History
The first Przystanek Woodstock festival took place on 15–16 July 1995, in the town of Czymanowo (near Gnewin), located near the Żarnowieckie Lake. The performers included Carrantouhill, Skankan, Żuki, Myslovitz, Ira, and Urszula. During the festival no alcohol was sold, which was similar to the Jarocin festivals.
The second festival was held in Szczecin-Dąbie, Szczecin in 1996. This time the first Woodstock's "prohibition law" was partially lifted and beer was sold.
The third festival took place the next year, on 16–17 August in the town of Żary, which became the setting of the Przystanek Woodstock festivals till 2003. Initially the festival was planned to be held in July, but because of the 1997 flood, which affected much of Poland, the festival was postponed until August.
The 1998 Przystanek Woodstock featured the performances of nearly 50 bands. The band list included Closterkeller, Akurat, Oddział Zamknięty, Kobranocka, and Acid Drinkers. Almost 150,000 people attended the festival.
The 1999 Woodstock was held on 6–8 August. This time the attendance record was broken. The audience reached almost 200,000 people.
The 2000 festival was planned to be held in Lębork, but due to permission uncertainties, and protest of local committees (Komitet obrony Moralności - The Committee for the Defense of Morality) it had to be cancelled.
Nevertheless over 1000 people showed up and organized an unauthorized "rock'n'roll picnic" without any professional music bands. This happening was later referred to as the "Dziki Przystanek" ("The Wild Station").
In 2001 Żary was again the setting for the festival.
The 2002 Woodstock was significant, because it was filmed, and the footage was used to produce "Przystanek Woodstock. Najgłośniejszy Film Polski" ("The Woodstock Station. The Loudest Film In Poland"), a concert film, which was screened in movie theatres across the country the following year, and also took part in a number of international film festivals.
The 2003 Woodstock was the last one held in the town of Żary. Because of controversy surrounding some incidents during the festival, that Jerzy Owsiak was part of, it was decided that Żary would no longer be a setting for the concerts.
Since 2004, the festival has taken place in the town of Kostrzyn nad Odrą.
In 2009 Woodstock gathered about 450.000 people, in 2011 the attendance was above 700.000 and in 2012 attendance was about 550,000 people.
Read more about this topic: Przystanek Woodstock
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