Sixty is secret for Stones' Jagger and his elusive Prague party

PRAGUE, July 24 (AFP) - Rolling Stones singer Mick Jagger's 60th birthday is turning into a top secret affair, with entertainment venue managers in the Czech capital Prague vying for the role of host -- despite not even knowing on what day it will be held.

While die-hard fans know that rubber-lipped rock legend Michael Philip Jagger was born in Dartford, Britain on July 26, 1943, the man responsible for the Stones' concert in Prague is being tight-lipped about a possible party on Saturday.

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"We don't know where or when the party will take place, or if there will even be a party," said Serge Grimaux, organiser of the Czech leg of the band's Forty Licks tour.

Even VIP guests are having to wait until the last minute to know where the party will be held. Former Czech president and long-time Stones friend Vaclav Havel is waiting patiently, if his spokesman is to be believed.

"Mr Havel has already decided on a birthday present, but I can't tell you any more. It's a surprise," said Jakub Hladik, secretary to the former dissident and playwright.

Meanhwile, the city of a hundred bell towers is also the city of a hundred nightclubs, and they have all been vying for the honour of hosting Jagger's much-anticipated sixtieth.

Chic baroque restaurant Hergetova Cihelna, with its stunning views over the city's famous Charles Bridge, was for some time tipped as favourite. But the staff's hopes have just been shattered.

"I've just found out that, sadly, our efforts were unsuccessful," restaurant manager David Clark told the Dnes newspaper on Wednesday.

Apparently, the much-vaunted view down the Vltava River was a problem for party organisers, as it would allow fans and tourists an equally impressive view of the festivities.

Clark said that the party would have been absolutely off-limits to anyone but staff and those personally invited by Jagger.

The British band -- themselves celebrating 40 years together this year -- are due to touch down in Prague on Friday, for the fourth time since 1990.

Back then, they met Havel for the first time, just months after the dissident had been released from prison and elected president.

Apart from Sunday's open-air concert in the Letna park near the city centre, once a rallying point for the 1989 Velvet Revolution, the only item on the group's official programme is the opening of an exhibition by band guitarist and former Ealing Art School student Ron Wood.

But there's still more bad news for fans hoping to try to talk their way into Mick's sixtieth: they might not even get the day right, according to Grimaux.

"In fact, (Jagger) will be 60 already on the night of Friday to Saturday, sometime after midnight," he said.

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