The People Need More Space

The Czech Republic’s Rock For People Festival is moving to Hradec Kralove because organizers have found a site that has more scope for growth.

"We needed more festival space and more camping space. In fact, we needed more everything space," said co-organizer Stepan Suchochleb of Ameba Production.

The 13-year-old event has increased its crowd every year since it started with 1,000 people watching Czech acts while other nearby events including United Islands and Love Planet have either struggled or failed to get off the ground.

Apart from moving the site to accommodate more visitors, the festival is also expanding from two to three days.

Last year’s Rock For People attracted 25,000 per day, as much as the site at Chesky Brod can handle. Suchochleb said he expects 30,000 per day on the new site.

An old Soviet military airfield, four of the site’s bunkers used for holding aircraft have been converted – two for use as stages, one for a film and theatre area and the other for a restaurant. The two main stages are both outdoors.

"It’s years since the storage area was used and there are young trees growing in the ground above the bunkers, which makes the area look more attractive," Suchochleb explained.

"The airport is used for domestic flights and one day we may be able to have bands flying into the site, but at the moment it could only be if we could afford a headliner with a private jet."

Acts coming by air will land at Prague but the completion of the new D11 motorway means it barely takes an hour to drive the 100 kilometres from the Czech capital to Hradec Kralove.

Acts on the July 4-6 bill include The Killers, Basement Jaxx, The Hives, Gogol Bordello, and Mory Kanté

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