EHO Festival 2003 - Sonic Youth

 A dozen days before the announced the start of the great music festival, organizers are forced to measure how loud music and convincing the public that the birds and the other living world will not be endangered on the island

While constantly answering numerous phone calls, Olivera Zekić, representative of the company Ehomjuzik d.o.o. From Belgrade, he says he would like someone to measure the noise that produce airports at Belgrade Airport every day and how this is reflected in the animal's life in Surčin Atar. Organizers of the announced EHO festival, which is held on a large war island on the Danube from 10-13. In July this year, they raise the pressure in recent months representatives of various organizations for birds and mushrooms on the mentioned island. As soon as possible, someone could organize something in the "Belgrade Oasis of untouched nature" members of the members of the Collective Collective in Belgrade in the Opponents of the Belgrade public administration reported the competent institutions Such imagines. And what's the idea of ​​it? Oliver Zekic in conversation for "Time" says that the intention of people who are ready to invest in this project to institute the traditional music festival in Belgrade by which the capital would be recognizable in the world. "The initial idea was that the island was leased for ten years," says Zekićeva, but due to the unresolved ownership status of the island of Zemun and the Republic Directorate for Property, the consent was obtained only for 2003. The organizers expect the pilot-festival to show all the justification of this idea and that the event will come to life in the future. The idea is two years old and now the possibility of being implemented in compliance with existing regulations and logistical support of the city house, we learn about Ehomuzik. Unlike the Novi Sad Festival Exit, which looks like a strategic state project, organizers and investors of Belgrade's events are "privateers" who are determined to invest in something that can improve international status, and bring beautiful profit. A total of 9.3 hectares of a large war island, from 160ha, was taken away from the Danube, was leased by 500,000 dinars, and we learn that the total infrastructure costs will amount to about 13,000,000 dinars. It is planned that the entire space is fenced and protected with 500 police officers and also many members of a private security firm. The works are largely on the Lida, the Pontoon Bridge is strengthened ("Army for Ponton paid 50,000 euros," says Oliver Zekic), which can now accommodate 1200 people. There was also accounts for citizens who visit this swimming pool on the Danube daily: the beach is refreshed with new amounts of sand, the rescue service is set, the transition over the bridge is not charged. The organizers expect to even be on this part of the island, there will be about fifty thousand people who should have fun with four stage music. The true stars of popular music like Sonic Youth and Morcheeba come to Belgrade.

It's a more beautiful side of everything. However, opponents of this concept appear, which in the first place, they say that this festival will disrupt the natural bird-like habitat, that the noise of birds who enjoy their nests on the island. The competent urban and republic institutions advertised this occasion that fear is unjustified and that if the regulations are respected, life on the rest of the island can take place unhindered. Oliver Zekić, in front of the festival organizer, says that everything takes care and that music will be loud within the limits allowed, or as prescribed by the environmental law. The organizers of EHO festivals expect tens of thousands of people visit a large war island at the time of the event, so in this sense have printed special info-notebooks that will be divided visitors on the island. They explained the environmental importance of the island explained, and strictly indicated things that must not be done to preserve the natural environment and would not come to incidents. Thousands of people on a large war island will have the opportunity to inform about what Belgrade has, and that many were not even aware of that. And all under some kind of slogans: "Let's watch the nature for us to last longer." Now, why did the organizers decide to choose a great war island? According to what Zekić said for "time", the choice fell to that location because it is the best place in the city for this kind of manifestation. With a similar project, in the middle of the nineties, Pepsi Siget Festival was established in Budapest, which has become one larger in Europe over time. She appeared, in the entire noise before the festival, and the Citizens' Citizens who require an unclouded event from the island because so much noise cannot submit and believe that life will be unbearable in those four days. The petition signed a little more than a thousand citizens.