Sun Shines On Sonisphere

Kilimanjaro chief Stuart Galbraith and K2 agency boss John Jackson will be pleased the Polish leg of their travelling Sonisphere festival pulled 50,000 May 10.

Steve Todd of Live Nation Poland, which co-promotes the one-day fest, told Pollstar he was a little worried about the weather as it’s so early in the calendar, but a bill that included Metallica, Machine Head, Black Label Society and Gojira enjoyed a day of sunshine and temperatures as high as 26 degrees Celsius (78F).

Later in the year LN will use the huge site on the private airport situated in Warsaw’s Bemowo district to stage a show by Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Although increased competition from the European soccer finals – which begin in three weeks in Poland and Ukraine – is slowing the sale of concert tickets, Todd is happy with RHCP sales and those of Madonna and Coldplay, which are both playing the new national stadium built for the football finals.

Apart from the competition from the European finals, he says there are also too many free events making it even harder to sell tickets.