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"Woodstock 99
goes Europe"
First Wave of Artists January 28, 1999
Supergroup Metallica
Rebel rocker Iggy Pop
Italian rock star Zucchero
Soulful punksters
Skunk Anansie
Pop trancers Faithless
No nonsense singer-songwriter Anouk
Platinum-selling artist Herbert Gronemeyer
Italian rock star Vasco Rossi
Hip hop stars Die Fantastischen Vier
Theatrical rockers Drahdiwaberl
Turkeys' most famous female rock star, Sezen Aksu
Organizers of Woodstock, the most famous Music and
Arts Festival in the world, today announced the first
wave of artists for WOODSTOCK 99 (Europe) which will
take place near Vienna, Austria from 16-18 July '99.
Ever true to the motto of One World, music fans from
across the whole of Europe (both East and West) will
come together for WOODSTOCK '99 and this cultural
diversity will be celebrated both on and off the stage.
This huge celebration of peace and music is shaping
up as one of the greatest musical gatherings of all
time, and certainly Europe's largest ever 'rock fest',
with international supergroup Metallica sharing the
bill with pop trancers Faithless, Italian rock stars
Zucchero and Vasco Rossi, rebel rocker Iggy
Pop, Germany's platinum-selling artist Herbert Gronemeyer,
theatrical rockers Drahdiwaberl. And a host of acts
who came of age long after the original Woodstock
in 1969, including soulful punksters Skunk Anansie,
hip hop stars Die Fantastischen Vier, Holland's no
nonsense singer-songwriter Anouk and Sezen Aksu, Turkey's
most famous female rock star.
With two main stages featuring over
70 hours of live music, this initial announcement
only marks the very beginning as a total of over 100
acts will appear. The WOODSTOCK '99 line-up will ultimately
reflect the diversity of today's musical tastes featuring
everything from hard rock to reggae, punk to electronic
dance tunes, global beats to gospel. Plus unique artist
collaborations never to be repeated again.
WOODSTOCK '99 will take place in Wiener-Neustadt,
40 kms from Vienna, in the very heart of Europe.
Organizers expect a 250,000 strong crowd and the festival
site covers a huge area of over 450 hectares (4.5
sq.kms), enough space for 830 football pitches.
The internationally renowned production designer,
Mark Fisher, (famous for staging some of the worlds
most spectacular rock concerts for Pink Floyd, The
Rolling Stones and U2 amongst others) has been commissioned
to design the festival site at Wiener Neustadt. In
addition to the two main stages, there will be four
other performance zones accommodating a broad spectrum
of entertainment from dance beats to acoustic riffs.
On Friday night the dance zone will feature, amongst
others, 'Woodstock in Dub' hosted by Kruder & Dorfmeister
and on Saturday night Sunshine Enterprises 'Goes Woodstock'
with international DJ line-up.
While the 'Global Village' and 'Extreme
Sports Park' will house a countless amount of activities;
from buzzing market-place, to cinemas, art exhibitions,
skateboard ramps, climbing walls, cyber zones and
chill-out areas. And Spain's leading theater group,
La Fura Del Baus, present the Human Washing Machine.
This amazing construction will enable festival-goers
to move a long a human conveyer belt which both covers
them in mud and then gets them squeaky clean!
One week later, from 23-25 July 1999,
the event will move to the USA, making WOODSTOCK '99
the last great world-wide cultural event of the twentieth
century. Michael Lang, one of the original Woodstock
'69 partners and organizer of 1994 's hugely successful
350,000 strong event in NY, has commented: "Woodstock
has always been more than just a rock concert, it's
a celebration of music and art which has come to symbolize
freedom, individuality and independence of thought.
We are not going back to the past but hope to re-energize
the spirit of Woodstock as the millennium draws to
a close." Thirty years on from the first Woodstock
festival in Bethel, Upstate New York, WOODSTOCK '99
is set to repeat the magic and become a legend for
our generation just as it was for those in 1969 and
1994; rekindling the Woodstock Experience and the
unique community spirit within Europe. On-Site construction
starts in March '99 as the new infrastructure and
festival amenities are put in place to accommodate
the massive influx of music fans from across Europe
and further afield.
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