Czechtek
| CzechTek | |
|---|---|
CzechTek 2004
|
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| Genre | Electronic music |
| Location(s) | Czech Republic |
| Years active | 1994-2006 |
| Attendance | 40,000+ |
| Website | |
| Official site | |
CzechTek was an annual teknival normally held on the weekend at the end of July in the Czech Republic. It attracted thousands of free tekno dancers from several European countries (40,000 people attended in 2003 and 2006). Open invitations were usually made to all sound systems, performers and all people with positive thinking.
Every year the festival was held in different locations around the Czech Republic. The festival was not the same as more commercial festivals such as the Love Parade or the Street Parade. It was usually set on ex-military land or in a meadow near a forest.
There was little or no organisation, since the idea of free tekno is based on personal freedom and responsibility. Although later teknivals required organisation due to large numbers of attendees. The style and image of the people was also different from that of the Love Parade's participants, it was more underground. Festivals were held on an illegally occupied grounds as well as properly rented. The location of the meeting was always revealed one day before the event on Czech rave websites.
The first CzechTek was held in 1994 at Hostomice, it was organized by the Spiral Tribe sound system and a group of artists called the Mutoid Waste Company, foreigners also prevailed among participants. Next year at the same location have already played the first Czech sound systems, especially still functioning Cirkus Alien sound system. It later developed into a great festival for tens of thousands of people from many different countries in Europe.
In 2005 shortly after the start, the CzechTek festival was broken up by police. There were hundreds of injuries. The organizers of CzechTek claimed to be permitted to set up the event around Mlýnec (Tachov District), in the west of the country close to the German border.
However, around 1,000 riot police arrived, using heavy equipment including tear gas, water cannons and the military BVP vehicle stating damage of private property. They damaged cars, electronic equipment and other property. The standoff between police and public resulted in multiple injured on both sides. Police used massive amounts of tear gas and stun grenades, broke car windows with iron bars or threw gas grenades in. A participant was killed by a truck on his way to the festival in the early morning hours.
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Wikipedia