More than 20,000 people converged on the city of Lodz for a Love Parade-style festival that organisers claimed was the largest event of its kind in Eastern Europe. The fourth annual Parada Wolnosci (Freedom Parade) on September 16, following the trend set by Berlin’s Love Parade street party, was moved from Friday to Saturday because the number of people threatened to paralyze working-day traffic in the city. Sound systems began blasting techno music at midday on a main street in the city centre.

A Polish dance music insider said, “The parade only consists of 10 or so trucks and lasts a couple of hours. But for the people of Lodz and techno fans around Poland, it’s a real focal point of the year.” Following the Freedom Parade, an all-nighter took place at the Lodz Sports Arena, which holds around 6,000 people. This year, the main international guests were drum and bass DJs Ed Rush and Hype from the U.K.

Meanwhile, a new dance club that opened in Oswiecim has come under fire. The System club is located about two kilometres from the campsite at Auschwitz, which is a Holocaust museum. Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre told city officials that a “fundamental error of judgement” has been made in allowing the club to open in such a sensitive location.

Russia

Nineteen people were injured in a stampede at a Siberian rock concert after the lead singer invited fans to join her on the stadium field, according to police reports. An 18-year-old man suffered a broken spine and a 14-year-old girl had her skull fractured, said Eudard Yegorov, a police spokesperson in Yakutsk. The Siberian city is about 4,800 kilometers east of Moscow.

About an hour into her concert September 12, popular Russian rock singer Zemfira invited members of the audience to join her on the field. But she hadn’t discussed the move beforehand with police or concert organisers.

Scores of fans rushed to the centre of the stadium, jumping from the stands and trampling each other. It took police 40 minutes to restore order and return listeners to their seats. After ambulances carried away the injured, the concert resumed. Police are reportedly investigating the incident.

Germany

German Minister of the Interior Otto Schilly has banned right-wing music groups. In a statement reported in the Suddeutsche Zeitung, the minister said: “Music of skinhead bands plays a significant role to poisoning hearts and minds of young people.” He announced a ban of the right-wing skinhead organisation Blood and Honour Division Germany. The press report said that this organisation has been particularly active in the eastern part of Germany where it has organized several concerts.

Due to investigations by the Office for Defending of the Constitution earlier this year, 14 German districts were searched. The office confiscated several computers and hard disks with propaganda material and a couple of savings books with reasonable amounts of money. While the members of this group only number around 300, the organisation held a lot of concerts that were attended by up to 2,000 visitors.

The investigation report also said that concerts of the now-forbidden organisation sometimes compare with concerts of the American organisation named Hammerskins. The report described these concerts as events that are “important for the cohesion of this movement.” Schilly has not denied the possibility that he may ban other groups and organisations in the near future but did not want to comment on this because of the surprising effect of such an action.

Japan

Yoko Ono seems determined that her late husband’s legacy also extends into the next century, though what form that legacy takes is open to debate. Ono allowed vintage film footage of her and John Lennon to be used in two TV commercials being aired in Japan. One is for a brand of canned coffee and the other is for instant noodles.

Philippines

The ‘90s lounge music revival has belatedly hit the Philippines. A group of young rock and pop bands will pay homage to legendary composer Burt Bacharach by reworking his songs at a tribute concert. Jett Pangan and Cindy Oppen, who run new production group TOM Productions, are staging the show “Back to Bacharach: A Tribute to the Music of Burt Bacharach” at the Music Museum in Greenhills, San Juan, Manila.

Classic Bacharach tunes “Walk On By,” “Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head” and “I Say A Little Prayer” will be performed in styles from gospel to pop. The show is scheduled for October 13, 14, 18 and 25.