July 16 – 19, 1987
In 1987 the stage – or rather the street – was set: 150 musicians, the majority from Austria and Germany, but also from France, England and the USA, responded to the invitation to the “International Street Musicians’ Days” and applied to take part. All of them were accepted. From the Hauptplatz to Schillerplatz, in front of the new city hall, by shopping centers, in restaurants and bars and at the bathing lakes the people of Linz were surprised by music that ranged from classical to jazz, country and folk. The 30 strong samba group from Munich, the “Münchner Ruhestörer”, proved to be a particularly popular attraction and provided a taste of the Brazilian and Caribbean flair that was to come in the ensuing years and which was to culminate in frenzied samba processions. The event took place in glorious sunshine and ended with an impromptu party: all the musicians, together with the organizers, plunged into the cool water of the Parkbad swimming pool. And it is highly unlikely that any one of them thought at that time that they had just invented Europe’s biggest festival of street entertainment.
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