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History - 2011

Fact file

Dates

July 29(Fri), 30(Sat), 31(Sun), 2011

Place

Naeba Skii Resort, Niigata

Figures

Audience

115,000 (cumulative)

Campers

17,000

What happened?

Even after experiencing the Great East Japan Earthquake, its ongoing effects and the many changes it brought to each of our lives, the festival was held in 2011 with the sentiment of "Ganbaro Nippon!" (Let's do our best Japan!) in all our hearts.

Coldplay, who had performed at the festival twice before, at last headlined on the first day of the festival and quickly became a highlight of Fuji Rock Festival 2011 with a show that candidly expressed the band's heartfelt warmth towards Japan and its people. The Arctic Monkeys, who since their debut in 2005 have rocketed to becoming one of the UK's most popular artists made their Fuji Rock debut as second headliner, unsparingly belting out hit after hit. Big Audio Dynamite lead by Mick Jones of The Clash headlined Friday at the White Stage, proving to us once again that one of the great things about festivals is being able to see bands that have reformed. As if symbolizing this truth, the Faces headlined Saturday, bringing excited veteran fans out to Naeba to see the band's original guitarist, Ron Wood, who also plays in the Rolling Stones. Sunday brought us the Chemical Brothers and their stunning visual performance using a enormous LED screen that filled the Green Stage, transforming Naeba into a dance floor in the blink of an eye.

While Fuji Rock acts as a catalyst for many artists to become big name bands, none other encapsulate this as much as The Music, who performed as a special guest, closing out the festival with what is their last performance in Japan before breaking up. A new festival legend was borne as fans stayed at the Green Stage to see The Music's last performance.

Since 1997, the festival has been a standard bearer for coexisting with nature while providing opportunities to reflect on converting to renewable energy sources. In 2011, the festival offered the Atomic Café, an anti-nuclear event held since the 1980's, use of the Avalon Stage in the NGO Village to support the movement of conversion to a renewable energy based society. Kazuyoshi Saito and Noriko Kato performed while the three members of the Yello Magic Orchestra communicated their message through discussion.

Donations were gathered for "Benefit for NIPPON", a Great East Japan Earthquake support project, with a great many people making heartfelt donations to boxes set up inside and outside the festival. The Fuji Rock Festival Organization Office made the following donation on behalf of all of those who gave; Total Donation: Y9,809,274 / Destination: Fukushima Prefecture Disaster Provision Main Office / Donated: August 30th, 2011.

Fuji Rock has always strived towards the Coexistance of Nature and Music through many different measures and has now founded the Fuji Rock Forest Advancement Committee along with the Niigata prefectural government, the town of Yuzawa and the people of Naeba to protect the forest surrounding the festival venue. With the building and maintenance of the "Boardwalk", a symbol of the festival, at its core, the project will continue to act in order to ensure the forest is rejuvinated and used productively so the people of Naeba and those who visit are able to enjoy an even more amazing environment. It is a first in that a music festival and the government join hands in a project to advance the protection of a forest and we aim to be a model for the world to see and learn from.

Timetable 2011