Pohoda to Transform Trenčín Airport into a Festival Town in a Few Days, Featuring Excellent Services and New Innovations
Also thanks to a comprehensive package of services and activities offered by Pohoda Festival in collaboration with its partners, it won the award for Best Medium-Sized Festival in Europe at the European Festival Awards 2023. Visitors can expect a wide array of musical and artistic programmes, along with outstanding innovations, services, and accompanying programme. Here’s an overview of the activities and services that Pohoda 2024’s partners will provide to enhance the festival experience.
02. July 2024
"I dare say that Pohoda will become a city of thirty thousand with the best services in Slovakia for a few days, from security to various services and technology. This is also thanks to the festival's partners. We are glad that our cooperation is active and creative, which is exactly what culture in Slovakia needs. Of course, our city offers an unprecedented array of art, but it is also worth exploring what our partners bring to Pohoda," added festival director Mišo Kaščák.
MAIN PARTNERS
Slovenská sporiteľňa
Once again, Slovenská sporiteľňa will ensure smooth payments at the festival. Thanks to digital solutions, contactless payments via card, mobile, or smartwatch will be available throughout the festival. Tickets can be exchanged for wristbands at selected Slovenská sporiteľňa branches from 6 July to 8 July, saving time upon arrival at the festival. It will also offer the novelty of cashless exchange of returnable cups. The Slovenská sporiteľňa Zone will feature an amusement park theme, complete with a carousel, cotton candy, a 6-metre-high bridge overlooking the festival, and numerous photo points. The popular streetball court, message wall, and the chance to paint your own designs – this time on caps – will also return.
Orange
Orange will again provide internet connectivity via free Wi-Fi and high-speed 4G and 5G networks. In the My Orange app, attendees can enjoy an extra 10 GB of free data and a special AI feature to plan showers during the shortest queues. Environmentally conscious visitors can bring their old phones for ecological recycling and enter a raffle for tickets to Pohoda 2025. Experts in the Orange Zone will offer free screen protectors for phones to keep them protected during the festival. There will also be the Orange Music Box recording studio, which will allow attendees to sing a song by Para and create an after-movie with Lasky. Rewards include eco-friendly sunglasses and other amazing surprises. The Optimistan of the Orange Foundation will host engaging discussions on current topics.
Urpiner
The Banská Bystrica brewery Urpiner will offer a wide range of its exceptional beers and beer specials. Beer gourmets can enjoy traditional alcoholic and non-alcoholic draft beers in the Urpiner Zone and the Pivobrana tent, featuring original beer delicacies from small craft breweries. This year’s original beer novelties and award-winning beers from the Frankfurt Trophy will also be available. The Urpiner beer zone will again feature a spacious and comfortable terrace. Visitors can enjoy chilled Urpiner beer, and look forward to a rich accompanying programme and plenty of great gifts in the main Urpiner tent.
FOOD AND DRINKS
Besides musical and artistic delights, visitors can enjoy a wide variety of food and beverages. For the eleventh time, Regal Burger will offer a diverse menu of burgers and the new La Garnacha concept featuring traditional Mexican cuisine. The Dobrota bakery from Trenčín will provide cakes, croissants, savoury scones, braided bread, doughnuts, strudels, baguettes and breads with homemade spreads. Ryba Košice returns with its traditional cod in mayonnaise in a draught form. Costa Coffee will debut at Pohoda with excellent coffee. Lunter's favourite plant-based food won't be missing this year, with a new Smoky BBQ Tofu and a free breakfast with morning yoga. Pierre Baguette’s zone and vending machines will offer baguettes, wraps, sandwiches, and baked panini 24/7. Mecom will delight meat lovers with quality sausages, hot dogs, and salami. Vegan baguettes from You Vegan will be available in four versions, making part-time jobs and volunteering at Pohoda tastier and more eco-friendly. The Château Bar will serve quality wines, but also perfectly chilled Frizzante or sparkling Noirsecco from Château Topoľčianky. Red Bull will once again provide energy and tasty mixed drinks.
BEAUTY, HEALTH, AND HYGIENE
Visitors can style their hair or beard in the self-service hairdressing tent NAY Rowenta, equipped with hairdryers, straighteners, curlers, and trimmers from Rowenta. The pharmaceutical company Novartis will host discussions on cancer and multiple sclerosis with moderator Samuel Kováčik, offer skin checks, and teach proper breast self-examination techniques. Our new partner Notino will debut with its Notino Feel Good Zone, offering products and services from Redken, L'Oréal Professionnel, and SteamPod, and a fortune teller will help visitors find their ideal perfume based on their personal archetype. Skin care and festival makeup will also be available. Medicine, a fashion brand that creates original collections and prints and collaborates with young artists on its products, will also make its debut at Pohoda. Eyerim optician will delight everyone who loves trendy and quality eyewear at great prices, and will bring an exclusive festival collection of sunglasses. Be Lenka with their stylish barefoot shoes will bring a sense of freedom and comfort. Our long-standing partner Curaprox will create a visual and sensory oasis of softness. There will also be special Curaprox morning patrols in the washrooms to help not only with proper cleaning techniques, but also with toothpaste left behind in tents or accommodations. DiXi will supply shower gel and shampoo, and the Oral-B iO Zone will feature unique electric toothbrushes with magnetic technology for visitors to try. The Bella brand will provide sanitary products for the menstrual product dispensers installed near the toilets. This increases the comfort of female visitors, improves accessibility and contributes to inclusivity. New this year will also be veterinary services for dogs, which will be provided by the Veterinary Clinic MVDr. Frey.
TRANSPORTATION
The popular special festival train is back. This year, Pohoda will run special festival trains from Košice and Bratislava in cooperation with the ecological partner Železničná spoločnosť Slovensko (ZSSK). An electric festival train will circulate the festival grounds, and activities like speed dating on the train or a wheel of fortune will be available. Slovak Lines will also offer comfortable and eco-friendly bus transport directly to the festival gate. The new-old partner and leader in operational leasing, Ayvens (formerly LeasePlan), will provide long-term rental vehicles for the Pohoda team and, besides the big wheels, will once again spin the wheels of skates at the increasingly popular Ayvens Roller Disco. The club ziletky.cc, led by Yaksha in collaboration with Pohoda, has prepared a cycling peloton called YAZDA Pohoda for cycling enthusiasts. It will set off from Bratislava to Trenčín with multiple stops along the way. This historically first and most environmentally friendly transportation to Pohoda will conclude with an exclusive parade ride through the festival grounds. The emergency service at both bike parkings will be handled by the MTBIKER team, who, together with Isadore, will transport the luggage of the YAZDA Pohoda participants and take care of storing their bicycles.
ECOLOGY
Every year, during the preparations for Pohoda Festival, ZSE helps to reduce the energy consumption of generators, thereby reducing the environmental impact and making the festival greener. The brand Humana provided textiles, from which this year's edition of upcycled festival merchandise was created. This year, for the first time, Pohoda will be cleaned with environmentally friendly products from TIERRA VERDE. Their liquid soap, which does not dry out the skin and has a fresh scent, will make hand washing a pleasant experience for visitors. ENVI – PAK, together with the Deposit return system Administrator and volunteers from ECOmenius, will oversee the proper sorting of waste. The Deposit return system Administrator will manage the processing of returnable beverage containers, the proceeds of which will go to the humanitarian aid of Music Saves Ukraine. The festival is also working with the Slovenská sporiteľňa Foundation on ecological solutions.
MEDIA, STREAMING AND DEBATES
The main media partners, RTVS, Rádio_FM, Aktuality.sk and Startitup, will, among other things, document the events of the festival on site. Festival Rádio_FM will bring live updates, interesting interviews and live performances from Radio(active zone)_FM directly at the airport for those who cannot make it to the festival. Aktuality.sk will host interesting debates on topics such as free media in Slovakia, the mafia, Ukraine and justice. Visitors will also have the opportunity to take part in the recording of the Bárdy & Káčer podcast. The popular Pohodenník (Pohodaily) will once again be produced and curated by Denník N. The company bonet.systems ensures the smooth operation of the website, the security of the Pohoda e-shop and the organisation team's emails throughout the year. Online streaming of selected concerts and discussions on Pohoda's and other partners' social media are managed by Filma. Bittner was again responsible for printing tickets, banners and other printed materials. On Pohoda's social media platforms, TrollWall hides and blocks vulgar, toxic or fraudulent comments.
The EUrópa Stage and the EU Fun Zone are brought to Pohoda by the European Commission Representation in Slovakia. The EUrópa stage will offer visitors not only great music, but also discussions with experts and other interesting guests on topical issues that resonate not only in Slovakia, but across Europe. Café Európa discussions will focus on a decent and resilient society, the military conflict in Ukraine and, as always, a special guest discussion. Representatives from SOZA will discuss art and artificial intelligence, and whether artificial intelligence will replace artists in the future. Staff from the Whistleblower Protection Office have prepared various fun activities, including a Treasure Hunt. Investment platform Crowdberry will discuss what makes crowdfunding unique, what it offers investors and how it helps businesses grow.
MUSIC, LITERATURE, ARTS AND ENTERTAINMENT
Philip Morris will bring parties and concerts to the Smoke-Free Zone 18+, featuring great and fresh local names, as well as interesting talk shows and stand-up shows. Thanks to Kofola, several couples in love will have their dream wedding. As part of its Loving Mission, Kofola is preparing a unique zone – the Square of Love, which will be a space for all those in love who want to nurture their love, as well as those still searching for it. There will also be a new Kofola stage with stands. Martinus Bookshop, in collaboration with the Literary Club, will offer two days of quality reading and exceptional guests. You can look forward to award-winning author Ḥassan Blāsim, reporter Tomáš Forró, recent Magnesia Litera prose award winner Marek Torčík and many others. The Relaxation Zone of Zľavomat will offer massages, oxygen therapy, optical illusions and virtual reality. Visitors will be able to paint and colour original gifts such as T-shirts, bags or fans with Slovlak paints. At the stand of the Trenčín Region, visitors will be able to discover the hidden treasures of the Trenčín Region, get valuable tips on what to see in the vicinity of Trenčín, or test their knowledge of the region in a fun way.
TECHNOLOGIES
Daikin will create a pleasantly cool environment in the enclosed stages at Pohoda and will cool down or warm up everyone who comes to their Chill-out/Warm-up Zone. The Samsung Galaxy AI Zone will be buzzing with AI technologies and entertainment. In this zone, visitors can learn how to work with AI technology, and influencers will be available to advise on taking the best photos. Kia will bring a unique Gaming Zone to Pohoda 2024, offering exciting gaming activities and interactive experiences. Slovcem will provide technical first aid by providing high quality adhesives and sealants in the camp managers' tents, which can be used to repair shoes, sandals, boots or tents. BatteryBox will provide an innovative shared power bank service, so there will be no need to search for sockets and leave the festival fun.
Pohoda Festival will take place in just a few days, from 11 to 13 July.