Hultsfred Festival
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| Hultsfredsfestivalen | |
|---|---|
| Location(s) | Hultsfred, Sweden |
| Years active | 1986 - present |
| Founded by | |
| Date(s) | Three days, third week of June |
| Genre(s) | Alternative rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Metal, World music |
| Website | www.rockparty.se |
Hultsfred Festival (Swedish: Hultsfredsfestivalen) is an annual music festival held in Hultsfred, Sweden. It takes place during three days in the middle of June, from Thursday to Saturday, with camping available from the beginning of the week. Since the first festival in 1986, its attendance has increased from less than 7000 visitors per year to nearly 30,000 people paying to enter in 2005.
With its seven different stages, the Hultsfred Festival hosts a large number of bands per year (159 in 2005) from all over Scandinavia and the world alike. Notable musical acts that have played in the past include bob hund, David Bowie, The Hives, kent, Radiohead, Sigur Rós, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson, Snoop Dogg, Rage Against the Machine and The Strokes.
The 2007 round of Hultsfred Festival saw artists such as Ozzy Osbourne, 50 Cent, Pet Shop Boys and Wolfmother.
[edit] Controversies
At the 1999 festival, a 19-year-old woman was crushed to death during a concert with Hole. [1] Since this tragic event, the festival has seen a considerable increase in security.
In 2006, the festival booked Babyshambles, the band fronted by Pete Doherty. Because of Doherty's widely reported drug addiction, the arrangers of the festival were criticised even before the festival had begun, as the festival profiles itself as being anti-drugs. The arrangers defended the booking by saying that the band was booked for its music and not its members' personal lives. After being delayed for more than an hour, the concert was wild and somewhat bizarre, with Doherty attacking photographers, throwing a guitar at the audience and finally falling off stage in a failed attempt at stage diving. Immediately after the concert Doherty was arrested by the Hultsfred police and fined for drug possession.[2]
