Lollapalooza coming to Israel

By Denise Quan, CNN

updated 11:03 PM EDT, Sat August 4, 2012

Fans gather at Grant Park, Chicago for the Lollapalooza music festival on August 4, 2012.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Lollapalooza coming to Israel in 2013
• Musical festival will take place over three days in Tel Aviv park
• Announcement made at Lollapalooza in Chicago

(CNN) -- The water had barely dried on the rain-soaked stages of Lollapalooza in Chicago Saturday night when festival founder Perry Farrell announced the franchise would be expanding to the Middle East next year.

Lollapalooza Israel will take place August 20-22, 2013, in Tel Aviv's Yarkon Park, making it the first large-scale global music event in the country.

Israel marks the third international location for Lollapalooza, which expanded to Chile in 2011 and Brazil earlier this year.

"It's like an oak seed," Farrell explained to CNN. "You look at it and go, 'What's the potential of that thing?' Put it in the ground and it starts to sprout it, and it keeps growing, and more and more branches grow out of it."

The three-day festival in Israel's second most populous city is scheduled for mid-week -- on a Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday -- steering clear of Friday, the Jewish Sabbath, when Orthodox observers abstain from driving, using modern technology and listening to music.

"I don't think it would be great to do it on a Friday night. No one would go," said Farrell.

The 53-year-old musician played Tel Aviv with his band, Jane's Addiction, last September, and if he has his way, Lollapalooza will also put its imprint on another city in Israel.

"We got a call from Jerusalem, the Holy City, and they want Lollapalooza to be there, too," he confided. "But it's going to start in Tel Aviv, and we're going to do something in Jerusalem. The mayor's like, 'We want to bring young people, we want to change the perception of Jerusalem.' So we're even talking with them about it."

As for the next location on Lolla's wish list, Farrell refused to tip his hand.

"I can't tell you, but make no mistake. I want to have a beautiful portfolio of Lollapaloozas to give to my children," he said with a smile.

Stormy weather conditions Saturday brought a brief postponement and evacuation of Grant Park during Saturday's Lollapalooza in Chicago. The festival resumed in the evening.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_showbiz/~3/oZ2x3t_Lerw/index.html

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