Lana del Rey, The Killers and Gorillaz are just some of the big names that will perform at the ninth edition of Festival Estéreo Picnic taking place on March 23, 24 and 25 at Parque de la 222 in Bogotá. This is now one of the most acclaimed public festivals on the continent and here’s a short history of how it came to be.
Today it’s considered one of the most prominent music events in the country, but when it was getting going back in the day, it was a bit of a financial failure. For three consecutive years, its organizers (six promoters of private concerts in Colombia) fought hard to make this show a true festival, which, aside from music, offered all sorts of different experiences in terms of food, clothes and crafts stalls, camping, a recreational area and lots more.
Even though the figures weren’t as good as expected in the beginning, there were stellar lineups. The crowd was under 3,000 for the first edition in 2010; 6,000 showed up in 2012 when Calle 13 and Zoé were on the bill but it was really in 2013, when they took a risk by renting a large location to create a real festival, that things started to take off. A-list stars like The Killers made their Colombian debut and the results were amazing; with 25,000 music goers Estéreo Picnic was able to position itself as one of the most prominent rock and alternative music festivals in Latin America. In 2017, there were 62,000 attendees.
Gracing the stages recently have been must-see bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers, Nine Inch Nails, Los Fabulosos Cadillacs and DJ Tiesto (in 2014); Jack White, Kings of Leon and Calvin Harris (in 2015); Snoop Dogg, Mumford & Sons, Alabama Shakes, Noel Gallagher and Jack Ü (in 2016); The Weeknd, The Strokes, Wiz Khalifa and Two Door Cinema Club (in 2017).
Top sponsors and brands have been key in supporting the growth of the event, helping it to become the massive “giant” that it is today, wowing guests with impressive displays of music, lights, sound and stages.
“Estéreo Picnic has been able to position itself thanks to our persistence in establishing a world-class festival in Bogotá. The support of the sponsors and of the Colombian public has been fundamental because they believed in this project since its inception,” affirms festival Press Officer Miguel Santacoloma.
According to Santacoloma, some 70,000 people over the course of the three-day festival are projected to attend this year. “The lineup for this ninth edition is in keeping with our A-list standards. Gorillaz will play Colombia for the first time, Lana del Rey will fulfill many people’s wildest dreams and it’ll be The Killers second time at FEP.” A total of 50 artists will be performing, one of which is homegrown favorite Bomba Estéreo.
The commitment to attract music tourism is also one of the objectives of the festival, which works to increase the attendance of people from abroad and indulge everyone – locals and foreigners alike – in their love for music.