Once a year in the first week of July, a small town in the countryside in Denmark is transformed into a churning, cacophonous, odorous melee of people from all over the world.
Huge structures are erected, only to be torn down again a week later. Cities of tents are founded, pathways cut and fences built. The sun shines down on tanned, grinning faces bouncing up and down in perfect unison. Good will flows through the oceans of people, positive energy is literally humming above the temporary city. Music pounds from surreal stages day and night, spilling out and becoming part of the very environment, as the citizens commit themselves to dancing, drinking, singing, relaxing, socializing and generally taking a holiday from the real world. This is madness. This is music. This is hedonism. This is Roskilde.
Over the last 37 years that the festival has been taking place, the event has grown into a gigantic gathering of music lovers. The population of the small town swells to nearly four times its original size. In the summer of 2008, Roskilde was estimated to have nearly 150,000 attendants. There are a large number of camping areas, some of which take 30 minutes to walk to from the main stages. This only exaggerates the feeling of being within a temporary city that has just dropped down from the sky. There’s a small lake perfect for swimming when the weather gets too hot, as long as you don’t mind seeing the occasional naked Dane. Clustered around the quarry that is being dug out of the middle of the festival (the land is still privately owned, even though the Roskilde Foundation funds the festival) is a variety of food stalls, for a price that is reasonable considering the exorbitant prices that many festivals escape with nowadays.
The festival arena itself is complete with everything you could need to spend the entire day listening to music, lounging around in the sun and spending time with new and old friends. All in all there are 7 stages, built up over the last 37 years. The gigantic Orange stage that graced the early Roskilde festivals is still the sight of the biggest bands, with a huge swathe of lawn in front of it able to accommodate 60,000 people. This stage has seen such huge names as Radiohead, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Bob Dylan, Nirvana, Sex Pistols, Smashing Pumpkins and many more. Mainly rock bands that draw massive crowds, the Orange Stage is the centre of the entire festival. On either side of the central stage are more stages, each accommodating varying amounts of listeners and suited to particular music. The Arena stage is the second largest, and hosts everything from electronic to swing music. Cosmopol is a large tent made for dancing, hosting hip-hop and Urban world music. Following this are the Odeon and Astoria which host a variety of genres. The Astoria has a completely unique feel being the only inside venue, complete with bar and chandelier. Finally there is the Pavilion stage for smaller, acoustic acts and Pavilion Junior for the up-and-coming artists that Roskilde is known to acknowledge and propagate.
There are multiple sections to the festivals, complete with a hammock area with around a hundred hammocks hung from posts outside the Pavilion stage, a bus that doubles as a pankcake café, lots of vendors and food, shaded copse’s to escape from the sun and plenty of panels that have been specifically prepared for the festival by looking grafitti artists. Every effort has been made by the Roskilde Foundation to provide an embracing environment as well as attract popular names. The foundation is also environmentally responsible, rewarding people who recycle their plastic cups or collect cans with free beer. On top of this, Roskilde is acknowledged as one of the safest festivals in Europe. The foundation goes to extraordinary lengths before each festival to make sure that the entire grounds are secure and able to cope with the huge amounts of people.
Aiding this feeling of comfort and security is that the festival does not feel like a immense, impersonal place where young and old simply arrive to listen to music and then go their separate ways. The sense of community and mutual good will is evident, and traditions that have survived for nearly 40 years are appreciated and respected. Speaking to an old Danish man one afternoon (who, it has to be said, was completely naked) as I laid around outside of a poetry slam in the camp grounds, he talked of how the festival had not changed since he first time 30 years before. He described the Roskilde attendees as a large family, that although didn’t see each often very regularly could meet again and realize that they held the most basic interests and beliefs in common. I’ve been to a few festivals, and as everyone knows they are occasionally a breeding ground for drunkenness and drug use. And although these things (especially drinking) are prevalent, it is impossible to feel intimidated. There is a general good feeling towards your common man, and even in the most bizarre situations there is no trace of ill-will or aggressiveness in the air. There is also a perfect balance of security forces, that are enough to create a sense of control amongst so much anarchy but few enough that they don’t ruin the idea of freedom and liberal expression that Roskilde stands for.
Photo of girls covered with mug at the Roskilde Festival, Denmark, by Stig Nygaard
Topic: General Travel |
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Tags: Denmark, festivals
About the author
Thom is a 21 year-old English citizen living abroad in Italy, but spent many years in the US where his parents live. He has been an avid writer since the early days of school, and is definitely addicted to travel. He is currently studying Fine Arts and Art History.
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