Sopot International Song Festival
music festival in Sopot, Poland
The Sopot International Song Festival or Sopot Festival (later called Sopot Music Festival Grand Prix, Sopot Top of the Top Festival from 2012–13 and Polsat Sopot Festival in 2014) is an annual international song contest held in Sopot, Poland. It is the biggest Polish music festival altogether with the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole, and one of the biggest song contests in Europe. Over the years, Elton John, Gloria Gaynor, Demis Roussos, Alla Pugacheva, Tamara Gverdtsiteli, Scorpions, Anastacia, Maryla Rodowicz, In-Grid and other popular performers from around the world performed at the festival.
The contest was organised and transmitted live by the public Telewizja Polska (TVP) between 1994 and 2004. The following year, the concert was broadcast by the private media station TVN for the first time and remained on TVN until 2009. From 2012 to 2014, the concert was broadcast and organised by Polsat. It was later cancelled by the broadcaster. The 2015 festival was not televised, however it returned in 2017 on TVN.
Origins and history
Foundation and early years
The first International Song Festival in Sopot was in 1961. The festival was organized by musician and composer Władysław Szpilman, then working as the head of Polish Radio's music department. Additional organizational support came from Szymon Zakrzewski from Polish Artists Management (PAGART).
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