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In related news, the late Václav Havel’s secretary Sabina Tančevová has revealed that his office will wrap up its final activities – which includes replying to the many condolence letters received – in the course of one month. It is unclear what will become of the interiors where Mr Havel met with guests and organised events in his final years. The office site belongs to the Schwarzenberg family; so far nothing has been changed, from the former president’s desk to bookshelves, but is unlikely to be remain ‘as is’, as the idea for the space to be turned into a kind of museum was rejected by Foreign Minister Karel Schwarzenberg, Mr Havel’s close friend and former aide, on the grounds that any museum would have to regularly remain open to the public, the news website idnes reported.

A boat laden with flowers and wreaths dedicated to the late ex-president Václav Havel, who died at the age of 75 after prolonged illness a fortnight ago, will launch from a pier in Prague on Saturday morning, travelling on the Vltava and Labe rivers towards Děčín, North Bohemia. The news was revealed by Sabina Tančevová, secretary to Mr Havel’s office. The idea, she said, was that of musician Michael Kocáb and visual artist David Černý. Mr Havel’s family and office staff agreed with organisers that the many flowers and wreaths brought to Mr Havel’s funeral last week could be displayed on a final journey that viewers would be able to see from the river banks. On the first day the boat will reach Mělník, north of Prague, the next will continue on to Ústí nad Labem, and on the third (January 2nd) it will dock at the final destination.

As the shock of Václav Havel’s death slowly wears off, Czechs are considering the best possible ways to honour his memory and uphold his legacy for future generations. Proposals range from the sentimental – a heart of wax melted from the thousands of candles people lit for their hero –to the stately - a law stating his contribution to freedom and democracy.

The government has put to Parliament a draft law acknowledging Vaclav Havel’s contribution to freedom and democracy. The simply worded statement is expected to receive support both form the coalition parties and the opposition Social Democrats and should be approved in its first reading. A similar law was issued by the Czechoslovak parliament in 1930, recognising the contribution of President Tomas Garrigue Masaryk to the establishment of independent Czechoslovakia. A commemorative plaque acknowledging Masaryk's contribution can be seen next to the entrance to the Chamber of Deputies.

Letiště Praha, the company running Prague’s international airport, has registered “Vaclav Havel Prague International Airport” as a protected trademark in a move that could pave the way for a possible renaming of the airport after the late Vaclav Havel. A petition calling for the airport to be renamed after the hero of the Velvet Revolution and the country’s first post-communist president is quickly gaining support among the public. It has been signed by over 60,000 people including Mr. Havel’s widow Dagmar and Mr. Havel’s brother Ivan.

Vladimír Hanzel, former secretary to the late ex-president Václav Havel, told the ČTK news agency that he disapproved of the call signed by around 60,000 Czechs for Prague’s international airport to be renamed after the deceased Czech leader. According to Mr Hanzel, Mr Havel did not like flying. Mr Hanzel also pointed out that airports are commercial enterprises and suggested that a cultural or educational institution should be named after Václav Havel instead. The idea to rename Prague Airport was first put forward by film director and producer Fero Fenič. According to the news website idnes.cz, the idea has received backing from Mr Havel’s family. Former president Václav Havel died at the age of 75 on December 18 after a protracted illness. In neighbouring Poland, the northern city of Gdansk named one of its streets after Mr Havel on December 23, the day of his funeral.

The Lucerna Palace, long considered a beacon of Czech national pride has been celebrating its centenary this year without too much of the fanfare usually reserved for such occasions. Situated off Wenceslas Square in the very heart of Prague, and established by civil engineer, designer and builder Václav M. Havel in 1907, it was the first multi-purpose arcade of its kind ever to be built in this country.

More than 55,000 Czechs – both at home and living abroad – have added their signatures to a call for Prague’s international airport to be renamed after the late ex-president Václav Havel. According to the news website idnes.cz, the idea has received backing even from Mr Havel’s family. However, Czech Finance Minister Miroslav Kalousek, whose office supervises the airport’s board of directors, said a thorough debate was needed before a decision could be reached. Former president Václav Havel died at the age of 75 on December 18 after a protracted illness. In neighbouring Poland, the northern city of Gdansk named one of its streets after Mr Havel on December 23, the day of his funeral.

Crowds of people gathered around the Prague Castle compound on Friday morning to watch the live television broadcast from St. Vitus Cathedral on large screens. An estimated 35,000 people queued for hours during the past couple of days to pay their last respects to the late statesman whose coffin lay in state in Prague Castle’s Vladislav Hall. Some ten thousand also joined the funeral procession through Prague on Wednesday morning.

Close to four thousand people attended a memorial concert for the late ex-president Vaclav Havel at Prague’s Lucerna Palace on Friday evening. The concert, organized by his brother Ivan, featured the rock group The Plastic People of the Universe, which was closely associated with Václav Havel, US singer Suzanne Vega, Garage, Hudba Praha and the Velvet Underground Revival.

The crowd enthusiastically joined in most of the songs, singing the well-known hits of the Plastics and joining Suzanne Vegas in a rendition of Tom’s Diner which she played for Vaclav Havel when they first met in the US years ago.

Performances were interspersed with clips from documentary films about the former president and tributes from friends and celebrities. The memorial concert was shown on a big screen on Wenceslas Square and carried live on Czech TV.