The Prodigy made a historic but emotional return to the EXIT Festival in front of 44, 0000 fans on Thursday, July 6th. The legendary UK rave innovators played an epic set on the Main Stage for the first time since the sad loss of front man Keith Flint.
The return of The Prodigy to their spiritual home was symbolically initiated with the song ‘Breathe’ which they premiered live in Belgrade back in 1995, creating a special connection with the local audience. Tens of thousands of fans gathered in front of the Gorki List Main Stage and during their much anticipated show at the famous fortress, the band used a mesmeric and magical hologram of Keith to bring him on stage with them and it got wild reactions from the crowd. It was a fitting tribute to the one and only Keith who is well known to the Exit faithful. The band worked through plenty of their classic material as well as newer tunes, all with the sort of unrivalled energy they are known for around the world.
Over the years, The Prodigy have had a long relationship with EXIT and have been one of the main headliners. This year they showed why they are the most influential electro-punk band of all time.
EXIT’s temple of electronic music featured the most powerful women of the electronic music scene, including Nina Kraviz, Indira Paganotto, Amelie Lens, Tijana T, Mija, and Lanna. Past midnight, the pulse of the Main Stage accelerated to 174 beats per minute with drum’n’bass icons Chase & Status, followed by Gardna and Charlie Tee, and numerous other names heard across over 40 festival stages and zones.
The opening of this year’s EXIT festival began in the early evening hours at the Pachamama powered by Rosa stage – the ancient cacao ceremony was accompanied by meditative-musical kirtans performed by the Sarasvati Druna band.
The biggest of the three opening ceremonies of this year’s EXIT festival, which goes down in history as the first-ever festival opening from space, was introduced by motivational speakers Henry Ammar and Aubrey Marcus. “We are not here by chance, right at this moment and right in this place – together, we can build a world that will exist for our children and the children of our children, a world of peace, love, dance, and joy. We have a chance to build that world together. The echo of this moment will resonate through the ages,” Marcus said in his address.
The festival was opened with a welcoming speech by founder and director Dušan Kovačević, along with his three-month-old daughter, Atina Ljubav Kovačević, as a symbol of the New Earth message. The important message was further reinforced by the children’s choir ‘Vokal kids’ and the choir of the elementary school ‘Stevica Jovanović’ from Pančevo, who performed the song ‘Zemlja’ by the iconic band Ekatarina Velika on the Gorki List Main