It can only get better for Benicassim

Spain | by Ross Purdie | 18 August 2004

Jose and Miguel Moran, FIB Heineken directors, are confident the best is still yet to come from Benicassim, following the success of this year's 10th anniversary event.

Jose said: "The growing non-musical side of the festival - fashion, film, and theatre - has helped give FIB Heineken a personality of its own compared to other Spanish festivals. It has given it a more cultural flavour."  

The pair claim the four-day event has now reached its potential as a first-rate global festival. More than 30 per cent of visitors came from outside of Spain, boosting attendence on last year to almost 35,000 music-fans a day.

But they said, like any Mozza fan, they were disappointed when Morrissey was forced to cancel at the eleventh hour because of 'technical difficulties to his aeroplane'. Lou Reed and Belle And Sebastian stood in for the stranded crooner and fans' spirits were further raised with sets from Air, Franz Ferdinand and The Charlatans. 

Foreign journalists (including a few from VF) flooded the festival site. More than 400 made the trip, mainly those from Britain and France, but also some from places like Romania, Serbia, Brazil and Turkey. This compares to around 625 Spanish journos, further highlighting the amount of international interest in the event.

Manuel Llorca, Benicassim's mayor, once again expressed the village's support for the festival and announced that he and his council were already looking forward to next year to help make the event even better still.

He committed the council to improving the site's facilities and access but hinted it may request the dates of next year's festival to be moved back to July.    

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