Belgrade - British pop diva Lily Allen enthralled thousands of fans Thursday at the opening of the annual Exit music festival, the biggest such event in the Balkans. Hordes of cheering, dancing and singing fans were undeterred by the rain, swine flu - a British tourist had reportedly fallen ill from the virus, and the gloom of the ongoing economic crisis.
They celebrated the grand opening of the tenth Exit festival at a picturesque 17th century Petrovaradin fortress overlooking the Danube river, in Serbia's second-largest city of Novi Sad.
"I'm so happy to be here. Lily was great, but I'm waiting for the Arctic Monkeys," said one visitor wearing neon bangles, while walking between stages connected by cobbled streets and tunnels.
The four-day festival that ends Sunday will also showcase the music of legend Patti Smith, The Prodigy, Carl Cox, Manic Street Preachers, Corn, Kraftwerk and Madness. There will be 500 performances on 28 stages.
"You have to be dead to miss the legendary Patti Smith," one excited fan said. "But I'm also looking forward to Manic Street Preachers."
Organizers said that despite the global financial crisis they were expecting between 170,000 and 190,000 visitors.
Exit was launched in 2000 as a student-led uprising against former Serbian leader Slobodan Milosevic. It was an attempt to break free of the regime that curtailed Serbia's access to the rest of the world.
The first Exit drew 20,000 people and with each year the number has steadily increased. Last year, it was attended by 150,000 people from around the world.
Broadcaster CNN recently put Exit on the list of best music festivals in 2009, along with Glastonbury, Bestival and Roskilde.
Exit is especially popular among Britons, who voted it the best festival in 2007. "I like the weather and the music. My friends were here last year and had the time of their lives," one British visitor said while sunbathing on the banks of the Danube.
The swine flu epidemic didn't seem to bother the visitors and the organizers said they were taking various steps to prevent its spread, including information campaigns through posters.
"What can you do (about the flu)? If it happens, it happens," one camper was quoted as saying by local media.
Heavy rains over the past few weeks forced organizers to move the camp for visitors from the foot of the fortress to the fortress itself.
Exit is usually a trouble-free event. Last year one girl was killed and two were seriously injured when the branch of a tree fell on their tent. Police also arrested dozens of others on drug charges.
The festival continues to lure fans as it offers a varied choice - rock, rap, classical, electronic.
Since the first concerts in 2000, the festival has brought various big names in the music business to Serbia - Billy Idol, Franz Ferdinand, Fatboy Slim, Morrissey, Massive Attack, Robert Plant, Snoop Dogg, Scissor Sisters, Underworld, Moloko, Garbage, The Cardigans, The Cult, The Beastie Boys, Slayer, Sex Pistols, Manu Chao and many others.
