In the 22 years of festival's history Woodstock Festival Poland has hosted amazing artists from all over the world, but it's the first time that we are daring to take a Woodstock event abroad - it's a unique chance to experience the atmosphere of the Most Beautiful Festival in the World.

The idea of the Preliminaries is simple - we invite bands from Poland and from all over the world to send us their demo CDs. The prize - a spot on one of the Woodstock stages and your name on our bill! This year, our Jury received over 700 submissions - there was no band too small or too big to send us their music. Polish bands Chemia and Materia submitted their music and will play at the Second Stage this summer, while The Rumjacks have sent us their CD from Australia and are billed to play on the Main Stage this year! The competition is well-established in Poland and abroad, but it was the first time that bands from Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary can compete in an event tailored for them.

'We are excited to take our Preliminaries concert abroad for the first time, and to be in Prague this spring.' the director and the mastermind behind Woodstock Festival Poland, Jurek Owsiak, says. ' I think we are going in the right direction. Woodstock Festival is gaining more and more recognition in Europe, especially after we received the International Music Industry Award in Los Angeles. We are very happy that fans from Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary are interested in our festival.'

The concert in Prague, just like Preliminary concerts in Polish towns has free admission, and will feature two guest acts: a special featured performance by Polish metal band Corruption, and a special guest star The Paranoid from Slovakia, who have rocked the stages of many festivals in Europe.

There will be 10 performances in total, with 8 bands competing for a spot on Woodstock Festival this year:

• Anacreon from Czech Republic
  
• Ancient Desire from Czech Republic
  
• Barbar Punk from Czech Republic
  
• Bod Omylu from Slovakia
  
• Denoi from Czech Republic
  
• Eponine from Czech Republic
  
• Snap Call from Czech Republic
  
• Virrasztók from Hungary
  

After all is said and done music will be the most important factor, and the Jury consisting of:

• Jurek Owsiak – Board President of GOCC Foundation
  
• Andrzej Puczyński – President of ZPAV, Izabelin Studio
  
• Tomasz "Kasprol" Kasprzyk – music journalist from Antyradio Station
  
• Piotr "Dziki" Chancewicz – music producer, musician
  
• Krzysztof "Milkee" Dobies - press secretary for Woodstock Festival Poland
  

will choose artists who will get a chance to perform at Woodstock Festival Poland this year.

Krzysztof Dobies, press secretary for Woodstock Festival Poland and a member of Jury, says:

'Right now everything is in the musician's hands. We won't focus on descriptions, achievements, marketing deals - the sound and stage presence is the key to success now! When the sound, skill, charisma and energy come together during the performance we'll know we have found the right band to play at one of the biggest rock stages in Europe.'

Our friends from N.E.S.F. agency, which has funded MusicMap.T, a leading rock music service in the region, took upon themselves to organize Prague leg of Woodstock Festival Poland Preliminaries.

Marko Rybka, from MusicMap.TV, has been delighted to be able to offer the bands from the region a special opportunity to showcase their music at one of the biggest festivals in Europe:

'Being able to organize the Czech leg of Preliminaries was a great challenge and a highlight of our work at MusicMap.TV We've been following Woodstock Festival for years now and we are rooting for GOCC's work too. We even organized a Finale Center in Prague this year, and it was a great adventure for all of us! It's a dream come true for each band to play at Woodstock and to be able to make their wish come true is amazing!'.