Questions, answered

Three days of bachata in Prague, and a very good time. Workshops with international artists, a social party every night, and the Jack & Jill competition that sends its winners to the Bachata Social World Cup finals in Geneva.

26 to 28 February 2027, at Hotel Olympik Artemis. We would love to have you there.

Friday 26, Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February 2027. The welcome party is on the Friday evening and the last social runs happily into the early hours of Monday.

The hour-by-hour timetable goes up on the Program page as each room and artist is confirmed. Book your travel around the three days and you cannot go wrong.

Hotel Olympik Artemis, U Sluncové 14, Prague 8.

Have a look at the venue and where each room sits: Venue.

English, all the way through. Workshops are taught in English and the whole team at the desk speaks English and Czech.

You do not need a word of Czech to have a brilliant weekend here, and most of the room is in the same boat.

Yes. Your QR pass is scanned once when you arrive and you get a wristband, and that wristband is your entry to every room for the rest of the weekend. Without a wristband nobody can enter the venue.

Our wristbands are high quality and very difficult to break, so keep it on all weekend. If it does break, bring the broken wristband to the desk and we will give you a new one. Without the old wristband we cannot give you a new one.

Almost certainly, and we hope you like the pictures. The festival is photographed and filmed throughout, and by coming in you accept that you may appear in that material and that we may use it to show people what this weekend is like.

Two things we will never do: sell your image to someone else for their advertising, or publish a picture that puts you in a bad light. If you would rather not be in a particular shot, just say so to the photographer, they will always respect it.

Filming your own dancing and your friends is very welcome, tag us and we may share it. Shooting professionally or for a client needs a quick word first: media@bachataczechrepublic.com. The full detail is in the terms.

Come to the check-in desk, which doubles as lost and found all weekend. Things turn up far more often than people expect.

If you only notice once you are home, write to info@bachataczechrepublic.com with what it is and roughly where you last had it, and we will go and look.

We like hearing from you. Pick the address closest to your question and it reaches the right person straight away:

• tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com passes, payments and transfers
• competition@bachataczechrepublic.com the Jack & Jill and competitor passes
• volunteers@bachataczechrepublic.com joining the team
• media@bachataczechrepublic.com press, accreditation, photos and video
• partner@bachataczechrepublic.com partnerships and sponsorship
• safespace@bachataczechrepublic.com anything that made you uncomfortable
• info@bachataczechrepublic.com everything else, always

There is also the BCRF WhatsApp group, which is where the day-to-day chatter lives. Come and say hello.

All levels are welcome, but the festival is not for absolute beginners. If you already dance a little, that is fine, you just need some basics to fully enjoy the weekend.

There will be workshops for all levels, so you will always find something that fits where you are.

Please do, most people arrive on their own. Workshops rotate partners, and the whole joy of a social is dancing with people you have not met yet. You simply choose your role when you buy: leader, follower, or role rotation.

If you are coming with someone, Partner Up is two full passes together at a nicer price, and you each pick your own role at checkout.

You will dance with everyone from people in their first years of bachata to competitors and professionals, so the level on the social floor is high. That mix is on purpose, and it is what makes the floor worth travelling for.

With workshops for every level, there is always a room that fits you.

One line-up, many styles. The workshops cover today's bachata scene: Sensual Fusion, Sensual-Traditional Fusion, Bachata Fusion, Dominican Bachata, Bachata Conversation, RoleRotation, Bachazouk (bachata with zouk movements) and Bachata con Reggaeton, plus Reggaeton classes.

The socials are 100% bachata, in all its styles. See who teaches what on the Artists page.

It is one of the easiest festivals to arrive at alone, because everything happens at the venue hotel. You are not finding your way across a strange city at 3am, your room is right next door.

Sleeping at the venue also means you keep bumping into the same faces at breakfast, which is how most friendships here start.

The festival is an adult event with parties running through the night, and we have not set a minimum age.

If you would like to bring someone under 18, write to info@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will happily work out what is possible. For anyone under 18 the decision about photos and video belongs to a parent or guardian, so just tell us at check-in.

One named person, into the workshops, the parties and the social dancing across all three days, following the published programme. Every pass carries its own QR code.

Master classes, bootcamps and specialty classes are separate and are not part of the Full Pass, and accommodation, food and drinks are separate too. Anything you are unsure about, ask us at tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com before you buy.

The price goes up in phases, at deadlines we publish in advance, so the earlier you join us the less you pay. The number on the Tickets page is always today's price, and every phase and date is listed there, so nothing ever happens as a surprise.

All prices are all in. No booking fee appears at checkout.

Two full passes bought together at a better price than two separate ones. A lovely way to come with a friend.

You are not tied to each other on the floor, and you each choose your own role at checkout: leader, follower or role rotation. It is two separate passes, one per dancer, each with its own name and QR code.

Not at the moment. We sell the Full Pass and Partner Up, and the one exception is the competition, where entrants can take a party pass that covers the night parties and the competition itself.

Whether a Party Pass goes on sale at all depends on how many Full Passes are sold, because the Full Pass always comes first. Based on the capacity left, we will decide later if Party Passes are sold, and how many. A Party Pass would cover the evening parties only, not the day socials or the workshops, and its price would most likely be very close to today's Full Pass price.

So if you are thinking of coming, the Full Pass at today's price is the way to be sure of your place. Its price rises with every phase on the Tickets page.

Card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, handled by Stripe. Two minutes and one page, and we never see or store your card details.

If a payment does not go through, do not try three more times, just write to tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will look at it with you.

Enter it at checkout and the discount comes off before you pay. It applies per dancer, so on a Partner Up it comes off twice.

If a code is not accepted, check for a stray space or a typo first, and then send it to us at tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will get it working.

There is an at-the-door price, and it is the highest one on the ladder. It also depends on there still being room, which we cannot promise in advance.

If you know you are coming, buying ahead is both cheaper and one less thing to worry about on the day.

It is emailed to you the moment you pay, with your QR code and a link to your ticket page.

If it has not arrived, have a quick look in your spam folder, then use Find your ticket: put in your BCR27 number or the email address you paid with, and we will send the link straight back to that address. We never show it on a public page, because whoever holds the link holds the ticket.

Still nothing? Write to tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com from the address you paid with and we will find it for you.

Please type your name exactly as it is on your ID when you buy. At check-in we compare the name on the pass with the name on your ID, and a nickname, a maiden name or a different spelling all count as a mismatch.

If there is a genuine mistake in your name, write to tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com from the address you paid with, well before the festival, and we will correct it once.

Yes, please bring one. A pass is personal and we check the name on it against an identity document when you arrive.

We only look at it. We do not copy it, photograph it, or write down any number from it.

At check-in you need your ID and your ticket with the QR code.

Passes are non-refundable, including single, couple, promotional and discounted ones. A ticket to a cultural event carries no 14-day right of withdrawal under section 1837(j) of the Czech Civil Code.

The good news is that you are not stuck: you can pass your ticket on to someone else, and it takes about a minute. See the next answer. If your situation is genuinely unusual, write to tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will read it properly.

Of course, and you can do it yourself in about a minute without writing to anyone.

1. Open your ticket from the email that delivered it.
2. Choose Transfer to someone else.
3. Enter the new holder's full name exactly as it appears on their ID, and their email.
4. Pay the 10 EUR transfer fee by card.

The new pass arrives in their inbox at once and your QR code stops working at that moment. Transfers are open until 25 February 2027 and online only, so a pass cannot be transferred at the venue and the desk cannot do it for you. A pass that has already been scanned cannot be transferred either.

Whatever the new holder pays you is between the two of you. Full detail in refunds and transfers, and if anything goes sideways, tickets@bachataczechrepublic.com is there.

If something truly out of our hands forces a change of dates, your pass stays valid for the new ones. That is written into section 6 of the terms so you do not have to take our word for it.

We will tell you by email the moment we know anything, and you can always ask at info@bachataczechrepublic.com.

Easier than you might expect. Václav Havel Airport is 17 km away and there is a straight run in on bus 100 and metro line B, with no changes once you are on the metro.

Every route, every stop and what each one costs is laid out step by step in the travel guide, along with arriving by train and by coach.

For a festival weekend, the 72-hour ticket at 340 Kč, roughly 14 EUR. It covers the metro, trams, buses, the Petřín funicular and city trains inside Prague, and it is cheapest in the PID Lítačka app.

Every option with prices and how to buy each one: transport tickets.

Yes, and there is parking. Where to leave it at the venue, what it costs and the alternatives nearby are all in the travel guide.

One tip from us: the whole district is a paid zone, so most people park once and use the tram for the rest of the weekend.

In the venue, if you possibly can. Both festival buildings take bookings through the same festival link, and sleeping where you dance is the one thing nobody who has done it would give up.

Rooms, the festival rate and the fallback hotel two minutes down the street are on the Accommodation page. If the rooms you want are gone, write to info@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will see what we can do.

Right at the venue, the hotel has its own restaurant. And Karlín, the neighbourhood around it, is the part of Prague people move to for the food.

Cafés, a bakery, a supermarket, a cash machine and some very good pubs are all a short walk away, with a full list in the travel guide.

Czech crowns, around 25 Kč to 1 EUR. Cards work almost everywhere in Prague, including on public transport and in most bars and restaurants, so you need very little cash.

One thing worth knowing before you land: always decline when a machine offers to charge you in euros instead of crowns. Where to change money, which cash machines to use and what things cost: money and cards.

Festival passes themselves are priced and charged in EUR.

You will have more time than you think. Vítkov hill is fifteen minutes on foot and gives you the whole city with almost nobody else on it, and Old Town Square is eight minutes on metro B plus seven on foot. At nine in the morning you nearly have it to yourself.

The travel guide sorts it all by how long you have: an hour, half a day, or a whole one.

You need two things: your ID and your ticket with the QR code, on your phone or printed. We scan the code, check the name against your ID, hand you a wristband, and you are in.

Desk opening hours are on the Program page. Come a little before your first workshop rather than during it, so you only queue once.

Dance shoes, and more tops than you think you need. Three days of dancing is warmer work than it sounds, and a fresh shirt between blocks is the kindest thing you can do for your partners.

There is no dress code for workshops. Evenings get a bit dressier and people enjoy that, but nobody will ever stop you at the door for what you are wearing.

Please tell us, straight away. Any member of the team in a crew shirt, or the check-in desk, or safespace@bachataczechrepublic.com. There is also a Safe Space form on the code of conduct page. It goes straight to our anti-harassment contact.

Nobody here ever has to explain why they said no to a dance, or why they ended one halfway through. We would much rather hear about something small than find out afterwards.

We publish the programme as it is confirmed and we do not move things for fun, but artists get ill and rooms occasionally change. A change of that kind is not grounds for a refund, which is in the terms.

If something you were really looking forward to changes, do tell us at info@bachataczechrepublic.com. We cannot promise anything, but we would rather know.

A social dance competition with randomly assigned partners: true lead and follow, no rehearsed routine, and genuinely good fun to watch as well as to enter. It runs on Saturday 27 February 2027 in the Artemis hall, with the finals danced before the social.

It is the Czech qualifier for the Bachata Social World Cup, and the winning leader and follower go straight through to the World Finals in Geneva.

Two steps and about five minutes. Sign up on the Bachata Social World Cup platform, find Bachata Czech Republic Festival, Prague, 27 February 2027, and enter as a leader or a follower. That is where your spot is held.

We then email you from competition@bachataczechrepublic.com with everything you need and a payment link for your competitor pass. Do add that address to your contacts so it does not land in spam.

Your spot is 100% confirmed only when both are paid: your entry on the Bachata Social World Cup platform and your competitor pass. Without one of them the spot is not confirmed.

Fifty leaders and fifty followers, and spots go quickly. The link and the detail are on the Competition page, and any question at all is welcome at competition@bachataczechrepublic.com.

Yes, and there are two to choose from. The Competitor Party Pass covers every night party and the competition itself, plus the pre-party workshop when we run one, though not the day socials. The Competitor Full Pass is the whole festival.

Current prices for both are on the Competition page, and the payment link we email you is always for today's price. Ask us anything at competition@bachataczechrepublic.com.

Already holding a Full Pass? Then you are covered for the festival, and you just need to enter on the World Cup platform.

Keep it social: no lifts, no acrobatics, no choreography. Your dorsal number needs to be visible throughout, and the dress code is stylish and comfortable, no costumes.

Judges are looking at leading and following, technique, your connection with your partner and with the music, musicality, and personality. The full criteria are on the Competition page, and competition@bachataczechrepublic.com will happily talk you through any of it.

Rather a lot. The champion leader and champion follower each take 150 EUR in cash, direct qualification for the World Finals in Geneva, a full pass for BCR 2028, passes to selected festivals and the official BCR T-shirt.

Second and third place take passes to BCR 2028 and to selected international events, and the T-shirt. Everybody who enters gets a very loud room cheering for them.

Yes please, and the team is how a lot of people do their first festival. A few hours across the weekend and you get a free Full Pass, an official BCR T-shirt, and the Saturday night cocktail and toast in the artist room with the artists and the whole team.

Setup runs Thursday and Friday, the festival is Friday to Sunday, and we hand the room back on Monday morning. The form is eleven short questions: Join the team. Anything you want to ask first goes to volunteers@bachataczechrepublic.com.

Artist transport, check-in and wristbands, decoration and setup, workshop support, media and social media, and the hands that pack the room back up on Monday. There is something that suits most people.

What you pick in the form is a preference rather than a guarantee: final assignments balance everyone's choices against the areas that have to be covered. The detail is in the volunteer guidelines, and volunteers@bachataczechrepublic.com will tell you anything else.

Lovely, get in touch at media@bachataczechrepublic.com and we will sort you out.

Shooting professionally, for a client, a brand or a paid commission needs written accreditation from us first. Filming your own dancing and your friends needs nothing at all.

We would love to hear what you have in mind. Write to partner@bachataczechrepublic.com, and have a look at what our current partners do on the Partners page.

Yes, with pleasure. Partner schools and instructors get a referral code that takes money off every pass bought with it.

Write to partner@bachataczechrepublic.com and tell us where your students dance, and we will set one up for you.