Concert company SFX launches a new summer event this year titled The Lost Weekend. Bucking the trend for promoters to stage their own major open-air festival, SFX’s U.K. team has opted for an old-fashioned indoor show. The Lost Weekend will take place at the London Arena July 1-2.

SFX’s Stuart Galbraith commented, “It’s a festival without the mud.” Perhaps SFX has the inside track on the long-range weather forecast?

The lineup for the Lost Weekend includes Nine Inch Nails, Skunk Anansie, Nashville Pussy, Therapy?, Rollins Band, Machine Head, A Perfect Circle, and Queen Adreena. More acts are due to be announced, although Galbraith could not confirm reports that there would be a second stage.

SFX is promoting a wide range of shows this year. The company has had a busy first half of the year with tours including a five-month European tour by Simply Red, shows with the WWF and earlier this month, Ricky Martin at Earls Court. Coming up this summer on the outdoor circuit, SFX is promoting, in partnership with Triple A, the shows at the Route Of Kings arena in Hyde Park, London. Concerts at the seasonal venue include Steps, Five, and the Buena Vista Social Club.

Meanwhile, SFX has Bon Jovi close to selling out Wembley Stadium and Oasis with two sold-out concerts there. Also coming up is Alice Cooper, who will play city halls around the U.K. and dates with matchbox twenty. SFX is also working on a k.d. lang tour for autumn.

Germany

This year’s Bizarre Festival (August 18-20) has moved to a new site that allows plenty of room for the festival to grow and develop. Previously restricted by a smaller site in Cologne, the festival has moved to a disused airfield near the Dutch border.

Although the entertainment format will stick to the Bizarre tradition of two stages, the promoters (Peter Rieger Konzertagentur and local promoter Concert Concept) are exploiting the potential of the new site by creating an all-night entertainment area featuring top DJs, Laurent Garnier, Paul van Dyk, and Praga Kahn. Another advantage of the new site is that fans will have easier access to on-site camping and parking facilities.

Bizarre will maintain its close relationship with the Popkomm conference in Cologne by bussing people in from the city. The festival drew 40,000 people in 1999 and although the promoters will be happy to match this figure, the much larger site does have the potential to cope with bigger numbers. This year’s bill features Beck, Moby, Placebo, Underworld, Muse, Moloko, Rollins Band, Bjorn Again, and Junkie XL.

Sweden

Tickets for Hultsfred 2000 (June 15-17) went on sale immediately after last summer’s event, well before the organisers had even thought about who might be available to play this year. So there has been a slow trickle of advance sales and with less than one month to go, presales are up on the same time last year.

However, there are still a couple of the main stage slots to be filled. International headliners confirmed so far include Oasis, Rage Against The Machine, Deftones, Kelis, Travis, D.A.D, Beenie Man, Buju Banton, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Gomez, Muse, and Kittie.

Japan

Japanese concert promoter Creativeman has announced plans for its upcoming 10th anniversary. The company intends to hold an ambitious and diverse two-day music fest called Summer Sonic. The shows will be held at Yamanashi’s Fujikyu’s Conifer Forest and Osaka’s Cosmo Square August 5 and 6.

International headliners include the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Arrested Development, Muse, 311, Weezer, Mansun, and Ben Folds Five. Stage two, meanwhile, will host Teenage Fanclub and Ween, among others.

Canada

House Of Blues Concerts Canada has announced the complete lineup for Our Lady Peace’s Summersault Festival. Joining OLP, The Smashing Pumpkins, and Foo Fighters on the cross-Canada tour are A Perfect Circle, Catherine Wheel, Treble Charger, and Eve 6.

The tour will kick off at Vancouver’s BC Place August 4 and wrap up in Halifax at the Citadel August 16. In between, it will hit Edmonton (6), Saskatoon (7), Winnipeg (9), Toronto (11), Montreal (12) and Ottawa (13).