Date: 6th August 2011
Event: Woodstock Festival
Venue: Festivalfields
City: Kostrzyń nad Odrą
Country: Poland
Support: see timetable
Tracklist:
1. World’s On Fire
2. Breathe
3. Omen
4. Poison
5. Thunder (Dubstep)
6. Warrior’s Dance
7. Firestarter
8. Run With The Wolves
9. Voodoo People
10. Omen (Reprise)
11. Invaders Must Die
12. Diesel Power Beats
13. Smack My Bitch Up
Encore:
14. Take Me To The Hospital
15. Their Law
16. Out Of Space
Extra info:
Mainstage timetable:
16:40 – 17:25 Arka Noego
17:40 – 18:20 BlackJack
18:40 – 19:40 Buldog
20:00 – 21:05 Airbourne
21:25 – 22:30 Gentleman & The Evolution
22:50 – 23:50 Łąki Łan
00:10 – 01:30 The Prodigy
Following the band’s performance at Woodstock, Poland on Saturday, the band’s management have issued a press release in response to the misinformation circulating in the media regarding ‘unsafe’ and ‘unprofessional’ practices.
Click here for the full press release
http://theprodigy-news.s3.amazonaws.com/TheProdigy-Woodstook-PressRelease.pdf
Jurek Owsiak’s statement:
The 17th edition of Woodstock Festival Poland came to an end on August 6th. According to police estimates, it was attended by 700 000 people from all over Europe.
The event was assessed to be very safe. Among the bands that played at the main stage (one of three stages of the festival) there were: Helloween, Skindred, Zebrahead, Gentleman, Dog Eat Dog and H-Blockx. All these artists expressed their respect for the perfect organization and safety at Woodstock. We had also been praised by the members of Papa Roach, Die Toten Hosen and Killing Joke, as well as Micheal Lang, the legendary organizer of Woodstock ’69.
The Prodigy was one of the biggest stars at this year’s Woodstock Festival Poland. On August 8th, Mr. Karel Hamm disseminated an e-mail statement which is unfair and improper; it contains inaccuracies and unconfirmed information.
Woodstock Festival Poland is the biggest festival in Poland and one of the biggest in Europe. According to a recently published study by the international agency HAVAS SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT, it is also number 3 European festival when it comes to good organization.
For many years, the festival has been considered a model when it comes to providing safety for such a big mass event. The floor of the stage is located 3.5 meters above ground. The elements which make it difficult to move or which create the risk of somebody being squashed or trampled have been reduced to a minimum. The audience is lit all the time, which makes it possible to monitor the situation constantly and react to any safety threat immediately. Also the model of cooperation between all kinds of services working to provide safety at the event is assessed to be impeccable. Those services include suitably trained volunteers, a security agency, medical services, Government Security Bureau, border guard, firefighters, various police units (intelligence police units, police psychologists and negotiators, riot police, traffic police, an antiterrorist brigade and a pyrotechnic unit) and a police helicopter. What the organizer thinks has happened is there has been a misunderstanding between the organizer and Mr. Karel Hamm.
Both sides cared about safety.
Reading the e-mail written by Mr. Karel Hamm, one might get the impression that, despite the Organizer has explained this, Mr. Hamm did not fully understand how the things work at Woodstock Festival Poland. Furthermore, he did not understand that the festival is organized in line with Polish legal regulations.
At the end of his letter, Mr. Karel Hamm mentions that there was just one stage at the festival, which only confirms his lack of knowledge about Woodstock Festival Poland. In fact, there are three stages at Woodstock, and a tent used to organize meetings at which festival attendees can meet well-known people. These meetings have been attended by many prominent guests, including the former President of Poland and the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize Lech Wałęsa, the President of the European Parliament Prof. Jerzy Buzek, the minister of foreign affairs in the government of His Holiness Dalai Lama Kesang Takla, the organizer of Woodstock 69’ Micheal Lang, and the President of the Polish National Bank Prof. Marek Belka. The festival’s greatness, reputation and popularity were further confirmed by the fact that the incumbent President of Poland Bronisław Komorowski wished the festival’s attendees a lot of fun and many great moments.
Polskie Radio, the biggest and the oldest all-Poland public radio station, published an article on its website, describing hot safe the festival was.
The safety of the attendees is the number one priority for the organizer. It is because of this that a no-flight zone has been established within a radius of 5 kilometers of the venue by the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency.
Mr. Karel Hamm’s statement that “All that happened could have been avoided” is hard to understand since no extraordinary situations took place during Woodstock Festival Poland. Admittedly, some people fainted and there were some minor injuries but this could happen in any other situation too.
The motto of the organizer of Woodstock is „Stop Drugs, Stop Violence”.
The organizer has appealed to the audience that they behave safely. The question of safety has been addressed from the stage many times, and the organizer has reminded that no dangerous materials, including flares, are permitted.
Passing over the personal attitude of Mr. Karel Hamm to the Promoter, one could conclude from his letter that he does not like the Promoter very much, and his behavior might be construed as dismissive. None of the remarks Mr. Karel Hamm made were ignored, and what is more, all his requirements were fulfilled: suitable barriers were provided and he was present when they were being installed. It is hard to understand why the band postponed the beginning of their performance by 40 minutes, ignoring the fact that an audience of some hundred thousand was waiting in front of the stage.
If the festival had not been safe, it seems that Mr. Karel Hamm would not have agreed for the concert to start.
Suggesting in the e-mail that the actions of Jerzy Owsiak might be considered criminal is, euphemistically speaking, tactless.
Despite what Mr. Karel Hamm wrote, nobody was really injured. Nobody died. The attendees of Woodstock Festival Poland are safe, and they went home happy. Only a nasty aftertaste is left in them, of a pretentious attitude of an artist.
Yours Sincerely,
Jurek Owsiak
Poster:
Photos from the show:
Leave a Reply