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So Near, Yet Sónar: Barcelona's City Festival
Author: Andrew Regan   | Posted: 03-01-2008 | Comments: 0 | Views: 11 | Rating: (50)  (?) 
Every June, for three nights and three days, the bars, clubs, pubs and streets of Barcelona become even more busy than normal, as people from all over Spain, Europe, and the rest of the world descend upon the city to experience Sónar, an Advanced Music and Multimedia Art festival. The official website describes the festival as "the essential meeting point for an alert public, cutting-edge artists and the most influential professionals from the sectors of music and modern arts."
Sonar has been running for the last 15 years, and now attracts 80,000 people to the city annually. Unlike many other music festivals that have popped up over the last decade, Sónar is completely city based, meaning no mud, no portaloos and no camping. For those that prefer their festivals to be situated in a civilised, urban environment, rather than out in the not-so-great outdoors, Sónar is the festival for you.
Though Sonar embraces many forms of music, the emphasis is definitely on electronic styles; artists that have appeared in the last few years include: Aphex Twin, Cut Chemist, DJ Yoda, Kraftwerk and The Chemical Brothers.
The festival has two distinct components; "Sonar by Day" takes place in the centre of contemporary culture and the Museum of contemporary art, which is very close to the La Rambla. Here, visitors will find live music performances, DJs, multimedia art, record and clothes fairs, technology demonstrations, cinemas and other activities, split into a number of official areas known as SonarVillage, SonarCinema and Sonarama amongst others.
At around about 10pm each day, as the heat of the day starts to give way to slightly cooler night air, "Sonar by Night" begins. This takes place outside of the city centre and special coaches are laid on to transport festival goers to the main arena, which is split into four areas.
As Britain's biggest festivals such as Glastonbury and Reading become increasingly more difficult to get tickets for, more people are looking further a-field to get their festival fix. Foreign festivals make ideal short breaks, offering music fans the chance to see their favourite artists, and also enjoy a cultural adventure, not to mention warmer, dryer weather!
The are now hundreds of big music festivals throughout the world, including Fuji Rock Festival in Japan, Exit Festival in Serbia, Mera Luna in Germany, Southbound Festival in Australia and EuroSonic Festival in Holland, to mention just a few, so maybe you should head further a field this summer and explore the wide world of festivals outside of the UK.
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Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/destinations-articles/so-near-yet-snar-barcelonas-city-festival-295678.html
About the Author:Andrew Regan is an online, freelance author from Scotland. He is a keen rugby player and enjoys travelling.
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