Gitarijada () was a musical festival held in Belgrade, Serbia, at the time part of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. The first edition of the festival was held in 1966, and second and the last in 1967. The festival was one of the first rock festivals in Yugoslavia and considered one of the most notable events in the early days of Yugoslav rock music.
History
Background
During the 1960s the Non-Aligned Yugoslavia was more opened and welcoming towards Western culture than other socialist countries in Europe. Prior to the first edition of the festival, rock music had already seen large popularity with the Yugoslav youth and found its way to the Yugoslav media. At the beginning of the 1960s, first Yugoslav rock bands were formed, and prior to the first edition of Gitarijada some of them, like Atomi, Bijele Strijele, Crveni Koralji, Iskre and Elipse had already published EPs. In 1961 the radio show Sastanak u 9 i 5 (The Meeting at 9:05), dedicated to rock and roll, started airing on Radio Belgrade, and in 1962, the music magazine Ritam, dedicated to jazz and contemporary popular music, was established. The series of concerts named Parada ritma (Parade of Rhythm), held in 1964 and featuring Yugoslav rock bands, are considered the first rock festival in Yugoslavia and perhaps the first rock festival in a communist country. However, it was Gitarijada festival that turned the eyes of the entire Yugoslav public towards rock music and popularity it enjoyed among the youth.
1966
The first edition of the festival, envisioned as a competition of rock bands, was organized by the magazine TV novosti (TV News), the newspaper Večernje novosti and the record label PGP-RTB. The festival's slogan was: "TV novosti daju šansu električarima" ("TV novosti Offer a Chance to Electric Bands"). More than 100 bands from all parts of Yugoslavia applied for the partaking, 56 of them being chosen to perform on Gitarijada. The festival was held in Hall 1 of the Belgrade Fair. It included three dates: the first semi-final evening was on January 6, the second semi-final evening on January 9, and the final evening on February 13. The jury consisted of Stevan Markićević (the musical editor of Radio Belgrade), Borivoje Pavlović (Radio Belgrade journalist), Mladen Maslić (musician), Danilo Vasić (musician), Aleksandar Vujisić (musician), Jovan Popaz (musician) and Dragan Jelasić (boxer). During the festival, present in the audience were some notable public figures of the time: professor at Military Medical Academy and correspondent member of the Serbian Academy of Science and Arts Izidor Papo, politician, writer, and political theorist Dobrica Ćosić, composer and conductor Mihailo Vukdragović, film director Dušan Makavejev, actresses Milena Dravić and Rada Đuričin, singer Đorđe Marjanović and others.
The first eight finalists were, ranked by the jury in the following order: Bele Višnje, Siluete, Indexi, Rubinsi, Iskre, Beduini, Dinamiti and Tomi Sovilj i Njegove Siluete. More than 5,000 people attended the first evening of the festival, a large part of them carrying banners with messages of support for their favorite bands. On the second semi-final evening, also attended by several thousands spectators, the jury chose eight other bands, ranking them in the following order: Elipse, Bomiko, Veseli Dečaci, Idoli, Plavi Dečaci, Smeli, Plamenih 5, Kristali. In the finals, attended by about 15,000 people, the jury chose eight bands as the best, ranking them in the following order: Elipse, Siluete, Plamenih 5, Indexi, Iskre, Smeli, Bele Višnje, Plavi Dečaci, Veseli Dečaci, Rubinsi. The audience got the chance to vote for the best band, polling Siluete.
On March 3, in Belgrade Youth Center, an exhibition of photographs from the festival by well-known photographer Tomislav Peternek was opened. The exhibition was entitled Koncert od 100 fotografja (The 100 Photographs Concert).
Reactions
As one of the first rock festivals and one of the first large rock concerts in Yugoslavia, Gitarijada caused analysis by the authorities and various reactions of the public.
The Central Committee of the League of Communists of Serbia discussed the festival, but decided to transfer the whole issue to the Central Committee of the League of Socialist Youth of Serbia, which, for their part, decided the issue is in the jurisdiction of the Belgrade City Committee of the League of Socialist Youth of Serbia. The City Committee demonstrated understanding for young rock musicians and fans. Its analysis stated that "for some, this [purely] musical question is — a question about the fate of socialism". It also stated: