Town of Třinec.

OSTRAVA TO PRESENT AT MIPIM ITS GREAT POTENTIAL FOR A VARIETY OF INVESTMENT ACTIVITIES. Ostrava´s joint exhibition will be organized in partnership with Arch.Design, CTP, Multi Czech Republic, P3 Logistic Parks, PRK Partners, Red Group, Veolia Energie ČR and also with Association for Foreign Investment (AFI).

A panel of independent experts has named Ostrava as one of the top ten most attractive mid-sized cities in Europe for foreign direct investment. The European Cities and Regions of the Future 2016/2017 rankings were published by the British fDi Magazine on 15 February.

The City of Ostrava is now launching the preparations for its new Strategic Plan covering the period 2017–2023, which will also outline the city's key goals for the following two decades. We have decided to take a different approach than in the past, because we are keen to involve Ostrava's citizens directly in the strategic planning process.

In recent years the Czech Republic has experienced a boom in shared services centres (SSCs). These centres represent an ideal option for modern, dynamic companies seeking to achieve cost savings and improve process efficiency. The core area for SSCs at present is IT, though they also provide accountancy, legal and human resources services.

Ostrava's presentation at this year's EXPO REAL in Munich will be the fourteenth time the City has showcased its investment potential at this prestigious event. This year Ostrava will be appearing jointly alongside its partner the Moravian-Silesian Region – enabling investors to gain a complete overview of the full range of investment opportunities available in Ostrava and the Region as a whole.

On Thursday 24 September the Mayor of Ostrava Tomáš Macura met with representatives of three key investors – the Passerinvest Group, ABB Czech Republic and AXA Assistance – at the Nová Karolina Park office complex.

A brand-new development and production centre has recently been opened on Ostrava's Výstavní Street by the Danish company Struers, previously based at the Science and Technology Park in Ostrava-Poruba. The company's 50 employees in Ostrava have all relocated to the new site, and the company plans to recruit a further 30 staff in the upcoming period.

Jobs will be created for up to 140 specialists in the area of IT, including skilled professionals and entry-level workers. CGI IT Czech Republic s.r.o., which is involved in consulting and services in the ICT area, is expanding its activities in the Czech Republic.

After a gap of 11 years, the Czech Republic is once again proud to host the Ice Hockey World Championship. The 79th championship will take place from 1 May to 17 May in two host cities – Prague and Ostrava. All venues and facilities for players, fans and other participants meet the highly demanding requirements set by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF).

On Thursday, 11 December 2014, Ostrava welcomed South Korean filmmakers who came to our region to gather material for a documentary. The documentary, which is to be broadcast at the beginning of next year on KBS, the Korean state television, focuses on successful South Korean companies with operations in foreign markets.

On Monday, 8 December 2014, the last-year students of the Industrial Secondary School and Secondary School of Technology and Transport took a guided tour of the plant of Hyundai Motor Manufacturing Czech s.r.o. (HMMC) and the company's logistic centre. This visit was facilitated by the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) in cooperation with the Department of Economic Development of the Ostrava City Authority.