All eyes on Sziget…
… and one eye definitely, that's the 42 meters high Sziget Eye, a ferris (giant) wheel with room enough for 180 people, right in front of the Sziget Main Stage. If you're the observer type, you've already noticed some new bands appearing on the detailed program of the event, now available at szigetfestival.com.
Sziget Eye will be a great symbol of a renewed festival, celebrating its 20th edition this year. It will run with a capacity of 1000 persons/hour and at night it will host film projections on a canvas with an area of several hundred square meters. Sziget Eye is also a good reflection to the fact that London is not the only place to see giant wheels and a truly international crowd in mid-August.
And surely not the only place to meet sports friends, as German indie band Sportfreunde Stiller will rock the Sziget main stage on Friday afternoon. The trio was formed back in 1996, named after their former football manager and received several MTV Music Awards nominations in the category Best German Act. Sportfreunde Stiller announced they will be trying out new songs live at festivals this summer, suggesting there may be a new studio album in the works.
Other new additions to the line-up include Brighton-based hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, who released their debut LP Stereo Typical less than a year ago and already sold 1 million singles and 300 000 albums in the UK. Check them out at the A38 stage on Friday.
But stereo typical is not necessarily hip-hop, as you will find French metal combo Stereotypical Working Class in the line-up of the YourOpen International Talent Festival, held on Days -1 and 0. The program will introduce a total of 18 bands from 15 countries, all winners of local talent contests, or coming through the Central and Eastern European Talent Exchange Program (CEETEP). You will find the full YourOpen line-up at http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english/programs.
An open attitude is clearly behind the program of Sziget's new national stages, designed to showcase the culture of visiting countries. In 2012 The Netherlands will be strongly represented at the Holland meets Hungary stage, mainly focusing on the cooperation between Dutch and Hungarian star musicians during the Jam de la Créme sessions, but also presenting dance performances by ILL Skill Squad, short stories by Jaap Scholten and great Dutch and Hungarian DJs to end each night.
Sziget also wouldn't be Sziget without Italians, so make sure you visit the Puglia Sounds Mambo Stage, mainly showcasing some great bands from southern Italy with semi-acoustic gigs. Good music, good food, what else do you need to have the perfect afternoon? And Friday takes along the big hitters with the concert of Bud Spencer Blues Explosion and I Ministry.
Hard to choose, but time to do it! If you need a little help, feel free to use the personal online program guide, or simply download the free Sziget app, soon available at App store and Android Market (Google Play).
terapija // 21/07/2012