Polish music concert to be held in Kielce after row

The city of Opole has held the National Festival of Polish Song since 1963, with one exception in 1982 when the festival was cancelled due to the imposition of martial law by the communist authorities at the time.

This year, Opole terminated the deal with TVP after music legend Maryla Rodowicz – who was due to mark her 50th year on the Polish stage – and a number of other stars said they would not perform.

On Friday TVP said that Kielce, in south-central Poland, would be organising this year’s “National Concert of Polish Song” on 10 June.

Kielce deputy mayor Andrzej Sygut emphasised that this year will see a “concert”, rather than a “festival” as in the past.

The contract between the broadcaster and Kielce City Hall will be finalised next week, Sygut said. The venue for the concert, the city’s Kadzielnia amphitheatre, can seat 5,430 according to its website.

Earlier this week, TVP chairman Jacek Kurski slammed an “unforgivable scandal” after the city of Opole cancelled the festival.

Kurski said that TVP would sue Opole for the “huge financial consequences” of moving the event, adding that a new location for the music festival would be announced later this week.

The mayor of Opole, Arkadiusz Wiśniewski, said the city would launch its own “multimillion złoty” suit against TVP.

(rg/pk)