Hrady CZ: Grand Finale beneath Bezděz
The summer festival tour Hrady CZ has reached its grand finale. After stops at Točník, Kunětická hora, Švihov, Hluboká nad Vltavou, Veveří, Hradec nad Moravicí and Bouzov, the festival also arrived beneath the majestic Bezděz on 28 and 29 August. And because this was the final stop of this year's edition, it was clear that the season would end in grand style.
It was clear that the festival grounds beneath the castle would offer a proper dose of music, dancing, rock, rap, pyrotechnics and the traditional castle costume carnival. And, of course, thousands of visitors who came to enjoy the final festival weekend of this summer.
Friday's programme kicked off in the afternoon, with the first bands gradually warming up the crowd. Vega Elektra faced the toughest task – getting the audience in the mood and warming up a crowd that was enjoying the summer day and sitting on the grass. By the time Rytmus came on, the meadow had already filled up, and the audience, now getting into the festival spirit, was fully enjoying his Slovak rap. Grey256 invited his brother onto the stage during the Hrady CZ summer festival finale, and together they performed a song created through their joint effort.
Trautenberk invited majorettes onto the stage for their song Mužoretka, where they put on a show that made the song stand out even more! Once again, Trautenberk showed that when tanzmetal, a well-tuned crowd and a festival atmosphere come together, trouble is guaranteed. People were jumping beneath the stage and gradually burning through the last of their energy. If the audience had seemed lazy during the first band, by the time Trautenberk were playing, there was no trace of that laziness left, and at the band's urging the crowd really let loose.
Mig 21 kicked off their concert with the well-known song Maloktraktorem. Their colourful outfits and use of lighting made it impossible to simply stand still, and everyone was reminded of the disco years. Mig 21 might have seemed like a chance to catch a breath between two full-on blasts, but they decided the audience would get no rest. The crowd often sang louder than the singer himself.
And then it was time for Rybičky 48. The band wasted no time on stage and fired one familiar song after another into the crowd. After the previous performances, the festival grounds were already thoroughly warmed up, and Rybičky 48 made sure that the first day of the grand finale definitely did not end quietly.
A major part of Friday's programme was also the traditional castle costume carnival, which celebrated its twentieth anniversary this year. And because this was the final stop, there was no shortage of all kinds of ideas and costumes. We came across Grim Reapers, sorted waste, the 1980s and the 1990s complete with a walkman! Among the crowd favourites were Edward Scissorhands, cows and neon costumes. In the end, the pool balls won – and also got the biggest laughs from the audience. We must not forget SpongeBob, a castle lady, or the original costumes representing bands and their songs.
And if anyone felt after Friday's programme that they had already given absolutely everything they had, Saturday was still waiting for them. Because the grand finale has to continue. One day simply is not enough!
More photos on our zonerama.
Klarush