Monegros is currently the biggest and best attended one-day festival in Spain (more than 35,000 tickets were sold at the 2004 edition) and, as has gradually become clear over the last few years, its significance should now be measured in comparison with the big summer techno festivals held across the globe.

The Monegros Desert Festival reaches edition nº 11 after having further consolidated its position last year as one of the world's leading electronic music events. Monegros is currently the biggest and best attended one-day festival in Spain (more than 35,000 tickets were sold at the 2004 edition) and, as has gradually become clear over the last few years, its significance should now be measured in comparison with the big summer techno festivals held across the globe, among them events like Wired in Japan, I Love Techno in Belgium and Awakenings in Holland.

For the 2004 edition of the Monegros Desert Festival, and coinciding with its 10th anniversary, the organisers launched an ambitious drive to upgrade the infrastructure on the site, principally in relation to access, car parking, space available and improving the operation of the services on offer. The result was more than satisfactory. Not only did the organisers make things easier and more comfortable for those attending, making it faster to get into the festival by eliminating queues and improving access, they also laid the groundwork to provide all of these improvements to the most optimistic forecast number of festival-goers ever - approximately 30,000 people.

This achievement is why the organisers of the Monegros Desert Festival can speak openly of consolidation as the event goes into its 11th edition. Never before had a festival in Spain that people had to pay to enter hosted so many partygoers in one place on a single night and, this year, the attendance estimates have risen once more. To deal with this increase, the new developments at the Monegros Desert Festival for 2005 focus specifically on further enhancing the event's infrastructure and services, as well as on widening the scope of the line-up whilst making sure that the solid techno and house base on which the rave in the desert is built is maintained.

Everything that worked well at the 2004 edition will be further enhanced this year. This means the car parking provision, access from the N-II highway, time taken to order at the bars, Red Cross services and enlarging and improving the toilet facilities, etc. Anything else that we were not fully satisfied with will be reviewed to ensure that it works as effectively as possible.

Statistics
The Monegros Desert Festival is an open air dance music festival.
Location: privately-owned site close to Km. 417 on the N-II highway. It lies on the eastern side of the Monegros desert and falls within the municipal district of Fraga in the province of Huesca.

Doors open: July 16, 2005 at 17:00
Festival closes: July 17, 2005 at 13:00
Forecast attendance: 37,000 people (approx.)

Site: 80,000 square metres
Car park: 200,000 square metres
Access: dual access from either side of the N-II highway

Stages: 5 tents, 3 open air stages, 1 club
Artists: 100 artists (50 DJs, 50 live sets, approx.)
10 bars, 1 food zone, bar length totalling over 200 running metres, 300 bar and auxiliary staff
Human resources:
Production team and auxiliary staff: 600 people
Technical team: 180 people
Bar and auxiliary staff: 300 people
First aid: 50 people
Civil Defence staff: 30 people
Firemen: 40 people
Guardia Civil Traffic Police: 60 people
Guardia Civil: 120 people

Media: more than 400 accredited journalists expected to attend this edition.

Information:
Website: www.monegrosfestival.com / www.florida135.com
Telephone: 902 15 00 25

Ticket sales:
Internet sales: www.monegrosfestival.com / www.florida135.com
Telephone sales: www.ticktackticket.com
Tickets available from:
- Site Studio (Portaferrisa 25, Barcelona) and other usual F135 outlets
- Ticktackticket ticket sales network

Monegros Festival Ticket:
Ticket price: 50 € in advance / 55 € from site ticket office
Includes:
- entry to the festival
- festival gift
- dinner
- 1 free San Miguel beer
- 1 free soft drink or 1 spirit+mixer (can be doubled by the Bacardi 2-for-1 offer)

The setting
The Monegros Desert Festival is not just one of the biggest music events held in Spain, it also has enormous reach right across Europe. This success is built on two traits that make it unique - the setting in which it is held (the incomparable desert venue) and the enormous production effort involved in creating the ephemeral site on which the festival takes place (tents, stages, sound and lighting, audiovisual displays, bars and other services, etc.). All of this is combined with a line-up of music, the heart of festival, that has been put together with the utmost attention to detail and by applying a clearly defined yet open philosophy aimed at producing a festival that is unique for both those attending and all of those involved in organising it.

The Monegros Desert Festival is held on a privately-owned site, a dry-farmed estate covering more than 350 hectares, of which even now the event only occupies a tiny part. The site belongs to the Arnau family, the festival's promoters, and offers an infinite range of possibilities as regards production of the event as there are no restrictions on space, the only bounds are those imposed by the imagination of the producers.

The estate is located on the eastern edge of the Monegros Desert, one of the most peculiar geographic and biological areas on the Iberian Peninsula. This habitat is so unique that it has produced animal species that are only found in this particular landscape and this year the festival pays them a respectful tribute by incorporating them in the image chosen for this edition. The desert's aridity, its landscape and its light are unique, providing a startling context for the event and a unique experience for its visitors. The climate is also perfect. As the event is held in midsummer there is little or no chance of rain and the temperature, which is hot and dry during the day and refreshingly cool at night, is nothing less than pleasant.

Areas
Once inside the festival, what will we find? Above all, we will find an area specifically designed for fun and escapism, a miniature city the size of five football pitches created specially for the festival's visitors and for just one night. Within this area there will be a huge range of different atmospheres: 9 separate stages with a highly varied line-up of music (in tents, in the open air, inside the old farm building), as well as terrace bars, food areas, merchandising shop, chill out zones, activities organised by our sponsors, etc.
Based on the design used at the last edition, which produced excellent results, the layout of the festival site this year has been drawn up and modified to enhance visitor comfort. Movement around the event and visitor volumes in the various areas have been analysed and double-checked and the necessary adjustments have been made in line with the forecasts for this edition.

Music areas
Open Air. One of the festival's star attractions. It is also, without a shadow of a doubt, one of the most outstanding areas in terms of production. Completely out in the open air, the dance floor covers an area greater than a football pitch and requires a truly gargantuan sound and lighting set-up to cover it in its entirety and turn it into a music and light extravaganza. Two huge bars run along two sides of the dance floor and the area itself is dominated by the stage, which has been raised to increase visibility and is fitted with a 10 m proscenium. The programme in this area is inspired by the F135 style developed at the club that gave birth to this festival and will feature some of the biggest names on the current techno scene.

San Miguel Experience. This covered zone is the other major area at the festival and consists of a spectacular tent covering over 3,000 square metres. It is one of the biggest marquees ever installed in Spain and is provided with a huge sound, audiovisual and lighting set-up to produce a mind-blowing spectacle. Housing the festival's biggest stage, which has been designed to accommodate groups with lots of members, the music on offer in this tent will kick off with Spain's leading hip hop artists at the beginning of the night, followed by big top-quality dance groups later on and, after midnight, the leading international techno artists.

Bacardi Tent. Another big tent, this time covering over 1,800 square metres, and another major deployment of sound and lighting equipment. This area will be home to a pure club atmosphere and the stage has been specifically designed for DJs. This tent is devoted to the other major dance movement, house, in all of its incarnations.

White Label Tent. Once again, this will consist of a spectacular tent covering over 1,500 square metres and provided with a meticulously arranged sound, lighting and audiovisual set-up. Here, the atmosphere will fall between that of a concert venue (lighting trained on the stage, sound from the stage) and a club (lighting trained on the dance floor, surround sound). This area will host leading artists working on new strains of techno that bring in reminiscences of the past - techno pop, electro, acid, etc.

Market Area. This is the last, but by no means the least, of our tents. Our aim here is to create a more relaxed atmosphere, somewhere between the dance floor and the chill out room. The sound will be set up for band performances and the lighting will be trained on the stage. The Market Area will host the most distinctive sounds from our line-up, featuring the crossover between electro and hotter rhythms, like funk, dub or soul. On stage will be artists playing downtempo, trip hop, underground hip hop and jungle.

Beach Club. This is one of the most unusual and attractive areas at the festival. Housed inside the old farmhouse built from the stone found in the surrounding desert, this small club includes a miniature beach, complete with sand and sun loungers for festival-goers to relax on. Its stage will feature the hottest DJs and live sets playing the latest emerging styles - artists that although they have not yet reached a wider public, have already made a name for themselves amongst insiders and followers of the latest trends, such as minimal, micro and macro house or deep techno.

Chill Out Area. This is another area that defeats comparison. Set in the open air, but sheltered from the sun by reed matting, it is a 650-square metre grass area that has been designed so that the public can follow the acts while sitting on the ground, as it should be in any good chill out area. The line-up will feature top names in relaxed electro, from ambient sounds to experimental rhythms, all played with a friendly and unpretentious touch.

X Club!. Two editions ago, the X Club! was one of the biggest innovations in the Monegros program, creating a stage to host the next wave of exploration in electropop and electroclash. It was so popular that last year we made it bigger, and this year it has been extended once again. The X Club! will be housed in a 500-square metre tent designed to look like an underground club played by techno-punk and electroclash artists. NEW THIS YEAR!

Radio Terrace Bar / VIP Area. This year we will include a new area, located between the Market stage and the San Miguel tent. This will be the Radio Terrace Bar / VIP Area, a zone covering 1,200 square metres and split into two halves by a fence that, on the one side will house a huge terrace bar and, on the other, a VIP area for artists, accredited visitors and professionals. It will be possible to see across one area into the other, but each will be kept completely separate. Between them a small stage with a DJ booth will be set up that, during the Monegros festival, will feature DJ sets (some of them playing at other venues at the event, others exclusively booked for this area) that will be broadcast live by radio. NEW THIS YEAR!

Line-up
Cypress Hill | Thievery Corporation | Jeff Mills | Dave Clarke | Richie Hawtin | Sven Väth | François K | Misstress Barbara | DJ Rush | Ben Sims | Felix da Housecat | Lil’ Louis | Ron Trent | Umek vs. Nastic | Pascal F.E.O.S. | Christian Smith | Oscar Mulero | Carlos Durán aka Cristian Varela | Ángel Molina | Marco Carola | David Holmes | Howie B | Chicks on Speed | Fixmer/McCarthy | DJ Behrouz
Hip Hop Xpecial:
Jota Mayúscula presenta: Mala Rodríguez + Kultama + Sicario y Capaz (Hablando en Plata) | Pshyco Realm | B.O.S.S. feat Joey Starr (NTM) | Sólo Los Solo | Beans | DJ Vadim presents Oneself | Tote King & Shotta | Falsalarma | R de Rumba
Vitalic | Alter Ego | Zombie Nation | Der Dritte Raum | Superdiscount | Chus & Ceballos | Alexander Kowalski | Phuture 303 | Octave One | Aux 88 | James Holden | Plaid | Photek | Windsor For The Derby | Captain Comatose | Sideral | Buckmaster & President Bongo (Gus Gus DJs) | Al Ferox | Matthew Dear | Heiko Laux | Donnacha Costello | Luciano | Mathew Jonson | Cobblestone Jazz | Aril Brikha | Pet Duo | Nathan Fake | Chris Fortier | Thomas Fehlmann | Mark Williams | Paco Osuna | Undo & Vicknoise | Robert Lamart | Reeko | FC Kahuna | Alex Smoke | Chop Suey | Nobody | Allen from Plug Research | The Penelopes | JLF | Jo Jo de Freq | Gucci Soundsystem | Upstart | Jaumëtic | Agua DJ | DJ Calambre | Miguel Mendoza | Omar León | DJ Ino | Olmos | Luis Lles | Carlos Casas (Colors) | Carlos Palacio | Mikel Teba | Carlos Hollers | Techno Riff | Ludotech | D’Wachman | DJ Rur | DJ Mic | Borja Malet | Gersound | Huete | Voodoobeach | Josep Ramos | M. Ross | DJ Visa | Javier Blánquez

More info: www.monegrosfestival.com

(source: Press release)