The four-day festival, now in its 32nd year, runs through Saturday night at Czaplinek-Broczyno and features Godsmack, P.O.D., Dropkick Murphys, Kosheen and Eagle-Eye Cherry alongside Polish acts including Dżem, Myslovitz, Nocny Kochanek and Happysad.
Jerzy Owsiak, head of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, which runs the event, told reporters before the opening that organizers were closely monitoring parking areas and campsites set up by local residents.
"Cooperation is very good. So far it has been very calm", he said, adding there had been no serious incidents.
Security for the event, held since 2021 in the West Pomerania region after 23 years under the name Przystanek Woodstock in Kostrzyn nad Odrą, also includes firefighters and sanitary inspectors. Regional governor Adam Rudawski said 45 inspectors were carrying out daily checks and had already completed more than 150 inspections, and confirmed all water sources at the site had passed safety tests.
Medical provision includes a field hospital with X-ray and ultrasound equipment and defibrillators, four medical points, seven ambulances, seven quad bikes and 1,200 volunteers from the festival's Peace Patrol. A "Health Zone" offers free liver and thyroid checks, testicular ultrasounds and diabetes consultations, and this year added oncology consultations for the first time — a step West Pomeranian marshal Olgierd Geblewicz called "very, very important".
Geblewicz said the region had arranged roughly 30 extra trains a day from Szczecin, Stargard and Szczecinek, more than tripling normal regional rail service to over 200 train pairs during the festival, and urged visitors to extend their stay in the region.
Owsiak said festival amenities including a lost-and-found office and field radio station were already running, and that a "Count Yourself In Against Diabetes" charity run had attracted 3,250 participants, with entry packages selling out within fifteen minutes.
Festivalgoers can also attend talks at the festival's "Academy of Beautiful Arts", featuring guests this year including actress Agata Kulesza, Paris Olympics medalist Julia Szeremeta and European Space Agency astronaut Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski.
(jh)
Source: PAP