Diary of a university student: FIB

My mom agrees with the idea that I will go to

the FIB

(Festival Internacional de Benicàssim).

I will go with 4 friends this summer on July. We will camp in a special area in Benicassim. And a lot of bands will play there, specially rock-indie bands. This year one of my favourite band goes to play in the FIB, it calls

ARCTIC MOKEYS.

It will be an unforgettable experience. I'm sure!

Its origins:

Cities can be born a thousand and one times; reconstructed from their ashes or reinvented through imagination. The reborn Benicàssim that we know today owes as much to its sun, surf and sand as it does to Oasis and Leonard Cohen; as much to its peculiar mountain range, polka-dotted with caves, crags and cliffs, as to the magic of Björk and the howling of Jon Spencer; as much to the Las Palmas desert as to the Festival’s concert venue. Today’s Benicàssim is synonymous with FIB Heineken.

Benicàssim – a name of Arab origins, sons of Qasim – has had an action-packed history due to its location on the Mediterranean: once a refuge for pirates and smugglers, and now, ever since 1995, a second home and truly magical city by the sea for a week of each summer thanks to FIB Heineken. Situated in the very heart of the Costa del Azahar, Benicàssim boasts everything a modern vacation spot needs to make its visitors feel comfortable so they can thoroughly enjoy the scenery, the weather, the cuisine, the beach, the sports facilities and, of course, the music. A city reborn on the Mediterranean coast, proud of its present, which has redefined its geographic coordinates.

FIB Heineken invites you to an unparalleled holiday experience: nine days of free camping in well-cared-for grounds right next to the concert venue where you can both rest and meet interesting and like-minded young people from all over the world. Four intense days of concerts, an entire week of extra-musical activities, and one of the nicest beaches in Europe where you can relax, sunbathe and swim in the warm waters of the Mediterranean.

Since 1995

1994 – The Beginning: “I’m the Resurrection”, The Stone Roses

In 1994, post-Madrilenian Groove Madrid was in hectic full swing and shedding itself, specifically, of some of the less convenient burdens of those happy years. Bustling, noisy, cosmopolitan and, above all, fun, the capital was starting to build on one of the basic pillars of the new youth movement (the members of which seemed innocent and harmless enough, but they could sure roar up a storm): Music, pure and simple, and no pretensions. For the first time, we in Spain were discovering the latest sounds in music at the same time as the rest of the civilized world. As almost always, those sounds came from the US and the UK. Bands like Sonic Youth, Pavement, Mercury Rev and Dinosaur Jr from the other side of the Atlantic; and Ride, The Charlatans, Oasis and Blur from the British Isles, opened the doors here in our country for truly singular bands like Cancer Moon, Penelope Trip, Parkinson D.C., Patrullero Mancuso, El Inquilino Comunista, Australian Blonde and Los Planetas – all of whom, and many others, were signed to independent labels that encouraged musicians to “go their own way”. They were acclaimed in alternative-music media channels advocating change, and they played in small venues spread around the country. One in particular was Maravillas, the sanctuary of the indie-rock scene in Madrid, where an idea began to sprout – one that would prove absolutely crucial to the next fifteen years of music in Spain.

Between concerts, Luis Calvo and Joako Ezpeleta, both editors at the magazine Spiral (Calvo was also head of Elefant Records), joined up with Miguel and José Morán, who were running Maravillas, to really bring about what had until then only seemed like a pipe dream: “We would dream of creating the perfect space for an international gathering of young music lovers; a place full of unique, enriching and unforgettable experiences where people could share their interests and passion for music and life while providing an emotionally-charged base of support for cutting-edge bands to put on really amazing and one-of-a-kind shows.” And, the opportunity arrived when they found the ideal spot on the Mediterranean for truly great summer holidays – a friendly place, lots of sun, surf and sand, and beautiful weather. Francesc Colomer, who was then the mayor of the small city of Benicàssim, listened to their proposal and recognised the incredible possibilities of such a venture. He took a gamble and ultimately won. The first edition of the International Benicàssim Festival was underway.