As we headed to the sunset strip last night for dinner at Mint I couldn’t help but notice the progress in the building the festival site for Ibiza 123 Rocktronick. July 1 is not that far away and many of the headline acts that are confirmed will be already turning their thoughts to travelling to the island. Marquis are popping up on the site at the side of sunset strip, the Astroturf has been laid and construction has got underway on what I would imagine to be the stage. It’s a bold move to launch a festival on the world’s clubbing capital but one that makes total sense. And with the likes of Sting, Elton John and Lenny Kravitz joining electronic stars such as David Guetta, Fatboy Slim and Tiesto, to name only a few it offers a unique opportunity for island inhabitants to check out some of the finest music talent on the planet, in their own back yard, not to mention the army of tourists on the island at the start of July.
As we passed by the site I couldn’t help get a little buzz of anticipation about the possibilities of the event, is there a festival in the world that can boast that can boast a better backdrop than the world famous Ibiza sunset? The line up has filtered through as the weeks have passed by and the likes of Japanese Popstars, Tinie Tempah, Axwell, Steve Angello, 2ManyDJs, M83, T.E.E.D, Pete Tong, Labrinth, Rob Da Bank and Ibiza legends Pippi and Alfredo have all been added to the impressive headliners but it’s not until you see the actual festival site grow from a wasteland that it starts to become real.
July 1-3 promises to be another landmark moment on an island that has enjoyed its fair share over the years, from the point in time that Balearic Beats washed across the world, started from the small island in the Mediterranean, to the crowning of Ibiza as the world’s clubbing capital and the subsequent development of the club scene during the summer, the launch of the islands very own music conference IMS, cementing the importance that Ibiza has in the bigger picture. Now, as we approach day one of Ibiza 123 Rocktronic, is this the start of yet another new chapter in the evolution of the island?
