07/21/20

Pol'and'Rock Festival - the Most Beautiful House Party in the World


Festival organizers have found themselves in an entirely new reality. With all music events - big and small - cancelled this year, our Festival has been moved online. We are keeping the ideals of Pol'and'Rock Festival alive and inviting our friends to take part in a unique, online edition of our event. The new formula of the Festival required the introduction of innovative solutions while staying true to the ideals, tradition, and vibe of the Most Beautiful Festival in the World. 

Audience at the Most Beautiful House Party in World 

Due to restrictions introduced to slow down the spread of coronavirus in Poland, we had to cancel the festival, which traditionally takes place in Kostrzyn nad Odrą in western Poland. We could not, however, imagine summer without music and festival atmosphere, so we decided to move Pol'and'Rock 2020 to the Internet. 

Not satisfied with the idea of streaming old material and relying on never-before-seen footage only, and to satisfy the growing demand for live music and innovative experiences, we decided to roll out the big guns. Warsaw TV studio will become the home for three-day music and culture extravaganza. With live gigs from thirty leading Polish artists, esteemed guests speaking at the online edition of the Academy of Finest of Arts and other initiatives planned to span over the three days of the festival, The Most Beautiful House Party shapes up to be one of the most exciting events in the summer calendar, combining online broadcast, live concerts, talks, and never-before-seen materials. 

As some of the restrictions have been lifted, we jumped at the chance to invite a limited number of people to the studio. Still following all required safety procedures, including social distancing and mandatory temperature checks, we extended an invitation for fans of the festival to visit our studio in Warsaw. We know that the vibe that only a live audience can create would contribute to that unforgettable atmosphere. The experience of music and conversations with our guests will be more authentic and have that depth and feeling of interaction. 

For those who were not lucky enough to win a ticket to attend the Most Beautiful Festival in the World studio, the entire event will be streamed live on Facebook and YouTube. 

House Party Map - Local Events on the Virtual Map 

Our Festival is powered not only by music and fantastic activities. The vibrant energy of our audience powers our efforts to hold our festival. Hundreds of thousands of people flock to Kostrzyn nad Odrą to create a community which inspires us to build the Festival to be better, more exciting, more vibrant, and more inclusive.  

We wanted to ensure that we can still be together and share that campsite atmosphere despite being away from each other this year. We came up with a perfect idea - a virtual map, where people are hosting their own, local house parties could list their events. Using a simple online form, the organizers can describe their activities and pin their location on our map. The map, which is powered by Esri and supported by Mastercard allows local organizers to showcase their creativity and organizational skills. You can also access the map using a designated festival app, which is available for iOS and Android.

There are currently almost 400 events listed on the map, and there are 11 countries, where festival-goers will meet up to celebrate the atmosphere of Pol'and'Rock Festival together. The creativity of the festival-goers knows no bounds. Edinburgh crowd will meet to enjoy their shared hobby of motorbikes. At the same time, in Bleary in the vicinity of Caignavon, there will be a family-friendly picnic focusing on promoting the idea of less waste. The even in Costa Brava shapers up to be a beach party, rather than a house party, while in Paris, the organizers want to recreate some of the best-loved features of the festival. Chilean party will be powered by a Peace Patrol volunteer, who moved to Latin America. Polish house parties range from large, family-friendly events to intimate, smaller viewing parties. 

Fans of the atmosphere of the Most Beautiful festival in the World can meet to host viewing parties of the live stream which will last for over 70 hours and participate in activities which remind them of the festival. The organizers mention different initiatives, such as workshops for kids, festival-inspired cook-outs, and arts and crafts. 

Some of the local house parties will be featured in the festival broadcast. We want to show that despite the distance and restrictions we are still that very same community united by the ideals of The Most Beautiful Festival in the World - Friendship, Love, and Music. 

The Most Beautiful House Party on YouTube 

This year we are unable to meet in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, but we are moving our festival online. The entire event will be broadcast live and will be available on Kręcioła.TV YouTube channel. 

Even though the thousand-strong festival audience will not meet in front of the Main Stage, the avid fans of Pol'and'Rock Festival will still get a chance to be together and watch the online broadcast from the festival studio in Warsaw. The broadcast, which will begin on July 30th and will end, just like the offline edition of the festival would have, early in the morning on August 2nd. The full 70-hour broadcast will be streamed live on YouTube. One of the focal ideas of the festival is the fact that the event is free and inclusive, so online broadcast will be available all over the world, completely free of charge, both on YouTube and YouTube Premium platforms. 

Our online Festival is a unique undertaking. We moved it to the internet, but we did not sacrifice any of its atmosphere or vibe. When we found our that we can team up with YouTube to bring festival experience to a massive audience through their platform, we knew that we could reach out to each one of you! Our friends can join us for the awesome experience of The Most Beautiful House Party - the 26th edition of Pol'and'Rock Festival! 
-Jurek Owsiak, promotor of Pol'and'Rock Festival. 

Pol'and'Rock Festival, known formerly as Woodstock Festival Poland, is considered to be the biggest non-commercial Festival in Europe. The event attracts hundreds of thousands of revellers annually and has the status of a cult event for music fans from Poland. Fans flock to Kostrzyn nad Odrą to experience three days ruled by the ideals of Friendship, Love, and Music. The Festival, which offers the public an opportunity to take in top international and Polish music acts such as Judas Priest, Parkway Drive, Ziggy Marley, Arch Enemy, Amon Amarth and hundreds of other bands. Even though the Festival will be entirely digital this year, the organizers of the event, the biggest charity in Poland, strive to keep its atmosphere intact. There are 30 bands confirmed to play live from a festival TV studio in Warsaw as well as esteemed guests, including film-makers, actors, activists, and artists who will answer questions from the audience. The entire online Festival will mimic the usual line-up of the real event and will be streamed for an uninterrupted 70 hours on Facebook, YouTube, and twitch. 
Olga