Dear friends, time for another batch of information pertaining to eighth installment of the Czech metal feast, MetalGate Czech Death Fest. Last time, we covered changes that will come as far as the on-site catering for visitors is concerned. In that regard there is one other related issue that needs to be reiterated and that is the festival currency.

Indeed, this year, any refreshments sold on the festival grounds will be available not for regular money, but for special festival currency that you will buy on site. The value of one coupon will be 12 CZK. We completely understand that this may be an unpopular measure, but before you crucify us for it, hear our reasons.

On February 10, 2016, the Lower House of the Czech Parliament passed a law to create a comprehensive registry of all payments in any and all business transactions. Since it applies to big and small sellers alike, it would mean for us to have on our festival in each stand where something is being sold a device linked to said registry and capable of printing special receipts. The starting costs of such a device can be from 12 000 CZK, and given the number of stands, it is something we cannot afford. A doable option is to have only one such device, which means that transactions on the stand must be for something other than money – hence the festival currency.

It is true that said law is not yet valid, though there is seems to be nothing that can stop it apart from a miracle, and even if it were, the first phase of the registry implementation would begin most likely in November 2016 with us having to join in in 2017. Therefore, this year, we would not have to deal with it and keep things as they have been. However, rather than implementing this measure in the nick of time so to speak, it is far better for us to do a trial run this year, so that next year, we can only focus on ironing out the bugs. That is why, we are implementing the festival currency now.

This measure will not apply to merch stands. Any band merch will be sold for money, however if the law becomes valid, even these will have to deal with it in the future.

It will however also apply to the restaurant that is located inside the camp.

In conclusion, we would like to note that we will do our best to make the implementation as smooth as possible. We apologize for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.