Be2gether or B2G was the largest annual music and arts festival in

Baltic countries The Baltic states or the Baltic countries is a geopolitical term encompassing Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. All three countries are members of NATO, the European Union, the Eurozone, and the OECD. The three sovereign states on the eastern co ...

. Established in 2007, it took place in

Norviliškės Norviliškės (, or ) is a small village in the so-called Dieveniškės appendix, Šalčininkai district municipality, Lithuania. It is located about northeast of the town of Dieveniškės near the border with Belarus. In 1986 it had 58 resident ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

, just a few meters from the border with

Belarus Belarus, officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east and northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Belarus spans an a ...

. In 2007, attendance was estimated at around 7,000–8,000 people, with an increase to 12,000 in 2008.

Background

Be2gether was created with the slogan ''"Music Opens Borders''", to emphasise the importance of connection despite any differences in culture, nationality, age or social position. To underscore this goal, the festival is held in the so-called

Dieveniškės Dieveniškės (in Lithuanian literally: ''Place of gods''; ; ''Dzevyanishki;'' Yiddish: דיװענישאָק) is a town in the Vilnius County of Lithuania, about from the Belarusian border in the so-called Dieveniškės appendix. It is surroun ...

panhandle: Lithuanian territory surrounded by Belarus on three sides. The area is remote and is difficult to reach, due to Lithuania being a member of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

and Belarus not. In 2008, efforts were made to ensure that Belarusians could receive the needed visas without a fee if they traveled to the festival. Due to the festival's proximity to the state border, additional security measures have to be undertaken to prevent people from inadvertently crossing the border. The festival is situated in the historic

Vilnius Region Vilnius Region is the territory in present-day Lithuania and Belarus that was originally inhabited by ethnic Baltic tribes and was a part of Lithuania proper, but came under East Slavic and Polish cultural influences over time. The territory ...

, inhabited by peoples of Lithuanian, Polish, Belarusian, Russian nationalities. The Renaissance

Norviliškės Castle Norviliškės Castle (), also called Norviliškės Manor () is a Renaissance style castle and a former monastery in Norviliškės, Lithuania. The Norviliškės Castle is first mentioned in 1586. In 1617 the owners donated part of the real estate l ...

reminds the visitors of shared history under the

Grand Duchy of Lithuania The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a sovereign state in northeastern Europe that existed from the 13th century, succeeding the Kingdom of Lithuania, to the late 18th century, when the territory was suppressed during the 1795 Partitions of Poland, ...

. Many different genres make appearances at the Be2gether festival, including

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductors * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic c ...

world The world is the totality of entities, the whole of reality, or everything that Existence, exists. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the world as unique, while others talk ...

and

alternative Alternative or alternate may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media * Alternative (Kamen Rider), Alternative (''Kamen Rider''), a character in the Japanese TV series ''Kamen Rider Ryuki'' * Alternative comics, or independent comics are an altern ...

music. The festival invites mostly international bands. In addition to musical performances, the festival offers other activities, including craft studios, open air cinema, sport games, music and dance lessons, and a sculpture park. Children are offered daycare alongside their own activities.

2007

The first festival was supported by two large scenes and club tent. Part of the money gained from tickets selling was donated to children from Chachersk, injured by the nuclear disaster at the

Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (ChNPP) is a nuclear power plant undergoing decommissioning. ChNPP is located near the abandoned city of Pripyat in northern Ukraine, northwest of the city of Chernobyl, from the Belarus–Ukraine border, a ...

. A DVD of the first festival was distributed with tickets for Be2gether in 2008. The festival boasted performances by 32 artists, including:

2008

On August 14, Be2gether 2008 started in

Vilnius Vilnius ( , ) is the capital of and List of cities in Lithuania#Cities, largest city in Lithuania and the List of cities in the Baltic states by population, most-populous city in the Baltic states. The city's estimated January 2025 population w ...

, with a rally to support Georgia in

2008 South Ossetia war The August 2008 Russo-Georgian War, also known as the Russian invasion of Georgia,Occasionally, the war is also referred to by other names, such as the Five-Day War and August War. was a war waged against Georgia by the Russian Federation and the ...

. The festival then moved to

grounds ready for main performances on August 15 and 16., with the festival concluding on August 17. Around 70 performers took part in the festival, including:

2009

The third festival Be2gether was held on June 12–14, 2009. Be2gether 2009 included such bands as:

2010

The fourth festival was held on June 25–27, 2010. Be2gether announced that performing bands will include: *Australian electronic music duo Empire of The Sun *British rock band

Skunk Anansie Skunk Anansie are a British Rock music, rock band whose members include Skin (musician), Skin (vocals, guitar), Cass (bass, guitar), Ace (guitar) and Mark Richardson (musician), Mark Richardson (drums). Skunk Anansie formed in 1994, disbanded ...

*Danish electronic rock trio

WhoMadeWho WhoMadeWho is a Copenhagen-based experimental pop trio, who formed in 2003. The band consists of jazz guitarist Jeppe Kjellberg, drummer Tomas Barfod and singer/bassist Tomas Høffding. Career The band released several 12-inches on German dis ...

*Norwegian synthpop group

Casiokids Casiokids are a Norwegian synthpop ensemble from Bergen, and Stavanger formed in 2005. The band consists of Ketil Kinden Endresen, Fredrik Øgreid Vogsborg, Omar Johnsen and Kjetil Bjøreid Aabø. Associated musicians are Joachim Amundsen Trana, E ...

*Ukrainian folk group Haydamaky *Austrian beatboxing group

Bauchklang Bauchklang is an Austrian beatboxing group. Bauchklang (literally "belly sound") is a five-piece "vocal groove collective" from Austria. With a unique mixture of human beatboxing, Beatboxing, mouth percussion and vocal sounds, they are covering a ...

*English rapper

Roots Manuva Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva (born 9 September 1972), is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial succ ...

*Anglo-Spanish electronic band

Crystal Fighters Crystal Fighters are an English-Spanish electronic music band, formed in 2007. Their debut album, ''Star of Love'', was released in October 2010 in the UK and was released in the US through Atlantic Records in April 2012. Their second album, '' ...

* Belarusian indie pop group Open Space

Bans

Buses with festival guests in 2008 were held up on the Belarusian side.

References

External links

Official websiteEnglish version

Official MySpacePro MySpace
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