The mayor of Warsaw, Rafał Trzaskowski, did not give his consent to organize SBM FFestival 2024 on the premises of the Academy of Physical Education, which is located in the Bielany district. “It is highly probable that the end of August will pass peacefully in Bielany,” commented Mayor Grzegorz Pietruczuk on social media. The organizer may appeal the decision of the mayor of the capital. SBM FFestival is the largest hip-hop music event in Poland.
Pietruczuk stressed that from the very beginning of the matter of moving the festival from the Bemowo airport to the sports facilities of the Academy, located in the buffer zone of the Bielański Forest nature reserve, he appealed to the university authorities to meet the expectations of residents and to the Capital Security Centre not to issue a permit for the organisation of the event in Bielany.
SBM FFestival 2024 will not take place at AWF in Bielany
“Let's start with the fact that we are not against organizing cultural events, including mass events. However, not in this form and not with this approach of the organizer. The Bielański Forest buffer zone is a valuable ecosystem that will suffer due to excessive noise and several thousand guests,” the mayor noted.
He explained that local residents will also suffer, as “not one, not two, but three days will be forced to listen to concerts until late at night (2:30, 2:00 and… 3:00).” “Particularly the patients of the Bielański Hospital located right next to the university. We all remember what the last editions of the festival at the Bemowo airport looked like,” he added.
Local residents protested against the festival, which had previously been held at the Bemowo airport. They complained not so much about the noise – which they had become accustomed to – but about the fact that the event lasted until almost three in the morning, for four days in a row.
This year's festival is scheduled for three days – from Thursday, August 29 to Saturday, August 31. Concerts are to end at 1 a.m. SBM FFestival 2024 is the largest hip-hop festival in Poland.
The mayor of Bielany explained that the mayor of Warsaw justified the negative decision with the negative opinion of the City Commander of the State Fire Service and the discrepancies indicated by the State District Sanitary Inspector in the documentation submitted by the organizer. “The services confirm our position that a festival in this place is a terrible and dangerous idea,” added Pietruczuk.
The organiser, SBM Events, has the right to appeal this decision.
Main image source: Maciek Jazwiecki / Wyborcza.pl Agency