The greatest live music festival in Turkey will be held in Istanbul under the sponsorship of Coca Cola at Hezarfen Airport on September 6 and 7. The festival is expected in later years to be placed among a few remarkable festivals in the world like the U.K.’s Glastonbury, Denmark’s Roskilde, Scotland’s T in the Park and Netherlands’ Lowands festivals with its technical structure, music groups and number of participants
ANKARA - Nowadays, those who desire to share the splendid atmosphere of live music performances of their favourite bands and have a little bit of fun with several other ’soul-mates’ are in a hurry to became a part of the greatest live music festival to be held in Turkey; Rock’n Coke Istanbul. The festival will be organised under the sponsorship of Coca-Cola at Hezarfen Airport on September 6 and 7 with the collaboration of Pozitif and Istanbul Culture and Arts Endowment, that have arranged many successful organisations and festivities including the Istanbul Jazz Festival and the Efes Pilsen Blues Festival.
The structure and design of the festival area, participants, musicians to take the stage, content and vision are claimed by the organisers to be entirely different from the festivals held in Turkey up to now.
First festival sponsored totally by Coca Cola
Another feature of Rock’n Coke Istanbul is that it is going to be the first festival sponsored totally by the Coca Cola Company. In recent weeks, Coca Cola Turkey Marketing Director Galya Frayman Molinas, at a meeting in which the festival was introduced to the press, set forth why they placed great importance for this festival: "In Turkey, youth covers the majority of the population. Almost 84 percent of them listen to music every day and for Coca Cola music constitutes an important platform for communication. We saw that there is a gap in Turkey in terms of a festival of world standard and decided to fill this gap." In the meeting, Coca Cola Turkey General Director Ahmet Burak noted that the Rock’n Coke Festival would very much contribute to Istanbul on the way to being a metropolis for world youth and introduce it to the world.
Rock’n Coke after H2000
Rock’n Coke Istanbul is welcomed especially by those who were largely disappointed in the recent H2000 Festival, the biggest music festival held in Turkey until Rock’n Coke, due to some problems in the organization (for the reason of a dispute between the local administrative authorities and organization officials, the participants were forced by the gendarmerie to pick up their tents a while after the festival started). Therefore, Rock’n Coke’s developed technical and organizational features draw much attention of those demanding a more comfortable festival to enjoy.
Alternative rock festival from Coca Cola protesters
While quite a number of people are making plans to be a part of this huge festival, a group of people opposing the festival since it is sponsored by Coca Cola, claimed to be one of the symbols of global capitalism, are making preparations for an alternative rock festival.
An alternative festival to Rock’n Coke will be organised on the same dates by a group called ‘Global Peace and Justice Coalition’. The alternative festival, ‘Barisarock’, which means ‘Rock to the Peace’, will be held in Sariyer Bahar Suyu picnic area.
Ragip Incesagir, representing the coalition, stated that they are protesting the Rock’n Coke Festival sponsored by Coca Cola Company and so organised an alternative rock festival. "In this way, we aim to save rock culture from the attacks of global hegemony", he said.
Famous Turkish rock bands like Mogollar, Bulutsuzluk Ozlemi, Mor ve Otesi, Pentagram and other bands will appear on the stage at the alternative festival.
‘Rock is against the system’
Taner Gungor from the band, Mogollar, stated, "Rock has always been against the system and lies" Harun Tekin from Mor ve Otesi, who withdrew from Rock’n Coke recently, noted that the name of a sponsor company should never be more prominent than the artist and the music.
How people perceive Coca Cola
Coca Cola, for a long time, has been perceived as the symbol of ‘fierce’ global capitalism mostly by extremists. However, in Turkey with the invasion of Iraq by the U.S. and with the U.S. demands from Turkey concerning sending troops to Iraq, an overall reaction against the U.S. from all parts of society grew recently. This situation was best reflected when Turks began to favor Cola Turca, instead of Coca Cola, launched to the market by Ulker Group at the time when U.S. forces in Iraq seized 11 Turkish soldiers (Later, this attitude was also criticized since there was no originality and the product was just a good copy of an element of American culture.)
Eventually, although it is hard to say that there is a certain anti-cola trend among masses in Turkey, it is clear that the image of the U.S. is not the same as it was before the recent developments in Iraq, and so too of Coca Cola.
Unsure about whether this perception will affect participation to the festival, it is clear that when the concept of rock is added to those, the issue grows more complex.
The Rock and the Coke
Noting the original understanding of rock as ‘against the system’ in the late 1960s, during an era in which we are confronted with a changing concept of the ‘rocker soul’, minds could be somehow be confused on the perception of a ‘rock festival’ under the sponsorship of a global company. This point of view from Daily Radikal may be helpful at this point: "It could be respectable to keep the original ‘rock soul’ by protesting a festival sponsored by Coca Cola. However, rock cannot get rid of the world that we live in. Nowadays, the only thing we could expect from rock music is to help ease our souls that are highly disappointed by the facts of life. Therefore, neither the opposers are wrong nor the participants are sinners."
Now it’s time to see whether Rock’n Coke will be an event where rock fans meet like Roskilde or Glastonbury or other remarkable fests in the world. After all, isn’t it all about listening to some good music and sharing an atmosphere with several ’soul-mates’?
What’s the program? September 6th:
Main stage: Rashit (Istanbul), Duman (Istanbul), The Delgados (Glasgow), Dead Kennedys (San Francisco), Guao Apes( Goettingen), M.F.™. (Istanbul), Simple Minds (Glasgow), Suede (London), Dreadzone (London)
DJ Arena: Style-ist (Istanbul), DJ Yakuza (Istanbul), Marshall Jefferson (Chicago), Arkin Allen (Montreal), DJ Paul Daley (London), Slam (Glasgow)
September 7th:
Main stage: Nil Karaibrahimgil (Istanbul), Athena (Istanbul), Mercan Dede (Istanbul), Echo and the Bunnymen (Liverpool), Dirty Vegas (London), Sugababes (London), The Cardigans (Stockholm), Pet Shop Boys (London), Hooverphonic (Brussels)
DJ Arena: Mabbas (Istanbul), Daddy G, Phil Hartnoll -orbital- (Brighton), DJ Fuchs (Istanbul), Lisa Pin-Up (London), Felix Da Housecat (Chicago)
How much do I have to pay?
If you buy the tickets before September 6, you’ll pay TL 35 million for a day, TL 55 million for two days. To buy the ticket(s) at the gates, you have to pay TL 40 million for one day entrance and TL 65 million for the whole festival. Those who want to spend the night in the festival area have to pay extra TL 3 million.
Where does the festival take place?
At Hezarfen Airport, Istanbul.
How do I reach there?
From different spots around Istanbul, bus services will be arranged for arrivals and returns. Hours and the bus points will be announced on the web site of Rock’n Coke and in the press.
What if I come by car, do you have a parking area?
Yes, but for a limited number of cars. You’d better take the services.
Do you have a campsite for those who want to spend the night?
Yes, the campsite is organised for 5,000 participants. Those who do not have campsite tickets are not going to be allowed to stay, or enter the campsite either.
For the handicapped:
There are going to be toilets and special seating platforms.
Keep in mind:
There will be food areas in the campsite and for those who want a "reminder" from the festival there will be shops selling t-shirts, souvenirs, CD’s and books.
Do not worry about money(!), ATM’s will be at your service.
First aid teams will be ready during the festival.
Participants are not be allowed to bring any kinds of pets(!), food and audio or visual aquipment.
The festival is going to be held under any weather conditions without any change in the program.