Zakopane. New Year's Eve 2024, the grand event will be replaced by concerts of regional bands

– There must definitely be a New Year's Eve concert, because there cannot be a vacuum after so many years of organizing grand events. I don't think anyone can imagine that there would be no New Year's Eve concert in Zakopane. It will be a more modest event, but we want it to be – said the deputy mayor of Zakopane, Iwona Grzebyk-Dulak.

According to the idea of ​​the city authorities, this year's event will be a regional and folk New Year's Eve, but it is not yet known what funds from the city budget will be allocated to the event. There are no confirmed bands yet, but they are supposed to be local groups as well as Polish folk bands.

– We look for savings and check in various departments where we can save. Perhaps we will also ask sponsors for support, announced the deputy mayor.

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The previous authorities of Zakopane, starting from 2016, organized annually, together with TVP, a New Year's Eve concert for an audience of 30,000. Outside the designated sectors, over twice as many people gathered on Równia Krupowa.

During New Year's Eve with TVP2 at Giewont, the following people performed, among others: Jason Derulo, Dua Lipa, Oceana, Natalia Oreiro, Luis Fonsi, Ricchi e Poveri, Al Bano, Boney M., Dr Alban, Shaun Baker and Modern Talking. Polish artists also performed, including: Maryla Rodowicz, Justyna Steczkowska, Sławomir, Roxie Węgiel, Golec uOrkiestra, Blanka, Edyta Górniak, Dawid Kwiatkowski, Zakopower and Daria Marx. Disco polo stars also appeared: Playboys, Weekend, Defis, Classic, Boys, MiłyPan, Voyager and the king of the genre – Zenon Martyniuk.

The main organizer of the New Year's Eve Dream was Telewizja Polska, so Zakopane did not incur any costs related to, for example, salaries for performers or the construction of a stage. Zakopane was responsible for lending the event area, ensuring order outside the organized area, and cleaning up Równia Krupowa after the concert.

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Although Sylwester Marzeń from TVP attracted a large audience, it also aroused controversy. Opponents of the event argued that loud music scares animals in the Tatra National Park and that it is a promotion of disco polo.

The current authorities of Zakopane, after a meeting regarding the organization of the event, agreed that the New Year's Eve concert will also be held at Górna Równia Krupowa, i.e. in the same place, and it will be a mass event for several tens of thousands of people.

– We decided that the best location for the New Year's Eve concert would be Górna Równia Krupowa, and we would organize the event there. We will still prepare the documentation together with the services and consult the details. We also turned to the Provincial Police Headquarters in Krakow with a request for support from police officers. We also discussed medical security and talked about potential threats, said Grzebyk-Dulak.

In addition to the mass event, the city authorities will not give up the classical music concert on New Year's Eve, which has been organized continuously for many years.