The tuning meet in Čakovice was an unauthorized gathering of modified-car enthusiasts held on 2 October 2026 in the car park of the Globus hypermarket in the Prague district of Čakovice. According to a rough police estimate, up to a thousand cars arrived at the site and roughly 2,500 people came, mostly young [1][2]. The event was part of a cross-border activity referred to on social media as “Europe illegal season end 2026”, under which a gathering of tuned vehicles was planned for that day in Prague and for Saturday in Brno [1][2].*

Course of events in Čakovice

The hypermarket car park was completely filled with people, cars and motorcycles, and some bikers revved their machines. Participants, who often arrived on foot, looked over the cars, photographed them and filmed them on mobile phones [1][2]. Traffic was blocked from the Letňany winter stadium, and the passage of city public transport buses was also complicated; customers of the hypermarket complained about the event, as it made their departure difficult [1][3]. According to Seznam Zprávy, all routes to the car park were blocked except one entrance and exit, and dispatchers of the Prague transport company also arrived in Čakovice and, together with the police, coordinated public transport [2].

Police intervention

The police knew of the planned gathering in advance, obtained information mainly from social media, and already on the Tuesday before the event announced extensive security measures [1][2]. On site, police officers checked drivers leaving the car park and their documents, and a police helicopter patrolled over the area [1][3]. The Prague police spokesman Jan Daněk said during the event that the police had so far recorded no major problems and that the police presence apparently deterred participants from unlawful behavior [1][3]. The police presidium spokesman Jozef Bocán pointed out that similar gatherings in previous years in other European countries had been accompanied by extensive endangering of road safety and public order, including illegal races, blocking of motorways, attempts to block police vehicles, theft of traffic signs and the use of pyrotechnics [1][2]. The police therefore deployed officers from all motorway units, regional road supervision units and traffic inspectorates as well as the nationwide Special Supervision Unit Bohemia and Moravia, involved mobile patrols of the foreign police, and planned to deploy drones and a helicopter with thermal imaging [1][2].

Border checks and the planned move to Brno

The police also strengthened patrols at border crossings and major access roads. On the day of the meet, South Moravian police announced that near the border they had ended the journey of two foreigners heading to the meet: from one they took the vehicle registration certificate because of unapproved modifications, and the other, a seventeen-year-old, was driving without a driving licence [1][2][3]. On Saturday the participants of the event were to move to Brno. The South Moravian police spokesman David Chaloupka said that, besides the main roads, rest areas, petrol stations and other places where short-term gatherings of participants could be expected would be under supervision. Increased police supervision in South Moravia applied from Thursday, especially on the D1 and D2 motorways and other major roads [1][2][3].

Chronology

  • — At an illegal car-tuning meeting in Prague, police dealt with 176 misdemeanours, and the fines imposed amounted to roughly 272,000 crowns. ČTK / České noviny Pražská Drbna
  • — Hundreds of cars gathered in the car park of a hypermarket in Prague's Čakovice for an unauthorised tuning meet; according to a police estimate up to a thousand cars and 2,500 people came, the police monitored the event, which was due to move to Brno on Saturday. ČTK / České noviny Seznam Zprávy
  • — Police announced extensive measures ahead of an illegal gathering of thousands of tuned cars and may close roads preventively. ČTK / České noviny Blesk.cz

Sources

  1. ČTK / České noviny — 2 October 2026
  2. Seznam Zprávy — 2 October 2026
  3. iDNES.cz — 2 October 2026