Eddfest
Encyclopedia
Eddfest was a one-off rock/metal festival headlined by heavy metal legends Iron Maiden
which took place at the Bangalore Palace Grounds in Bangalore
, India
on March 17 2007. The concert was part of the band's A Matter Of Life And Death Tour
. The name Eddfest is taken from the band's mascot Eddie. The concert was and still remains the largest paid concert ever to take place in India with an estimated 38,000 people in attendance. It marked the first visit of Iron Maiden
to the Indian subcontinent, and the first major heavy metal concert to take place in the country. Other bands which played at the concert included Lauren Harris
, Indian Rock veterans Parikrama and Ftn.
The concert garnered much media frenzy and main stream attention not only in India, but all over the world with many international journalists flying in to Bangalore. The event was also covered in the documentary film Global Metal
by Sam Dunn and Scott McFadyen, which also features live recordings of the concert.
Apart from fans from all over India, people traveled for this event from neighboring countries like Sri Lanka
, Nepal
, Pakistan
, Thailand
and China
.
Grounds located in north Bangalore. The entire venue was enclosed within the grounds and was initially only meant for accommodating 25,000 people. But the enormous demand for tickets lead to the venue being over crowded with 35,000 people inside and around 4,000 people outside who could not enter as tickets were all sold out.
The venue was set up with 3 screens, 2 on each side of the stage and an additional third screen mounted atop the central flood lighting and soundboard area for people at the back end of the grounds.
The front crowd barrier just in front of the stage had to be re fortified by dozens of security staff members standing their ground supporting the barrier and placing bamboo and wooden sticks to hold the barrier due to overcrowding.
The festival is also seen as a precursor and the basis on which the now yearly Rock In India
festival is based on, as Eddfest was the first of its kind rock festival in the country. The Rock In India festival takes place at the same venue as Eddfest.
The event grossed over Rs 45,000,000 in ticket sales and another Rs 8,500,000 in merchandise revenue making it the most profitable concert in India with regards to total gate revenue.
Ticketpro international reported that the remarkable success of the event was highlighted by the fact that almost 80 percent of the tickets were sold well before the concert, which is very unusual for India.
Live audio updates on the radio were constantly broadcast from the venue on Radio Indigo throughout the day.
, Nokia
India, Reliance Mobile, Pepsi
, NDTV 24x7
, Radio Indigo, Royal Challenge and Sanyo
. Travel sponsors were Lufthansa Airlines.
On-line ticketing was handled by ticketpro India and on-line marketing was done by indiatimes.com. Levi's was the merchandising partner of the event.
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
which took place at the Bangalore Palace Grounds in Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
on March 17 2007. The concert was part of the band's A Matter Of Life And Death Tour
A Matter Of Life And Death Tour
A Matter of Life and Death and A Matter of the Beast were two concert tours by Iron Maiden from 2006 to 2007. The first tour was unique, as the set list primarily consisted of the band's most recent release, A Matter of Life and Death, in its entirety, although this got a mixed response from...
. The name Eddfest is taken from the band's mascot Eddie. The concert was and still remains the largest paid concert ever to take place in India with an estimated 38,000 people in attendance. It marked the first visit of Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden
Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from Leyton in east London, formed in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris. Since their inception, the band's discography has grown to include a total of thirty-six albums: fifteen studio albums; eleven live albums; four EPs; and six...
to the Indian subcontinent, and the first major heavy metal concert to take place in the country. Other bands which played at the concert included Lauren Harris
Lauren Harris
Lauren Harris is a British vocalist. She is the daughter of Iron Maiden bassist and founder Steve Harris. She was discovered in a pub by Russ Ballard, who was unaware of who she was.-Career:...
, Indian Rock veterans Parikrama and Ftn.
The concert garnered much media frenzy and main stream attention not only in India, but all over the world with many international journalists flying in to Bangalore. The event was also covered in the documentary film Global Metal
Global Metal
Global Metal is a 2008 documentary film directed by Scot McFadyen and Canadian anthropologist Sam Dunn. It is a followup to their successful 2005 documentary, Metal: A Headbanger's Journey. The film's international premiere took place at the Bergen International Film Festival on October 17th 2007...
by Sam Dunn and Scott McFadyen, which also features live recordings of the concert.
Apart from fans from all over India, people traveled for this event from neighboring countries like Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
.
Setlist
Venue
The venue for the historic concert was the Bangalore PalaceBangalore Palace
Bangalore Palace, a palace located in the city of Bangalore, India, was built to look like a smaller replica of the Windsor Castle in England. It was built by Rev. Garrett, who was the first Principal of the Central High School in Bangalore, now known as Central College.The construction of the...
Grounds located in north Bangalore. The entire venue was enclosed within the grounds and was initially only meant for accommodating 25,000 people. But the enormous demand for tickets lead to the venue being over crowded with 35,000 people inside and around 4,000 people outside who could not enter as tickets were all sold out.
The venue was set up with 3 screens, 2 on each side of the stage and an additional third screen mounted atop the central flood lighting and soundboard area for people at the back end of the grounds.
The front crowd barrier just in front of the stage had to be re fortified by dozens of security staff members standing their ground supporting the barrier and placing bamboo and wooden sticks to hold the barrier due to overcrowding.
Significance
Apart from being the largest music concert to be held in India, the event was also responsible for opening the gates for other international hard rock and heavy metal bands to tour in India. Iron Maiden themselves were overwhelmed by the crowd response and have since played 2 more times in the country. It was also the first concert in India to have official merchandise stores at the venue.The festival is also seen as a precursor and the basis on which the now yearly Rock In India
Rock In India
Rock 'N India is an annual music festival organized by DNA Networks at the Palace Grounds in Bangalore. The first festival was held in 2008, with heavy metal bands such as Megadeth and Machine Head headlining. The venue layout of Rock 'N India is unusual, using two stages at an angle of 45° to each...
festival is based on, as Eddfest was the first of its kind rock festival in the country. The Rock In India festival takes place at the same venue as Eddfest.
The event grossed over Rs 45,000,000 in ticket sales and another Rs 8,500,000 in merchandise revenue making it the most profitable concert in India with regards to total gate revenue.
Ticketpro international reported that the remarkable success of the event was highlighted by the fact that almost 80 percent of the tickets were sold well before the concert, which is very unusual for India.
Live audio updates on the radio were constantly broadcast from the venue on Radio Indigo throughout the day.
Sponsors
The Eddfest event was produced by DNA Networks India in conjunction with NOUS Productions, and sponsored by Vh1VH1
VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...
, Nokia
Nokia
Nokia Corporation is a Finnish multinational communications corporation that is headquartered in Keilaniemi, Espoo, a city neighbouring Finland's capital Helsinki...
India, Reliance Mobile, Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
, NDTV 24x7
NDTV 24x7
NDTV 24x7 is a premier English language television network that carries news and current affairs in India, it is owned by New Delhi Television Ltd. NDTV 24x7 won the Asian Television Award for Best News Programme in 2005....
, Radio Indigo, Royal Challenge and Sanyo
Sanyo
is a major electronics company and member of the Fortune 500 whose headquarters is located in Moriguchi, Osaka prefecture, Japan. Sanyo targets the middle of the market and has over 230 Subsidiaries and Affiliates....
. Travel sponsors were Lufthansa Airlines.
On-line ticketing was handled by ticketpro India and on-line marketing was done by indiatimes.com. Levi's was the merchandising partner of the event.