July 17 – 19, 1997
Following the incredible record number of 220,000 visitors in anniversary year 1996, 1997 was further proof that every year the number of artistes wishing to take part in the festival exceeds the number of possible performances. From the 1,800 performers who applied only 500 could actually present their talents in Linz, the city with the reputation of donating extremely generously to street entertainers. But it is not just this generosity that has given Linz such a good name among street artistes: they also enjoy the city’s charm and the high standards of art and culture it promotes. It is particularly pleasing to note that since the festival’s inception the number of regular visitors has steadily increased – and time and again we hear of families who even arrange their summer holidays around the Pflasterspektakel. This year there was entertainment, singing and dancing at 37 locations. Radio Oberösterreich, the festival’s principal media partner, was represented for the first time with its own stage on Taubenmarkt, with an MC and live interviews with the performers. Eight samba groups provided hot street rhythms that reached their climax with a samba session from 7 p.m. every day on the Alter Markt.
And not only that:
This year saw the first wedding to take place during the Pflasterspektakel: the mime Martin from Hamburg met the Hungarian artiste Romanis at the 1994 Pflasterspektakel and in 1997 they married in Schlosspark. Immediately after the ceremony they put on a show, still dressed as bride and groom, as the “Kopfstein Comedy Company”, for which the audience showed its appreciation by spontaneously cracking open a few bottles of champagne.
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