Fuji Results Rock

The 10th Fuji Rock Festival was declared a huge success by organizer Smash in its August 2nd statement reporting attendance figures.

The three-day event, which took place at the Naeba ski resort in Niigata prefecture, attracted 36,000 revelers on July 28th, 40,000 on July 29th and 39,000 July 30th. About 17,500 people camped out on the festival grounds. In addition, 16,000 people showed up for the free pre-festival party on July 27th, where a number of groups performed, including the The Cooper Temple Clause and Flogging Molly.

There was also a surprise visit from Shonen Knife, who did not play the festival proper.

One-day tickets for July 29th sold out in mid-June thanks to headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers.

There were weather worries during the week prior to the festival. A stubborn rain front had been lingering over most of Japan during the entire month of July, causing death and destruction in western Japan and along the Japan Sea coast. However, the rain mostly stayed away.

There were showers in the afternoon on July 29th, but Friday was cool and relatively dry and Sunday was hot and sunny.

The festival was also the official launch event for the Global Cool Campaign, an international effort to persuade individuals to save a ton of carbon a year by doing things like turning off appliances and cell phone chargers. Fuji Rock is officially a “carbon neutral festival,” meaning the organizers offset the carbon they produce with other initiatives, such as planting trees.

Smash President Masa Hidaka opened the festival on Friday morning with GCC founder Dan Morrell and movie star Orlando Bloom, who was reportedly filling in for Leonardo DiCaprio, the head of the California branch of the Global Cool network.

– Philip Brasor