Picnic "Afisha" is the largest annual multi-format open-air music festival in the CIS. It has been held since 2004 in Moscow. The festival program is varied. These are not only concerts, but also art installations, summer cinemas, master classes, designer clothing markets and much more, which attracts an increasing number of spectators and participants to Afisha Picnic.
The idea of the summer open-air festival came from Ilya Tsentziper, one of the founders of the Afisha magazine. Thanks to his efforts, in 2004 the first musical "picnic" was held in Luzhniki. In 2006 it was held in Krasnopresnensky Park, and since 2007 the Afisha Picnic has been hosted by the Kolomenskoye Museum-Reserve. In 2010, the festival was attended by over 50,000 people, and the number of spectators is growing from year to year.
The festival was initially positioned not only with concerts of popular and young groups of different styles and trends, but also with other types of summer recreation: sports competitions and outdoor games, restaurants and snack bars, “party” by the pool. During the festival, there is a traveling library with the brightest book novelties, a lecture hall of the Polytechnic Museum, a silent cinema and markets with designer items.
In 2012, the Afisha Picnic was held on July 21 from 12:00 to 22:00. Young and very famous performers performed on three stages installed in the alleys of Kolomensky Park: “Motorama”, “Stoned Boys”, “The Drums”, “Little Boots”, “Aquarium”, “Franz Ferdinand”, “Pet Shop Boys” and many others.
The preparatory period for such a large-scale event is a long process. The participants of the Picnic are specified until the beginning of the festival. In 2012, Icelandic singer Bjork, announced back in November, canceled her performance at the Picnic. But the organizers found a worthy replacement for her - the mega-popular British pop group Pet Shop Boys.
You can find out the program of the Picnic from the messages in the Afisha magazine, as well as by studying the information on the official website of the festival or by walking through the numerous guide sites. They usually contain a detailed schedule of festival events and a map with the location of all recreation areas.
