Svirzh festival postponed
Jul 28, 2010 at 10:43 | Oksana FarynaOrganizers called off the event four days before the launch citing problems with the quality of the preparations. The new date and place will be announced soon.
Svirzh was supposed to take place at Vyshgora skiing complex 10 kilometers north of Kyiv. The list of music bands included Bozhychi, Papa Karlo, Viy, Telniuk: Sisters, TaRut, SŪR Band, AtmAsfera,Ęātia Chilly. Price for a three-day ticket was between Hr 170 and Hr 210.
Last year's Svirzh had similar problems. It broke after the first day of the festival citing financial problems.
It was held in the picturesque village some 40 kilometers from Lviv, near the Svirzh’s 15th-century castle. Only one of the three planned days of the festival was successful. Georgian singer Nino Katamadze performed on the first day only to leave home on the next. Revelers woke up to the stages being dismantled because the organizers didn’t pay rent on time. Some musicians stayed up playing on a smaller stage until deep into the night. On the third day there were no concerts at all. An estimated 5,000 people visited the event.
Due to the long lasting economic recession, Ukrainian festivals go through hard times. This year’s GogolFest and Vidkryta Nich or Open Night festivals were also postponed. Annual ethnic festival Krayina Mriy had to start charging for an entry ticket to its music grounds in 2010 to keep the gathering afloat.