Home

Neustadt (Near Vienna), Woodstock 16-18/07/1999: ANNULATED

 

The european Woodstock Festival was planned from 16.07.1999 till 18.07.1999 in Neustadt (Near Vienna/Wien) in Austria. Also Vasco Rossi was invited to give act de presence.

"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.



 

 

Michael Lang

Unfortunately the festival was cancelled at last.

Michael Lang (picture left), one of the original Woodstock '69 partners and organiser of both the 1994 and 1999 festivals, said:

"Following discussions with our European producers, it became clear that for Woodstock to be a safe and successful event in Europe more time was needed."