Slovak rock band Elán will play a farewell concert on June 9, 2026, at Prague’s O2 Arena, marking the end of their concert career after more than five decades performing, frontman Jožo Ráž announced.
The concert, originally scheduled for a football stadium but moved to the O2 Arena, will feature not only the band’s current lineup but also a reunion with former members, according to a video statement released by Ráž. Confirmed guests include guitarists Juraj Farkaš, Juraj Burian, and Henry Tóth, drummers Zdeno Baláž, Gabo Szabó, Ďuso Petrus, Juraj Kuchárek, and Boris Brna, bassist Viktor Hidvéghy, keyboardist Fero Turák, violinist Marián Svetlík, violist Juraj Madari, trumpeter Samuel Šimek, and trombonist Martin Haas.
“We’ll play one more time, a nostalgic performance, and that will be it,” the 71-year-old Ráž said in the video. “Fans may have gotten the impression we were starting a new tour, but that’s not the case. We will play the announced concerts in 2026 and then that’s all.”
Elán, formed in Bratislava in 1968, achieved widespread popularity throughout Czechoslovakia during the 1980s. The band has released fifteen studio albums, five English albums, and numerous compilations, earning 25 platinum records for their sales. Their 2003 concert on Prague’s Letná Plain drew an audience of approximately 80,000 fans.
The Prague performance is part of a series of farewell concerts that began in 2024, including shows in Bratislava, Ostrava, Košice, and Brno. Elán is scheduled to perform in Nitra, Slovakia, before continuing with concerts in August, September, and October, culminating in a final performance in Bratislava.
The band’s decision to cease concert performances comes after the death of co-founder Vašo Patejdl in August 2023. Ráž has described performing as physically demanding, stating he often feels “half-dead” before taking the stage, but finds renewed energy from the audience’s response. Their most recent studio album, Najvyšší čas, was released in 2019, followed by the single “Zavolaj mi” in 2024.
