Svirzh music festival starts off great despite rain, but cut short due to low turnout
Svirzh music festival, held on the first weekend in August, took place in the picturesque village some 40 kilometers from Lviv. It was expected to be one of the greatest, largest and most expensive music festivals in Ukraine. And it started that way – but only for a day, not for the planned three days, because the organizers didn’t pay their bills. An estimated 5,000 people visited the event. Festival-goers lived in a huge camp that covered a hill near the village (1). The first day was a success. People enjoyed the work of different artists and craftsmen (2) who came to the festival. They also rested near Svirzh’s 15th-century castle (3), where a couple of scenes from The Three Musketeers film of Alexander Dumas’ novel were shot. During the performance of Georgian singer Nino Katamadze (4), it even stopped raining, the clouds parted and sun started shining. Latvian Auli band (6) played on bagpipes and impressed the audience with energetic medieval hard rock. Coming to hear Crimean jazz star Enver Izmaylov on the next day, everybody was disappointed to find that the main stage and the rock stage were being dismantled because the organizer didn’t pay for the rent in time. Italian rock band Figli di Madre Ignota (5) and other musicians performed on a smaller stage until deep into the night. On the third day, when legendary Cesaria Evora from Cape Verde Island, the headliner of the festival, should have been singing, there were no concerts at all. Those who paid up to Hr 250 for a fan zone ticket were dissatisfied. Young and inexperienced organizers explained that they expected 10 times more people to come, which would have allowed them to pay for everything. Feeling guilty, the organizers promised to try to refund part of the ticket cost. They also pledged to organize a successful Svirzh festival next year. As the saying goes, you must spoil before you spin well.
