June 1, 2022 - Organizers MPG Live announced the premiere edition of the Fusion World Music Festival. The new world music event will bring together more than 20 of the most sought-after musical names from Croatia and the region on the largest stage in Europe - 75 meters long and 16 meters high!
For the first time, such an event will be followed only by the best that world production has to offer at the moment, reports Dalmatinski Portal.
"For the first time, the audience will be able to see their favorite performers in the conditions in which Beyonce or Celine Dion perform. Moreover, they will perform on one of the biggest stages in Europe - the Ultra Europe festival, which only confirms that this summer the performances of Fusion stars will rise to an unprecedented level," said festival spokesman Gordan Vasilj and added that based on the audience's reactions, they hit the spot.
"After we announced the first lineup with seven names, the demand for tickets started immediately. We unveiled the complete program a week later, and everything boiled over, which is expected because they are the most popular performers with millions of fans. In two days, we expect a little more than 50 thousand people; it will be a world event, world productions, and Split will be the music hotspot of Europe. We estimate that Fusion will result in more than 70,000 overnight stays, and guests will, according to previous experience, stay in Split and the county for an average of four days. The value of the investment in the next five years is 150 million kuna," said Vasilj, who on behalf of the organizers thanked the City of Split and Split-Dalmatia County, which supported the project.
"We have to be a city and a county of high ambitions, and the Fusion Festival brings just that. However, we need to be even more ambitious and even better. This city loves content; in the 21st-century, people are looking for as much content as possible; tourism is not just about the sun and the sea. This content is very much needed by our tourists and all the citizens of Split," said the Deputy Prefect of the Split-Dalmatia County, Stipe Čogelja, and the director of the County Tourist Board, Joško Stella, agreed.
"Such festivals significantly contribute to the branding of Dalmatia. We are a region generally known for music, so it will be a pleasure to have renowned Croatian and performers from the region who will make a phenomenal introduction to one of the best tourist seasons ever. Not only do we need this, but this must be a part of each of our tourist seasons because our guests and we deserve it. Culture, music, and song are part of our tradition and tourism and should always remain so.
Dalmatino, Doris Dragović, Jelena Rozga, Gibonni, Nina Badrić, Petar Grašo, Tonči Huljić, and Madre Badessa, Prljavo kazalište, Aco Pejović, Aleksandra Prijović, Gazda Paja, Hurricane, Sara Jo, Saša Matić, Voyage & Nucci and Željko Samardžić are the performers featured in the first edition of the event. Each of them will have a minimum of 45 minutes to perform, and the party will last until 5 am on both days.
"I have always been wonderfully welcomed in Split, and I can promise that this will be something to remember, not only from our side but also from the side of Split. We are people of goodwill, and we will lend a hand to each other; love has united us, and only love can sustain us," said Samardžić.
Tonči Huljić said that in his career, he has never performed at the Youth Park, where the Fusion Festival will be held from July 22 and 23, 2022.
"I performed at Poljud with Magazin, but I ran in elementary school at the Youth Park. So that's how I performed," he joked and revealed what attracted him to join this story.
"I’m turning to some other musical directions, more classical and crossover. I am always interested in this sociological picture - why do those performers who never appear on radio stations and television in Croatia have the largest number of visitors. This means that music finds its way, and preferences are a matter of choice, not imposing and adapting to a particular taste. I wonder how it will work in one place, how the audience will react, and whether those who like one type of music will be bothered by performers who don’t listen, whether they will whistle or applaud. I'm interested in that interaction. I don't accept performances with Madre Badess so often unless it's a challenge for me, and Fusion is it," said the musician.
"We had a vision of raising production to a higher level; after we presented it to the performers, it was not difficult to persuade them to be part of a story like this. They deserve it, they are worldly, and I believe they will be satisfied and want to return to the festival. Today we announced all the performers with Prljavo kazalište; I think we have designed a diverse program so that each of the audience can find something. The World music inscription stands in the name because we have big plans for the next releases; we want to extend the festival for another day and bring performers from the rest of the world. We will follow the path of the Mediterranean, by which I mean Italy, Spain, and other countries," said the artistic director of the festival Ivan Huljić.
A one-day ticket costs 250 kuna, a two-day 450 kuna, and a VIP for one day 499 kuna. More info can be found here.
For more, make sure to check out our dedicated lifestyle section.
