10 May European Blues Challenge 2023 in Chorzów
Mark in your calendars the next EBC dates in Chorzów, Poland, during 1 – 3 June 2023: It will be an open-air event at in the beautiful garden area of Sztygarka.
Chorzów is located in the heart of the Silesian Metropolitan Area in the south of Poland close to Katowize and not very far from Krakow. Once an industrial town, home to now defunct two steel works, four coal mines and various other plants, Chorzów has undergone a major transformation over the last 30 years and is nowadays best known for its cultural events.
Tickets for general audience now available at: https://www.ebc2023.info/tickets
Remember that the next EBC will take place in Chorzow, Poland, as in an open-air event in the beautiful garden area of Sztygarka during 1- 3 June 2023.
Garden area of Sztygarka
Chorzów is located in the heart of the Silesian Metropolitan Area in the south of Poland next to Katowice. Chorzow is also the home town of Poland’s only blues magazine, “Twój Blues” Quarterly.
Chorzów’s other attractions include a blues museum, “Gruba Bluesa”, and the “Prezydent” mining shaft and viewing platform, both part of the “Sztygarka” complex, located in the post-industrial area of a now defunct coal mine. There’s also a beautiful, extensive park, “Park Śląski w Chorzowie” encompassing a Zoo, “Legendia” amusement park, a planetarium, and other attractions.
HOW TO ARRIVE TO THE EBC, CHORZÓW, POLAND, 1 – 3 JUNE 2023
Important: the Polish currency Zloty (PLN) is c. 0,21 €.
Chorzów is in the heart of the Silesian Metropolitan Area in the south of Poland next to the city of Katowice.
Katowice-Pyrzowice Airport (KTW) is the closest airport, about 25 km from Chorzow. The quickest connection to downtown Chorzów is by taxi costing c. 25 € and taking c. 30 minutes. Suggested company: Eco Taxi (+48 666 227 266) gives a fixed airport rate upon placing an order by phone, NOT through the app. Price c. 100 PLN = 21 €.
There’s also public transportation: Bus line AP2 goes to downtown Katowice. The ticket costs 14 PLN (3 €). More information: https://rj.metropoliaztm.pl/rozklady/1-ap2/?cookieok=y
Travel between Katowice and Chorzów is best by local taxi services (e.g., Eco Taxi mentioned above), international apps (Uber, Bolt, Free Taxi) or local public transport. For bus and tram routes, timetables, tickets, and maps: https://www.metropoliaztm.pl/en/ or trains: https://www.pkp.pl/en/.
The airport with best international connections is Krakow-Balice (KRK), about 75 km from Chorzow. You can take a bus from the airport to downtown Katowice. The ride will take about an hour depending on traffic. You can check the timetable, pricing, and purchase your ticket at: https://neobus.pl/en/. Once you arrive in Katowice use the guidelines listed above to travel to Chorzów.
If you decide to spend some time in Kraków, you can take a train from “Kraków Główny” station to either “Katowice Dworzec Główny” or “Chorzów Miasto” (https://www.pkp.pl/en/). If you prefer traveling by bus, check: https://neobus.pl/en/.
ACCOMODATION:
Park Inn by Radisson Katowice
Address: Bytkowska 1a, Katowice, 40-147
https://www.radissonhotels.com/en-us/hotels/park-inn-katowice
Reservations by email: info.katowice@parkinn.com or phone: +48 32 721 11 11
Conditions: Individual payment prepayment/card/cash. Guaranteed non-refundable reservations, 100% prepayment after booking
Prices include breakfast, buffet, gym/sauna, wifi
Parking options:
Free overground hotel parking
Underground hotel parking / garage (payable) PLN 40 /day.
City Parking outside the hotel, up to 25-50m (free)
– Bytkowska / Targowa st.
– Bytkowska / Józefowska st.
Focus Hotel Katowice Chorzów
Address: Armii Krajowej 15, 41-506 Chorzów
https://www.focushotels.pl/en/focus-hotel-katowice-chorzow
Reservation link: https://booking.profitroom.com/pl/focushotelchorzow/details/offer/387974?code=EBC2023PL&no-cache=¤cy=PLN
Reservations can also be made by sending an e-mail to the Central Reservation Department at the address cdr@focushotels.pl
THE EBC BEFORE PARTY
Thursday 1 June, 19:00 h
Location: MDK “Batory”
Chorzów, ul. Batorego 6
Getting ready for the two nights of the EBC, join the EBC Before Party on the Thursday (1 June) at MDK Batory! https://www.mdkbatory.pl
Set in the beautiful, early 20th century room, the evening will be a celebration of the 20th anniversary of one of Poland’s finest blues bands and the Polish 2011 EBC representative, the Boogie Boys: http://www.boogieboys.pl
BEFORE PARTY PASS: 60 PLN (~ 12,80 €) https://biletyna.pl/event/view/id/300587
THE EUROPEAN BLUES CHALLENGE
Location: “Sztygarka”
Chorzów, ul. Piotra Skargi 34
TWO-DAY CHALLENGE PASS (Friday & Saturday):
100 PLN (~ 21,30 €) (pre-sale until 30th April)
120 PLN (~ 25,60 €) (from 1st May)
https://biletyna.pl/event/view/id/300590
Friday 2 June
Time: 17:00 h
Performing order:
1) Belgium: Ozgur Hazar’s Blues Syndicate
2) Sweden: FROM
3) Hungary: Écska & Huba
4) Portugal: The Smokestackers
5) Austria: Jörg Danielsen
6) Switzerland: Freddie & The Cannoballs
7) France: Miss Bee & The Bullfrogs
8) Italy: The Crowsroads
9) Romania: The Southern Cockroaches
10) Poland: Blues Fighters
11) Spain: Noa & The Hell Drinkers
Saturday 3 June
Time: 16:00 h
1) Germany: Bad Temper Joe & His Band
2) Norway: Soft City
3) Netherlands: Little Hat
4) Czech Republic: Petra Börnerová Trio
5) Denmark: Sahra Da Silva
6) United Kingdom: The Cinelli Brothers
7) Croatia: Bok Blues
8) Ireland: The Mary Stokes Band
9) Finland: Hi-Five Quintet
10) Luxembourg: Pugsley Buzzard & Tommy Boy
11) Ukraine: Alexander Dolgov (not participating to challenge; invited by the EBU)
Announcement of Blues Behind The Scenes Winners
Announcement of EBC Winners + jam
More information about EBC participating bands at https://europeanbluesunion.com/ebc-2023-bands/
Prize awards to the winners include performing at the following confirmed festivals:
- BB Blues Festival (Portugal), June
- Gothenburg Blues Festival (Sweden), end June – beg July
- Santa Maria Blues Festival (Azores Islands, Portugal), July
- Swing Wespelaar (Belgium), August
- Blues in the Garden (Romania), end August
- Blues in Hell (Norway), September
- Lucerne Blues Festival (Switzerland), mid-November
- Blues Alive Festival (Czech Rep), November
THE BLUES MARKET
Friday 2 June
Time: 13:00 – 16:00
Location: “Restauracja” at Sztygarka
Ul. Piotra Skargi 34
The Blues Market is a free, unique opportunity for all EBU Members to present their activities in an informal setting, to meet, interact and communicate with other blues professionals, media and enthusiasts as well as to meet with the bands.
We are expecting many blues friends to attend the EBC and the Blues Market.
THE WORKSHOPS
Saturday 3 June
Time: 13:30 to 15:30
Location: Restauracja at Sztygarka
Ul. Piotra Skargi 34
Two interesting Workshops will also take place on Saturday:
“How do we involve young people in a festival organization?” by Kjell Inge Brovoll
“Promotion via new technologies and social media” by Andrei Popa
THE BLUES EXPO
Our European Blues Expo photo exhibition will be in a form of a digital presentation with amazing photos from the previous EBCs to reminisce the past 10 editions of the EBC.
