بوليوود

بوليوود (بالهندية: बॉलीवुड، بالأردية: بالی وڈ) مصطلح غير رسمي يُستخدم على نطاق واسعٍ للإشارة إلى صناعة الأفلام باللغتين الهندية والأوردو في مدينة مومباي، الهند. كما يُستخدم هذا المصطلح بشكل غير صحيح أحياناً للإشارة إلى كامل صناعة السينما في الهند، بينما يشير في الحقيقة إلى جزء من هذه الصناعة. بوليوود أكبر منتج أفلام في الهند، وواحدة من أكبر مقرات إنتاج الأفلام في العالم.

اسم بوليوود مؤلف من بومباي (الاسم السابق لمومباي) وهوليوود التي هي مركز صناعة الأفلام الأمريكية. وبالرغم من التسمية، فعلى عكس هوليوود، لا توجد بوليوود كمكان فعلي، كذلك، وجد مصطلح بوليوود طريقه إلى قاموس أكسفورد كمدخل بتعريفٍ منفصل رغم وجود اعتراضات على التسمية باعتبار أنها تجعل صناعة السينما في مومباي تبدو كقريب فقير لمثيلتها في هوليوود.

يُشار إلى بوليود عموماً باعتبارها سينما ناطقة بالهندية، رغم أن اللغة الهندوستانية الشائعة كنمط متداول للهندية والأوردو أكثر شيوعاً في أفلام بوليوود. كما أن حضور الإنجليزية الهندية يتزايد في الحوار والأغاني على حدٍ سواء، وليس من الغريب وجود أفلام تدخل الكلمات والتعابير الإنكليزية في حواراتها. علاوة على ذلك، فإن إنتاج الأفلام المنطوقة بالإنكليزية بالكامل يتزايد في بوليوود.
كان فيلم راجا هاريشاندرا (1913) أول فيلمٍ صامت يُنتج في بديا وصنعه داداساهب فالكي. وبحلول ثلاثينيات القرن العشرين كانت صناعة السينما في بوليوود تُنتج أكثر من مائتي فيلم في السنة. أول فيلمٍ هندي ناطق كان أضواء الدنيا للمخرج أردشير إيراني في 1931 حقق نجاحاً كبيراً وضح وجود سوقٍ كبير للأفلام الناطقة والموسيقية، وبذلك تحولت بوليوود وجميع مناطق صناعة الفيلم الهندي الإقليمية إلى الأفلام الناطقة بسرعة.

كانت الثلاثينيات والأربعينيات فترات صاخبة، فقد تأثرت الهند بالكساد الكبير والحرب العالمية الثانية وحركة الاستقلال الهندية والعنف الذي صاحب تقسيم الهند. كانت معظم أفلام بوليوود هروبية وقتها، ومع ذلك عبر بعض صناع الأفلام عن المشاكل الاجتماعية الصعبة، أو استخدموا الكفاح الهندي كخلفية لأعمالهم الدرامية.

في 1937، أخرج أردشير إيراني فيلم كيسان كانيا أول فيلم هندي ملون. وفي العام الذي تلاه أخرج فيلماً ملوناً آخر هو الأم الهند. مع ذلك، لم تصبح الأفلام الملونة شعبية حتى نهاية الخمسينيات. في ذلك الوقت، كانت الأفلام الموسيقية الرومانسية ذات الإنتاج المترف وأفلام الميلودراما كانت المصدر الرئيسي للدخل في السينما. ومن ضمن الممثلين الناجحين في تلك الفترة كان ديف أناند، ديليب كومار، وراج كابور، أما الممثلات الناجحات فكان منهن: نرجس ومينا كوماري ونوتان ومادوبالا. في أواخر الستينيات وأوائل السبعينيات قام ببطولة الأفلام الرومانسية وأفلام الحركة ممثلون مثل: راجيش خانا ودارمندرا. في منتصف السبعينيات، أخلت الأفلام الرومانسية الطريق لأفلام العنف التي تناولت مواضيع العصابات. ركب أميتاب باتشان، النجم الشهير بأدوار "الشاب الغاضب" التي أداها، الموجة مع ممثلين آخرين مثل ميثون تشاكرابورتي وأنيل كابور. كان من ضمن الممثلات اللائي اشتهرن خلال هذه الفترة هيما ماليني، هيلين ريتشاردسون، جايا باتشان، وريكا. واستمرت هذه الموجة حتى بداية التسعينيات.

في منتصف التسعينيات مالت الكفة من جديد إلى الأفلام الموسيقية الرومانسية التي تدور حول العائلة بسبب نجاح أفلامٍ مثل من أنا بالنسبة لك (1994) والعروس للشجاع (1995). قدمت هذه الأفلام جيلاً جديداً من الممثلين منهم: أمير خان وسلمان خان وشاروخان والممثلات مثل: سريديفي ومادوري ديكسيت وجوهي تشاوالا وكاجول. وفي هذه المرحلة، كانت أفلام الكوميديا والحركة ناجحة كذلك، وقدمت ممثلين مثل جوفندا وأكشاي كومار وممثلاتٍ مثل رافينا تاندون وكاريسما كابور. علاوة على ذلك، شهد عقد التسعينيات من القرن العشرين مؤدين جدداً وأفلاماً مستقلة نجح بعضها تجارياً. ظهر في هذه الأفلام ممثلون منهم نانا باتيكار ومانيشا كويرالا وتابو وأورميلا ماتوندكار وامتدحهم النقاد وقتها.

بوليود الأغاني والرقص
الاغاني
بينما أكثر الممثلين، خصوصا اليوم، راقصين ممتازين، بعضهم أيضاً مغنين. عموماً الأغاني مسجّلة مسبقا من قبل مغني ثم بعد ذلك يعاد المحترفين بمزامنة شفة ممثلي الكلمات، في أغلب الأحيان بينما رقص. وحاول بضع الممثلون الغناء بأنفسهم مثل الممثل أميتاب بتشان، والذي غنى بنفسه بعض الأغاني من أفلامه أمثال : "Silsila"، "Mahaan" "Toofan" ومؤخرا أكثر في الأفلام Baghban وKabhi Khushi Kabhi Gham، بالإضافة إلى عمل الثنائي مع عدنان سامي في الأغنية Kabhi Nahi (أبدا). وأيضا الممثل شاروؤخان في فلم "josh" "DON" وكذلك الممثل عامر خان غنّى أغنية "Kya Bolti Tu " في فلم غلام.

الرقص
إنّ الرقص في أفلام بوليود، واحد أقدم خصوصياته وأهم ما يميزه ويعطه طابعه الخاص، أساليب الرقص الكلاسيكية، رقص المحظية الهندية الشمالية التأريخية (tawaif)، أو رقصات شعبية. وفي الأفلام الحديثة، يمتزج عناصر رقص هندية مع أساليب رقص غربية في أغلب الأحيان (كما يعرض على قناة MTV أو في مسرحيات برودواي الموسيقية)، مع ذلك ليس غريبا رؤية البوب الغربية وأعداد الرقص الكلاسيكية الصافية جنبا إلى جنب في نفس الفلم. البطل أو البطلة سيؤدّيان في أغلب الأحيان مع فرقة الراقصين، عادة نفس الجنس. إذا رقص البطلة والبطل ويغنّيان (آباء دي ديلوكس) رقص وباليه يعيّنان، معنى "رقص من اثنان"، هو ينظّم في أغلب الأحيان في البيئة المحيطة بالطبيعة الجميلة أو الأماكن الكبيرة بشكل معماري ومتقن.

رقص بوليود
هو مجموعة الرقص الهندي الكلاسيكي، رقص شعبي مثل Bhangra ولها أحيانا تأثير أمريكي لاتيني وعربي. هو مرح ومعبّر جدا وهناك الكثير من المعنى العميق وراء الموسيقى في الأفلام. بإمكانك أن تعرف أن الموسيقى ماذا تعني، من خلال الحركات الرشيقة للجسم.

لماذا الرقص من الأمور الهامة والحساسة في أفلام بوليود؟ الناس في الهند يفضلون الأفلام أكثر من المسرحيات وسببها الرقص ويمنعى آخر (نوع من تغير الجو) والغريب أن بعض الأحيان تسقط بعض الأفلام التي لا تحتوي على مشاهد الرقص أو الفيدو كليبات. لذلك المنتجون الكبار مثل Yash Chopra، Karan Johar ينتجتون الأفلام عموما بالأغاني الهائلة والعاطفية جدا؛ لذلك الرقص تلعب فيه دوراً كبيراً. وعلى فكرة أن مديرة الرقص على البوليود وهي فرح خان.

الحوارات والقصائد الغنائية
وقصائد الأغنية الغنائية يكتب في أغلب الأحيان من قبل الناس المختلفين. والحوارات تكتب في الغالب باللغة الهندية والأرودوية، ومن أشهر الأشخاص الذي يتكبون الحوارات في هذه الأيام هو الممثل الشهير :قادر خان.. . و من أشهر كتااب القصائد الغنائية كما هو معروف في هذه الأيام هو : سمير. محبوب. جاويد اختار. اناند باكشي.

فريق الممثلين والطاقم

يأتي إلى البوليود الكثير من الناس من كل أرجاء الهند، والكثير منهم يكون قد أخذو الشهرة إما في المسلسلات أو في عرض الأزياء أو في حفلات الجمال وما شابه... لكن كثر منهم آمالهم أحلامهم تذهب من حيث أتت.وبلا فائدة. بسب الواسطات والمحسوبيات المتواجدة بكثرة في بوليوود. النجوم البارزين أكثر في بوليود عادة يكونون أصلهم من غرب الهند أو من وسطها..

وبعض من أبطالها :

اكشاي كومار راج كابور، أميتاب باتشان، ريشي كابور، شاروخان، سلمان خان، دارمندرا، عامر خان،أبهيشيك باتشان سونيل دوت،هريثيك روشان، سيف علي خان،شاهيد كابور، فارون داوان، رانفير سينغ،ارجون كابور،رانبير كابور،أنيل كابور،سيدهارث مالهوترا،كاران جوهر و غيرهم

ومن أشهر ممثلاتها:

أنوشكا شارما، عاليا بهات، سونام كابور، كانغانا رانوت، جايا باتشان، فيديا بالان،مينا كوماري، ديمبل كاباديا، ريخا ،سريديفي ،مادهوري ديكسيت ،آيشواريا راي كاريشما كابور، جوهي تشاولا، كاجول، راني مكرجي، ديبيكا بادكون وكارينا كابور و بريانكا تشوبرا وبريتي زينتا وكاترينا كيف، وغيرهن.

جوائز بوليوود

بدأت مجلة الشيهرة filmfare بعمل جوائز لأفضل الأفلام في العام، مثل جوائز الأوسكار، وكانت بدايته في سنة 1953ميلادي.

الشركات الأخرى مثل مجلة Stardust، وتلفزيون Zee الخ) دخلت لاحقاً في هذا المجال.

البعض من الجوائز الشعبية الأخرى:

جوائز Zee السينمائية

جوائز الشاشة اللامعة

جوائز Stardust

جوائز IIFA

هم جميعا ينظّموا مراسيم الجوائـز بشكل متقن وراقي، والكثير من النجوم والنجمات. وتمتاز حفلات بوليوود بأداء عروض غنائية ورقصات تؤدى من قبل النجوم في أثناء الحفلات بشكل متطور وجديد.

منذ 1973، تبنّت الحكومة الهندية جوائز الفلم الوطنية، منح بمديرية مدعومة من قبل حكومة المهرجانات السينمائية (DFF). مديرية شاشات المهرجانات السينمائية ليست فقط البوليود تصوّر، بل الأفلام من كلّ السينمات الإقليمية الأخرى والمستقلة. هذه الجوائز توزّع في مراسم ترأّست من قبل رئيس الهند..

التمويلات

ميزانيات Bollywood بسيطة عادة بمعايير هوليود. المجموعات، بدلات، تأثيرات خاصّة، وصناعة سينما كانت أقل من عالمية إلى أن الوسط إلى متأخرا تسعينيات. لكن كأفلام وتلفزيون غربي يكسبان توزيع أوسع في الهند نفسه، هناك ضغط متزايد لأفلام Bollywood لإنجاز نفس مستويات الإنتاج.

الأفلام البوليودية أثبتت وجودها في الخارج وفي شباك تذاكر خارج الهند، لذا أطقم فلم مومباي رائجة جدا، تصوير في أستراليا، نيوزيلندا، مملكة متحدة، قارة أوروبا وفي مكان آخر. في الوقت الحاضر، منتجون هنود يسحبون في أكثر فأكثر تمويل للأفلام ذات الميزانية الكبيرة ضربت ضمن الهند أيضا، مثل Lagaan، Devdas،kank والإنتاج الحالي يزداد في الميزانية.

تمويل لأفلام بوليود يجيء في أغلب الأحيان من الموزّعون الخاصّة وبضعة إستوديوهات كبيرة. البنوك الهندية منعت من إعارة مال لإنتاج الأفلام، لكن هذا المنع رفع مؤخرا. كالتمويلات لم تنظّم بشكل صحيح البعض من المال يجيء أيضا من المصادر الغير شرعية. أنتجت أفراد عصابة مومباي الأفلام، رعى النجوم، واستعملت العضلة للحصول على طريقهم في الصفقات السينمائية. في يناير/كانون الثّاني 2000, مافيا مومباي ضربوا المنتج راكيش روشن والد الممثل هريتك روشن؛عندما رفض طلبهم وحاول التدخّل بتوزيع فلمه. في 2001 المكتب المركزي للتحقيق، وكالة شرطة الهند الوطنية، استولى على كلّ طبعات الفلم المزورة Chori Chori Chupke Chupke بعد التحيق وجدوا أن كل ذلك كانت بواسطة مافيا مومباي.

المشكلة الأخرى التي تواجه بوليود قرصنة كثير أفلامها. سرق DVDs في أغلب الأحيان يصل قبل الطبعة للصورة. مصانع في باكستان والهند تخمد آلاف DVDs غير شرعية، VCDs، وVHS يسجّل، الذي ثمّ تشحن في جميع أنحاء العالم. (نسخ متفشي جدا في باكستان، منذ أن منعت الحكومة الباكستانية استيراد الأفلام الهندية، يترزك قرصنة كالطريق الوحيد لتوزيعهم.) أفلام تذيع كثيرا بدون تعويض بشركات التلفزيون السلكي الصغيرة الغير معدودة في الهند وآسيا. يخزن فيديو تابل البقالة الهندي الصغير في الولايات المتّحدة وأشرطة السهم البريطانية وDVDs للمصدر المريب بينما مستهلك ينسخ يضيفا إلى المشكلة.

تلفزيون قمر صناعي، تلفزيون وأفلام أجنبية مستوردة يجعلان غارات ضخمة إلى سوق الترفيه الهندية المحلية. في الماضي، أكثر أفلام بوليود يمكنه جمع الكثير من مال؛ أقل الآن فعكس ذلك. متوازن ضدّ هذه الغلال المتزايدة من المسارح في البلدان الغربية مثل المملكة المتّحدة، كندا، والولايات المتحدة الأمريكية، حيث أنّ بوليود يصبح ملاحظة ببطئ. بينما يهاجر هنود أكثر إلى هذه البلدان، يشكّلون ينمو سوقا للأفلام الهندية الممتازة. المشاهدون 'الأجانب' — في البلدان الآسيوية والغربية — تنمو أيضا، إذا ببطئ أكثر.

مشاكل بوليود

المشكلة الأولى : القرصنة

بالرغم أنّ عدد مشاهدي ألأفلام الهندية تقدر بحوالي مليار شخص في كل أنحاء العالم إلا أنها لا تحقق مكاسب خرافية مثل نظيرتها ألأمريكية الهوليودية، وذالك بسبب القرصنة - حيث يقوم الناس بعمل نسخ من الأفلام وبيعها أو توزيعها إلى الآخرين مجانا. ، في الوقت الحاضر يحاول منتجو أفلام بوليود البحث عن طريق لوقف هذه الخسائر عن طريق تشجيع الجمهور علي دفع مقابل بسيط لتشجيع صناعة السينما في الهند .

المشكلة الأخرى : التجديد

تلك الأجيال الأصغر تجد القصص متوقّعة نوعا ما أحيانا وتسأم من الحكايات المماثلة. منتجو الأفلام يحاولون أن يحلّوا هذا بتغيير محاور القصة لعكس الحياة الحقيقية - مثل الحقيقة بأنّ أطفال العوائل الهندية يدرسون الآن في الخارج.

مستقبل بوليود

النظرات المستقبلية ألمع حتى الآن لبوليود. شركات الفلم الأمريكية الكبيرة مثل الأخوة وارنر والسينتشوري فوكس العشرون يبدون بفتح المكاتب في الهند. حيث منتجو الأفلام وجدوا صعوبة في التنافس مع تأثيرات هوليود الخاصّة، هذه الأمرالمنطقة الكبيرة القادمة لبوليود للتطوير. والتطور يلحق ببلويود الأفلام الهندية تتميز يوم عن يوم والقصص أكثر واقعيه.

Bollywood

Hindi cinema, often known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema,[6] is the Indian Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). The term is a portmanteau of "Bombay" and "Hollywood". The industry is related to Cinema of South India and other Indian film industries, making up Indian Cinema—the world's largest by number of feature films produced.[3][7][8]

Indian cinema has an annual output of 1,986 feature films in 2017. Bollywood is its largest film producer, with 364 Hindi films produced in 2017.[3] Bollywood represents 43 percent of Indian net box-office revenue; Tamil and Telugu cinema represent 36 percent, and the remaining regional cinema constituted 21 percent in 2014.[4] Bollywood is one of the largest centres of film production in the world.[9][10][11] In 2001 ticket sales, Indian cinema (including Bollywood) reportedly sold an estimated 3.6 billion tickets worldwide, compared to Hollywood's 2.6 billion tickets sold.[12][13][14] Bollywood films tend to use vernacular Hindustani, mutually intelligible by people who self-identify as speaking either Hindi or Urdu,[15][16][17] and modern Bollywood movies[18] increasingly incorporate elements of Hinglish.[15]

The most popular commercial genre in Bollywood since the 1970s has been the masala film, which freely mixes different genres including action, comedy, romance, drama and melodrama along with musical numbers.[19][20][21][22] Masala films generally fall under the musical film genre, of which Indian cinema has been the largest producer since the 1960s when it exceeded the American film industry's total musical output after musical films declined in the West; the first Indian musical talkie was Alam Ara (1931), several years after the first Hollywood musical talkie The Jazz Singer (1927). Alongside commercial masala films, a distinctive genre of art films known as parallel cinema has also existed, presenting realistic content and avoidance of musical numbers. In more recent years, the distinction between commercial masala and parallel cinema has been gradually blurring, with an increasing number of mainstream films adopting the conventions which were once strictly associated with parallel cinema.
Etymology
"Bollywood" is a portmanteau derived from Bombay (the former name for Mumbai) and Hollywood, California, the centre of the American film industry.[23] Unlike Hollywood, Bollywood is not a physical place; its name is criticised by some film journalists and critics, who believe it implies that the industry is a poor cousin of Hollywood.[23][24]

According to OxfordDictionaries.com, the word "Bollywood" originated during the 1970s,[25] when Indian cinema overtook Hollywood in film production. A number of journalists have been credited by newspapers with coining the word.[26] According to a 2004 article in The Hindu, journalist Bevinda Collaco coined the word;[27] a Telegraph article the following year report that Amit Khanna was its creator.[28]

According to Madhava Prasad, author of Surviving Bollywood, the term "Bollywood" was preceded by "Tollywood", which then referred to the cinema of West Bengal. The Bengali film industry, based in Tollygunge, Calcutta, was referred to as "Tollywood" in a 1932 American Cinematographer article.[29]

History
Early history (1890s–1940s)
In 1897, a film presentation by Professor Stevenson featured a stage show at Calcutta's Star Theatre. With Stevenson's encouragement and camera, Hiralal Sen, an Indian photographer, made a film of scenes from that show, The Flower of Persia (1898).[30] The Wrestlers (1899) by H. S. Bhatavdekar showed a wrestling match at the Hanging Gardens in Bombay
Dadasaheb Phalke's silent Raja Harishchandra (1913) is the first feature film made in India. By the 1930s, the industry was producing over 200 films per year.[35] The first Indian sound film, Ardeshir Irani's Alam Ara (1931), was commercially successful.[36] With a great demand for talkies and musicals, Bollywood and the other regional film industries quickly switched to sound films.

The 1930s and 1940s were tumultuous times; India was buffeted by the Great Depression, World War II, the Indian independence movement, and the violence of the Partition. Although most Bollywood films were unabashedly escapist, a number of filmmakers tackled tough social issues or used the struggle for Indian independence as a backdrop for their films.[35] Irani made the first Hindi colour film, Kisan Kanya, in 1937. The following year, he made a colour version of Mother India. However, colour did not become a popular feature until the late 1950s. At this time, lavish romantic musicals and melodramas were cinematic staples.

Before the 1947 partition of India, which divided the country into the Republic of India and Pakistan, the Bombay film industry (now called Bollywood) was closely linked to the Lahore film industry (now the Lollywood industry of Pakistani cinema); both produced films in Hindustani, the lingua franca of northern and central India.[37] Another centre of Hindustani film production was the Bengali film industry in Calcutta, Bengal Presidency (now Kolkata, West Bengal), which produced Hindustani films and local Bengali language films.[38][39]

Many actors, filmmakers and musicians from the Lahore industry migrated to the Bombay industry during the 1940s, including actors K. L. Saigal, Prithviraj Kapoor, Dilip Kumar and Dev Anand; playback singers Mohammed Rafi, Noorjahan, and Shamshad Begum. Around the same time, filmmakers and actors from the Calcutta film industry began migrating to Bombay; as a result, Bombay became the center of Hindustani film production in the Republic of India after partition. During this time period, actors such as Shantaram, Paidi Jairaj, and Motilal have made their mark.[39] For decades after partition, the Bombay industry was dominated by actors, filmmakers and musicians from Bengal, Punjab (particularly the present-day Pakistani Punjab),[37] and the North-West Frontier Province (present-day Khyber Pakhtunkhwa).[40]

Golden Age (late 1940s–1960s)
The period from the late 1940s to the early 1960s, after India's independence, is regarded by film historians as the Golden Age of Hindi cinema.[41][42][43] Some of the most critically acclaimed Hindi films of all time were produced during this time. Examples include Pyaasa (1957) and Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), directed by Guru Dutt and written by Abrar Alvi; Awaara (1951) and Shree 420 (1955), directed by Raj Kapoor and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas, and Aan (1952), directed by Mehboob Khan and starring Dilip Kumar. The films explored social themes, primarily dealing with working-class life in India (particularly urban life) in the first two examples. Awaara presented the city as both nightmare and dream, and Pyaasa critiqued the unreality of urban life.[44]

Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957), a remake of his earlier Aurat (1940), was the first Indian film nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film; it lost by a single vote.[45] Mother India defined conventional Hindi cinema for decades.[46][47][48] It spawned a genre of dacoit films, in turn defined by Gunga Jumna (1961).[49] Written and produced by Dilip Kumar, Gunga Jumna was a dacoit crime drama about two brothers on opposite sides of the law (a theme which became common in Indian films during the 1970s).[50] Some of the best-known epic films of Hindi cinema were also produced at this time, such as K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (1960).[51] Other acclaimed mainstream Hindi filmmakers during this period included Kamal Amrohi and Vijay Bhatt.
The three most popular male Indian actors of the 1950s and 1960s were Dilip Kumar, Raj Kapoor, and Dev Anand, each with a unique acting style. Kapoor adopted Charlie Chaplin's tramp; Anand modeled himself on suave Hollywood stars like Gregory Peck and Cary Grant, and Kumar pioneered a form of method acting which predated Hollywood method actors such as Marlon Brando. Kumar, who was described as "the ultimate method actor" by Satyajit Ray, inspired future generations of Indian actors. Much like Brando's influence on Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, Kumar had a similar influence on Amitabh Bachchan, Naseeruddin Shah, Shah Rukh Khan and Nawazuddin Siddiqui.[52][53] Veteran actresses such as Suraiya, Nargis, Sumitra Devi, Madhubala, Meena Kumari, Waheeda Rehman, Nutan, Sadhana, Mala Sinha and Vyjayanthimala have had their share of influence on Hindi cinema.[55]

While commercial Hindi cinema was thriving, the 1950s also saw the emergence of a parallel cinema movement.[44] Although the movement (emphasising social realism) was led by Bengali cinema, it also began gaining prominence in Hindi cinema. Early examples of parallel cinema include Dharti Ke Lal (1946), directed by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas and based on the Bengal famine of 1943,;[56] Neecha Nagar (1946) directed by Chetan Anand and written by Khwaja Ahmad Abbas,[57] and Bimal Roy's Do Bigha Zamin (1953). Their critical acclaim and the latter's commercial success paved the way for Indian neorealism[58] and the Indian New Wave (synonymous with parallel cinema).[59] Internationally acclaimed Hindi filmmakers involved in the movement included Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani, Shyam Benegal, and Vijaya Mehta
After the social-realist film Neecha Nagar received the Palme d'Or at the inaugural 1946 Cannes Film Festival,[57] Hindi films were frequently in competition for Cannes' top prize during the 1950s and early 1960s and some won major prizes at the festival.[60] Guru Dutt, overlooked during his lifetime, received belated international recognition during the 1980s.[60][61] Film critics polled by the British magazine Sight & Sound included several of Dutt's films in a 2002 list of greatest films,[62] and Time's All-Time 100 Movies lists Pyaasa as one of the greatest films of all time.[63]

During the late 1960s and early 1970s, the industry was dominated by musical romance films with romantic-hero leads.[64]

Classic Bollywood (1970s–1980s)
By 1970, Hindi cinema was thematically stagnant[66] and dominated by musical romance films.[64] The arrival of screenwriting duo Salim-Javed (Salim Khan and Javed Akhtar) was a paradigm shift, revitalising the industry.[66] They began the genre of gritty, violent, Bombay underworld crime films early in the decade with films such as Zanjeer (1973) and Deewaar (1975).[67][68] Salim-Javed reinterpreted the rural themes of Mehboob Khan's Mother India (1957) and Dilip Kumar's Gunga Jumna (1961) in a contemporary urban context, reflecting the socio-economic and socio-political climate of 1970s India[66][69] and channeling mass discontent, disillusionment[66] and the unprecedented growth of slums[70] with anti-establishment themes and those involving urban poverty, corruption and crime.[71][72] Their "angry young man", personified by Amitabh Bachchan,[72] reinterpreted Dilip Kumar's performance in Gunga Jumna in a contemporary urban context[66][69] and anguished urban poor.[70]

By the mid-1970s, romantic confections had given way to gritty, violent crime films and action films about gangsters (the Bombay underworld) and bandits (dacoits). Salim-Javed's writing and Amitabh Bachchan's acting popularised the trend with films such as Zanjeer and (particularly) Deewaar, a crime film inspired by Gunga Jumna[50] which pitted "a policeman against his brother, a gang leader based on real-life smuggler Haji Mastan" (Bachchan); according to Danny Boyle, Deewaar was "absolutely key to Indian cinema".[73] In addition to Bachchan, several other actors followed by riding the crest of the trend (which lasted into the early 1990s).[74] Actresses from the era include Hema Malini, Jaya Bachchan, Raakhee, Shabana Azmi, Zeenat Aman, Parveen Babi, Rekha, Dimple Kapadia, Smita Patil, Jaya Prada and Padmini Kolhapure.
The name "Bollywood" was coined during the 1970s,[26][27] when the conventions of commercial Bollywood films were defined.[80] Key to this was the masala film, which combines a number of genres (action, comedy, romance, drama, melodrama, and musical). The masala film was pioneered early in the decade by filmmaker Nasir Hussain,[21] and the Salim-Javed screenwriting duo,[80] pioneering the Bollywood-blockbuster format.[80] Yaadon Ki Baarat (1973), directed by Hussain and written by Salim-Javed, has been identified as the first masala film and the first quintessentially Bollywood film.[80][81] Salim-Javed wrote more successful masala films during the 1970s and 1980s.[80] Masala films made Amitabh Bachchan the biggest Bollywood star of the period. A landmark of the genre was Amar Akbar Anthony (1977),[81][82] directed by Manmohan Desai and written by Kader Khan, and Desai continued successfully exploiting the genre.

Both genres (masala and violent-crime films) are represented by the blockbuster Sholay (1975), written by Salim-Javed and starring Amitabh Bachchan. It combined the dacoit film conventions of Mother India and Gunga Jumna with spaghetti Westerns, spawning the Dacoit Western (also known as the curry Western) which was popular during the 1970s.[49]

Some Hindi filmmakers, such as Shyam Benegal, Mani Kaul, Kumar Shahani, Ketan Mehta, Govind Nihalani and Vijaya Mehta, continued to produce realistic parallel cinema throughout the 1970s.[44][83] Although the art film bent of the Film Finance Corporation was criticised during a 1976 Committee on Public Undertakings investigation which accused the corporation of not doing enough to encourage commercial cinema, the decade saw the rise of commercial cinema with films such as Sholay (1975) which consolidated Amitabh Bachchan's position as a star. The devotional classic Jai Santoshi Ma was also released that year.[84]

By 1983, the Bombay film industry was generating an estimated annual revenue of ₹700 crore (₹7 billion,[85] $693.14 million),[86] equivalent to $1.78 billion (₹11,133 crore, ₹111.33 billion) when adjusted for inflation. The most internationally acclaimed Hindi film of the 1980s was Mira Nair's Salaam Bombay! (1988), which won the Camera d'Or at the 1988 Cannes Film Festival and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

New Bollywood (1990s–present)

Hindi cinema experienced another period of stagnation during the late 1980s with a box-office decline due to increasing violence, a decline in musical quality, and a rise in video piracy. Middle-class family audiences began abandoning the cinema[citation needed]. The turning point came with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988), directed by Mansoor Khan, written and produced by his father Nasir Hussain and starring his cousin, Aamir Khan, and Juhi Chawla. Its blend of youthfulness, family entertainment, emotional intelligence and strong melodies lured audiences back to the big screen.[88][89] It formed a new template for Bollywood musical romance films which defined 1990s Hindi cinema.[89]

Known since the 1990s as "New Bollywood",[90] contemporary Bollywood is linked to economic liberalization in India during the early 1990s.[91] Early in the decade, the pendulum swung back toward family-centered romantic musicals. Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988) was followed by blockbusters such as Maine Pyar Kiya (1989), Chandni (1989), Saajan (1991), Phool Aur Kaante (1991), Deewana (1992), Dilwale (1994), Hum Aapke Hain Kaun (1994), Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995), Raja Hindustani (1996), Dil To Pagal Hai (1997), Ishq (1997), and Kuch Kuch Hota Hai (1998), introducing a new generation of popular actors, including Ajay Devgn, Akshay Kumar and the Three Khans: Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, and Salman Khan,[92][93] who have starred in most of the top ten highest-grossing Bollywood films. The Khans and Devgn have had successful careers since the late 1980s and early 1990s,[92] and have dominated the Indian box office for three decades.[94][95] Shah Rukh Khan was the most successful Indian actor for most of the 1990s and 2000s, and Aamir Khan has been the most successful Indian actor since the mid 2000s;[55][87] followed by Salman Khan, Ajay Devgn and Akshay Kumar in 2010s. Action and comedy films, starring such actors as Akshay Kumar and Govinda, were also successful, moderately successful actor during 90s are Sunil Shetty, Saif Ali Khan.[96][97]

The decade marked the entrance of new performers in art and independent films, some of which were commercially successful. The most influential example was Zakhm (1998), directed by Mahesh Bhatt, Satya (1998), directed by Ram Gopal Varma and written by Anurag Kashyap. Its critical and commercial success led to the emergence of a genre known as Mumbai noir:[98] urban films reflecting the city's social problems.[99] This led to a resurgence of parallel cinema by the end of the decade.[98] The films featured actors whose performances were often praised by critics.

Coachella

The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival (commonly called Coachella or the Coachella Festival) is an annual music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valley in the Colorado Desert. It was co-founded by Paul Tollett and Rick Van Santen in 1999, and is organized by Goldenvoice, a subsidiary of AEG Presents.[1] The event features musical artists from many genres of music, including rock, pop, indie, hip hop and electronic dance music, as well as art installations and sculptures. Across the grounds, several stages continuously host live music.

The festival's origins trace back to a 1993 concert that Pearl Jam performed at the Empire Polo Club while boycotting venues controlled by Ticketmaster. The show validated the site's viability for hosting large events, leading to the inaugural Coachella Festival being held over the course of two days in October 1999, three months after Woodstock '99. After no event was held in 2000, Coachella returned on an annual basis beginning in April 2001 as a single-day event. In 2002, the festival reverted to a two-day format. Coachella was expanded to a third day in 2007 and eventually a second weekend in 2012; it is now held on consecutive three-day weekends in April, with the same lineup each weekend. Organizers began permitting spectators to camp on the grounds in 2003, one of several expansions and additions in the festival's history.

Coachella showcases popular and established musical artists as well as emerging artists and reunited groups. It is one of the largest, most famous, and most profitable music festivals in the United States and the world.[2][3] Each Coachella staged from 2013 to 2015 set new records for festival attendance and gross revenues. The 2017 festival was attended by 250,000 people and grossed $114.6 million. Coachella's success led to Goldenvoice establishing additional music festivals at the site, including the annual Stagecoach country music festival beginning in 2007, the Big 4 thrash metal festival in 2011, and the classic rock-oriented Desert Trip in 2016.
On November 5, 1993, Pearl Jam performed for almost 25,000 fans at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.[5] The site was selected because the band refused to play in Los Angeles as a result of a dispute with Ticketmaster over service charges applied to ticket purchases.[6][7] The show established the polo club's suitability for large-scale events; Paul Tollett, whose concert promotion company Goldenvoice booked the venue for Pearl Jam, said the concert sowed the seeds for an eventual music festival there.[4]

Around 1997, Goldenvoice was struggling to book concerts against larger companies, and they were unable to offer guarantees as high as their competitors, such as SFX Entertainment. Tollett said, "We were getting our ass kicked financially. We were losing a lot of bands. And we couldn't compete with the money."[8] As a result, the idea of a music festival was conceived, and Tollett began to brainstorm ideas for one with multiple venues. His intent was to book trendy artists who were not necessarily chart successes: "Maybe if you put a bunch of them together, that might be a magnet for a lot of people."[6] While attending the 1997 Glastonbury Festival, Tollett handed out pamphlets to artists and talent managers that featured pictures of the Empire Polo Club and pitched a possible festival there. In contrast to the frequently muddy conditions at Glastonbury caused by rain, he recalled, "We had this pamphlet... showing sunny Coachella. Everyone was laughing."[7]

After scouting several sites for their festival,[4] Tollett and Goldenvoice co-president Rick Van Santen returned to the Empire Polo Club during the Big Gig festival in 1998. Impressed by the location's suitability for a festival, they decided to book their event there.[6] The promoters had hoped to stage their inaugural festival in 1998 but were unable to until the following year.[7] On July 16, 1999, Goldenvoice announced that the Indio City Council had approved the festival and would provide $90,000 for services such as traffic control and public safety. The funds came with a guarantee of repayment from the promoter, as the city was keen to avoid incurring another loss; the previous year's Big Gig festival cost Indio $16,000 due to last-minute changes to the lineup and poor attendance.[9] The Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was officially announced on July 28 with a preliminary lineup of 40 acts;[10] tickets went on sale on August 7.[11]

Coachella's announcement came just one week after the conclusion of Woodstock '99, a festival in July 1999 that was marred by looting, arson, violence, and rapes. Goldenvoice's insurance costs increased 40% as a result and the company faced uncertainty regarding Coachella's tickets.[7][12] Organizers were already aiming to provide a "high-comfort festival experience" for Coachella but rededicated themselves to those efforts after Woodstock '99. Advertisements boasted free water fountains, ample restrooms, and misting tents.[12] Retrospectively, Tollett called the decision to announce a new festival just two months prior to staging it "financial suicide".[7]

1999, 2001–2002
On October 9–10, 1999, the inaugural Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival was held. Headlining the event were Beck, Tool, and Rage Against the Machine; other acts included the Chemical Brothers, Morrissey, A Perfect Circle, Jurassic 5 and Underworld. Originally, promoters had hoped to make the event three days (Friday to Sunday) and even considered the UK group Massive Attack as the third-day headliner.[13] The organizers strove to recreate European music festivals with small crowds in a great setting with plenty of turntables.[14] By booking acts based on artistry rather than radio popularity, Coachella earned the title of "the anti-Woodstock".[15]

Tickets sold for $50 for each day; about 17,000 tickets sold for the first day, and 20,000 for the second,[14] falling short of the overall attendance goal of 70,000.[16] Attendees were offered free parking and a free bottle of water upon entrance.[14] The event went smoothly, with the well-behaved crowd starkly contrasting with the violence that plagued Woodstock '99; the biggest challenges to Coachella concertgoers were temperatures exceeding 100 °F and the decisions of which of the 80-plus acts to attend.[15][16][17] The festival was well regarded among attendees and critics; Pollstar named it festival of the year, and Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times said that it "laid the foundation for what someday may be a legacy of its own".[18][19] However, Goldenvoice lost $850,000 on the undertaking,[20] forcing the promoter, in Tollett's words, to "struggle for almost two years to survive as a company".[21] Prominent acts, including the headliners, agreed to receive deferred compensation.[22]

Goldenvoice reserved tentative dates for October 2000 to reprise the festival,[23] but ultimately canceled for that year; Tollett blamed it on the oversaturation of music festivals in Southern California.[18] Instead, Goldenvoice partnered with promoter Pasquale Rotella to stage the electronic dance music festival Nocturnal Wonderland at the Empire Polo Club in September 2000.[24][25]

Goldenvoice opted to bring Coachella back in April 2001 in an attempt to beat the heat.[18][26] Ticket prices were raised to $65.[27] Organizers encountered difficulty booking acts for the festival and due to "available talent", were forced to shorten the festival to a single day.[28] Issues with securing a headliner threatened to doom the event until Perry Farrell agreed to bring his reunited group Jane's Addiction to the proceedings.[29] Amidst financial concerns, Tollett agreed to sell Goldenvoice to Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) in March 2001 for $7 million.[30] AEG, which had opened Staples Center in Los Angeles two years prior, purchased the promoter to help them find shows to book. The corporation wanted Tollett to continue staging Coachella, understanding that it initially would lose money;[7] Tollett initially retained full control of Coachella as a result of the acquisition.[29][31] Like its predecessor, the 2001 festival went smoothly;[21] 32,000 people attended,[24] and despite taking a loss again, Tollett estimates it was a "low, low six-figure sum".[21]

In 2002, the event returned to a two-day format, featuring headlining acts Björk and Oasis, along with a reunion of Siouxsie and the Banshees.[32] Palm Desert natives Queens of the Stone Age became the first local band to play the festival.[20] The strong supporting acts helped prove to the Indio community that the event could bring in money and take place without conflict. More than 55,000 people attended over the two days,[20] and for the first time, the festival nearly broke even.[21]

2003–2005
The 2003 festival featured Red Hot Chili Peppers and Beastie Boys as headliners, as well as a reunion of Iggy Pop and The Stooges. It drew the largest Coachella crowd up to that point, with 60,000 people attending.[33] The event began to develop worldwide interest and began to become nationally known. It was also the first year on-site camping was provided,[34] improving accessibility as a destination music festival for concertgoers. The ticket prices at this time were $75 for one day, and ranged higher to the price of $140 for a two-day pass.[8]
In late December 2003, Van Santen died at the age of 41 from flu-related complications.[1] With Tollett left, he sold half of Coachella to AEG in 2004, along with the controlling interest in the festival.[7] The 2004 event featured a lineup of more than 80 acts,[35] with Radiohead and the Cure as headliners, along with a reunion of the Pixies. It was Coachella's first sellout, drawing a two-day total of 110,000 people. For the first time, the festival attracted attendees from all 50 US states.[20] The event was critically acclaimed; Hilburn called it "the premier pop music festival in the country", while Rolling Stone labeled it "America's Best Music Festival". Tollett said that 2004 was the turning point for Coachella, and he credited booking Radiohead with elevating the festival's stature and interest among musicians. However, he also described that year's event as a missed opportunity, as he passed on a chance to expand it to a third day that could have featured David Bowie as a headliner.[35]

The 2005 event ran from April 30 to May 1 and featured Coldplay and Nine Inch Nails as headliners, along with a reunion of Bauhaus. Approximately 50,000 people attended each day of the festival.[36]

2006–2008
The 2006 event featured headliners Depeche Mode and Tool. Two of the most popular performances were Madonna, who played in an overflowing dance tent, and Daft Punk, whose show featuring a pyramid-shaped stage is cited as one of the most memorable performances in Coachella history.[20] Around 120,000 concertgoers attended the event over two days,[20] garnering Goldenvoice a gross of $9 million.[37]

In 2007, Goldenvoice inaugurated the Stagecoach Festival, an annual country music festival that also takes place at the Empire Polo Club the weekend following Coachella. The new event helped avert complications with organizing Coachella; the polo club's owner Alex Haagen III had been planning to redevelop the land unless a new profitable event could be created to make a long-term lease with Goldenvoice financially feasible.[6] Along with the new festival's addition, Coachella was permanently extended to three days in 2007. The headlining acts were Red Hot Chili Peppers, the reunited Rage Against the Machine, and Björk, all of whom headlined for the second time. The festival compiled a three-day aggregate attendance of over 186,000, a new best, and grossed $16.3 million.[38]

In 2008, Coachella did not sell out for the first time since 2003. It featured headliners Prince, Roger Waters, and Jack Johnson. Waters' inflatable prop pig flew away during his set.[20] The 2008 festival drew an attendance of 151,666 and grossed $13.8 million,[38] but lost money, due to tickets not selling out and high booking fees paid for Prince and Roger Waters.[6][22]

2009–2011
The 2009 festival occurred a week earlier than usual. The new dates were April 17, 18 and 19. The event featured headliners Paul McCartney, The Killers, and The Cure. On Friday, McCartney blew past the festival's strict curfew by 54 minutes.[20] Sunday, The Cure had their performance end abruptly, with the festival cutting stage power after passing their own curfew by 30 minutes.[39] Notable performances included Franz Ferdinand, M.I.A. (whose 2005 encore set in a tent was a first at the fest), Yeah Yeah Yeahs, and rare appearances from artists Leonard Cohen, Dr. Dog and Throbbing Gristle. The festival drew an aggregate attendance of 152,962 and grossed $15,328,863.[40]

Organizers eliminated single-day ticket sales for 2010, and instead instituted a new policy offering three-day tickets only,[41] which drew mixed reactions.[42] Headliners included Jay-Z, Muse and Gorillaz, and reunions of Faith No More and Pavement[43] Despite Tollett's reservations about holding a festival in 2010 due to the economy,[44] that year's Coachella drew 75,000 spectators each day, for an estimated aggregate attendance of 225,000, surpassing previous records.[45] Thousands of fans broke through fences, leading to concerns about overcrowding.[20] The festival grossed $21,703,500.[46] International travel was disrupted by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland,[47] resulting in some European acts, such as Frightened Rabbit, Gary Numan and Delphic, canceling their appearances at the festival.[47]

Prior to the 2011 festival, Goldenvoice made several investments and improvements locally to help support Coachella. In addition to funding an additional lane for Avenue 50, which borders the festival, the promoter cleared additional space on the polo grounds by leveling a 250,000-square-foot area and moving horse stables.[48] Lighting and security were also enhanced to help the festival run more smoothly.[20] The headliners for that year's event were Kings of Leon, Arcade Fire, Kanye West, and The Strokes, along with another 190 supporting acts.[49] The 2011 festival grossed $24,993,698[50] from 75,000 paid attendees, for an aggregate attendance of 225,000 across the entire three-day weekend.[51]

2012–2014
On May 31, 2011, Goldenvoice announced that beginning with the 2012 festival, Coachella would be expanded to a second, separately-ticketed weekend, with identical lineups for each.[52] Explaining the decision, Tollett said that demand for tickets was up in 2011 even after "operations weren't the best [they've] ever had" in 2010 and that he did not want to satisfy that demand by allowing additional attendees to overcrowd the venue.[53] Rolling Stone called it a "very risky move" and said there was "no guarantee that demand [would be] high enough to sell out the same bill over two consecutive weekends".[52] Nonetheless, 2012 tickets sold out in less than three hours.
The 2012 festival featured headliners the Black Keys, Radiohead, and a twin billing of Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.[20] During the latter's performances, a projection of deceased rapper Tupac Shakur appeared on-stage (a voice actor performed his introduction lines) and began performing "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted".[55] Although the media referred to the technology as a "hologram", the projection was in fact created using the Musion Eyeliner system, which employs a version of Pepper's ghost.[56] Following the performance, the projection disappeared. Dr. Dre had asked permission from Shakur's mother Afeni, who said the next day that she was thrilled with the performance.[57] A projection of deceased singer Nate Dogg was also planned, but Dr. Dre decided against it. The 2012 festival grossed $47,313,403 from 158,387 paid attendees across the two weekends; 80,726 tickets were sold for the first weekend, and 77,661 for the second.[58]
Prior to the 2013 festival, it was announced that Goldenvoice had reached a deal with the city of Indio to keep the Coachella and Stagecoach Festivals there through 2030. As part of the agreement, Indio's per-ticket share of revenue would increase from $2.33 per ticket to $5.01.[59] Headlining the 2013 festival were Blur, The Stone Roses, Phoenix, and Red Hot Chili Peppers.[60] General admission tickets sold for $349, a $34 increase from the previous year.[61] The festival grossed $67.2 million in ticket sales and was attended by 180,000 people, making it the top music festival in the world.[62] In July 2013, Goldenvoice finalized a $30 million purchase of 280 acres of land surrounding the Empire Polo Club, including the 200-acre Eldorado Polo Club. The land, previously leased from Eldorado, will be used to provide more space for parking and general use for the festival.[63] Tollett said the purchase was intended to "help [Goldenvoice] put in some infrastructure so [they] don't have to keep coming back and do the same things each year".[64]

The 2014 festival, held on April 11–13 and April 18–20, featured 184 artists.[65] A reunited Outkast headlined on Friday, Muse on Saturday, and Arcade Fire on Sunday.[66] General admission tickets sold out in less than 20 minutes, while all other tickets (including VIP tickets in excess of $5,000) sold out in less than 3 hours.[citation needed] That year's festival featured 96,500 daily attendees and grossed a record-breaking $78.332 million.[67][68] For the fourth consecutive year, Coachella was named the Top Festival at the Billboard Touring Awards.[68]

2015–2017

The 2015 festival, held on April 10–12 and 17–19,[69] featured headliners AC/DC, Jack White, and Drake, with a surprise appearance by Madonna during the latter's weekend one performance. General admission tickets again sold out in less than 20 minutes.[citation needed] The event established new records for tickets sold (198,000) and total gross ($84,264,264) for a festival.[68] The festival won Pollstar's award for Major Music Festival of the Year,[70] marking the 10th time in 11 years that Coachella had won the award.[71]

In March 2016, the Indio City Council passed a measure to raise the attendance cap for Coachella from 99,000 to 125,000, stipulating that the capacity would gradually be increased, giving the city time to accommodate the crowds. Goldenvoice increased the venue size by about 50 acres along Monroe Street, Avenue 50, Avenue 52, and Polo Road.[72] The 2016 festival was held on April 15–17 and 22–24, and was headlined by a reunited LCD Soundsystem, a reunited Guns N' Roses (with original members Axl Rose, Slash, and Duff McKagan), and Calvin Harris. Ice Cube's appearance featured a reunion of N.W.A., while Guns N' Roses' first weekend performance featured a guest appearance from Angus Young of AC/DC, who headlined the previous year; the cameo occurred the same day that Rose was announced as the new singer for AC/DC. Weekend two was marked by several tributes to Prince, the 2008 headliner who died just prior to the weekend's shows. The festival sold 198,000 tickets and grossed $94.2 million.[73][74]

In January 2017, reports circulated that AEG owner Philip Anschutz had donated to many right-wing causes, including organizations promoting LGBTQ discrimination and climate change denial.[75] The news led to calls for fans to boycott the festival.[76] Anschutz decried the controversy as "fake news", saying he would never knowingly contribute to an anti-LGBTQ organization and would cease donations to any such group of which he became aware.[77]

The 2017 edition of Coachella took place from April 14–16 and April 21–23, and featured Radiohead, Lady Gaga, and Kendrick Lamar as headlining artists.[78] Beyoncé was originally announced as a headliner but was forced to withdraw at the advice of her doctors after she became pregnant; she announced that she would instead headline the 2018 festival.[79][80] Tickets sold out within a few hours of going on sale.[81] The event saw the debut of the new daytime-only Sonora tent.[82] The 2017 festival drew 250,000 attendees and grossed $114.6 million,[83] marking the first time a recurring festival grossed over $100 million.[84] Between the two weekends of Coachella, scenes for the film A Star Is Born, starring Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper, were filmed on the festival grounds.[85]

2018–present

The 2018 festival featured headlining performances from The Weeknd, Beyoncé, and Eminem. Making up for her cancellation the previous year, Beyoncé became the first African-American woman to headline the festival. Her performances paid tribute to the culture of historically black colleges and universities,[86] featuring a full marching band and majorette dancers,[87] while incorporating various aspects of black Greek life, such as a step show along with strolling by pledges. The performances were also influenced by black feminism, sampling black authors and featuring on-stage appearances by fellow Destiny's Child members Kelly Rowland and Michelle Williams as well as sister Solange Knowles.[88] Beyoncé's performances received immediate, widespread praise,[89][90][91] and were described by many media outlets as historic.[92][93][94] The New York Times music critic Jon Caramanica wrote, "There's not likely to be a more meaningful, absorbing, forceful and radical performance by an American musician this year, or any year soon, than Beyoncé's headlining set".[90] Her performance garnered 458,000 simultaneous viewers on YouTube to become the festival's most viewed performance to date, and the entire festival had 41 million total viewers, making it the most livestreamed event ever.[95][96]

A report in Teen Vogue described "rampant" sexual harassment and assault at the 2018 festival, and the author said she was groped 22 times in 10 hours.[97] In response, Goldenvoice announced a new initiative in January 2019 called "Every One", which comprises "fan resources and policies" to combat sexual misconduct and improve the festival's responses to such behavior. "Safety ambassadors" were made available to direct attendees to professional counselors, and specially marked locations were added for attendees to seek services or report incidents of sexual misconduct. One of the program's goals stated, "We are taking deliberate steps to develop a festival culture that is safe and inclusive for everyone".[98]

Coachella celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2019. Taking place from April 12–14 and 19–21, the festival was headlined by Childish Gambino, Tame Impala, and Ariana Grande.[99][100] At 25 years old, Grande became the youngest artist to headline the festival and just its fourth female headliner.[101] The festival was beset with several challenges. Justin Timberlake was reportedly slated to headline but had to cancel after bruising his vocal cords.[102] Goldenvoice was also forced to abandon plans for Kanye West to headline, as they could not accommodate his request to build a giant dome for his performance in the middle of the festival grounds. West was instead allowed to hold the first public "Sunday Service" performance on Easter on April 21 at the venue's campgrounds.[103] West and a gospel choir performed an approximately 33-song set list of his songs as well as classic R&B and gospel covers.[104] The first weekend of the festival suffered audio technical difficulties with several high-profile performances.[105] The following weekend, The Daily Beast published a report of the alleged "inhumane treatment" of the festival's security guards. The workers cited poor tent conditions, insufficient food and water, long hours in the harsh sun, minimum wages, and poor communication and coordination between the organizers and the subcontracting security firms.[106]

The full lineup for the 2020 installment includes headlining acts Rage Against the Machine, Travis Scott, and Frank Ocean.[107][108]

Location and festival grounds

Coachella takes place in Indio, California, located in the Inland Empire region's Coachella Valley within the Colorado Desert. Temperatures during the festival's history have ranged from 106 °F (41 °C) on April 21, 2012, to 43 °F (6 °C) on April 14, 2012.[109] The festival is hosted at the 78-acre Empire Polo Club;[110] when accounting for land used for parking and camping, the event covers a footprint of approximately 642 acres.[111] The site is about 127 miles east of Los Angeles.[44]

During the festival, several stages continuously host live music. Two outdoor stages are used, along with several tents named after deserts.[112] The primary stages that have been in use since Coachella's inception are:

Coachella Stage – the main stage that draws the largest crowds. This outdoor stage is where the headlining acts perform.

Outdoor Theatre – a smaller outdoor stage adjacent to the Coachella Stage

Mojave – a mid-size tent[113] named after the Mojave Desert that hosts acts across multiple genres and varying stages of development.[112] In 2017, it was moved behind an access road. A year later, it received further changes, as it was enlarged and moved again, this time to the Sahara's previous spot near the rose garden.[113]

Gobi – a mid-size tent named after the Gobi Desert that hosts acts across multiple genres and varying stages of development.[112] Like the Mojave, it was moved behind an access road in 2017.[113]

Sahara – a large, hangar-like tent named after the Sahara Desert. It generally hosts the top electronic dance music acts.[112] In 2013, the tent was expanded in size, reaching a height of 80 feet. Further changes were made in 2018, as it was built 25 percent larger and relocated west from the row of tents near the Empire Polo Club's rose garden to a spot on the Eldorado Polo Club near the festival entrance. The new location offers more shade and alleviates issues with foot traffic.[113][114] The stage was also moved from one of the open ends of the structure to one its sides, allowing a wider field of view to attendees.[114]

Additional performance areas have been added over time, including:

Yuma – a small indoor tent introduced in 2013[115] that primarily hosts emerging DJs.[112] The tent was intended to be "a sophisticated space that dials down the noise and strobe lights in favor of thoughtful sounds and underground acts".[115]

Sonora – a small indoor tent introduced in 2017 to host punk rock and Latin acts[112]

Heineken House – a small venue introduced in 2014. It was dedicated to "legendary musical performances" and "live mash-ups from a wide array of musical artists".[116] Originally designed as a walled structure to provide a club-like atmosphere, it was redesigned in 2019 to feature an open beer garden layout with a slanted roof, eliminating the long waiting lines and giving more visibility to attendees.[117]

Despacio – a small indoor tent used in 2016. Co-created by James Murphy of LCD Soundsystem, the venue played "slow-simmering disco and vintage club music" on vinyl with the intention of creating a joyful setting. It featured a 50,000 watt sound system and air conditioning.[118][119]

Antarctic – an indoor dome introduced in 2017 to screen 360-degree immersive videos. The structure is 120 feet in diameter, features 11,000 square feet in projection space and air conditioning, and can seat 500 people. Obscura Digital produced the film shown in 2017.[112][120]

Oasis Dome – used in 2006 and 2011

Art

In addition to hosting live music, Coachella is a showcase for visual arts, including installation art and sculpture. Many of the pieces are interactive, providing a visual treat for attendees.[121] Throughout the years, the art has grown in scale and outrageousness.[122] Paul Clemente, Coachella's art director since 2009,[123] said, "I think the level of detail and finish and artistry and scale and complexity and technology, everything is constantly getting notched up, ratcheted up. We're obviously constantly trying to, for lack of a better word, (to) outdo ourselves and make it better for the fans."[122]

In Coachella's early years, art was mostly recycled from the previous year's Burning Man festival, due to smaller budgets.[123] Between 2010 and 2015, Goldenvoice shifted its focus from renting pieces to commissioning them specifically for the festival, increasing their budget. Artists are given access to the grounds just 10 days before the festival, giving them a tight timeframe in which to assemble their pieces.[122] Due to the high cost of re-assembly, only about half of them appear again outside of Coachella.[121] Describing the festival's importance to art, Cynthia Washburn of art collective Poetic Kinetics said, "With all the exposure here, I think Coachella is becoming as attractive for artists as it is for the musicians."[124] In 2013, Clemente considered about 300 art proposals, the most in the festival's history for the time.[124] Poetic Kinetics has designed several giant moving art installations for past Coachella festivals, including a snail in 2013 ("Helix Poeticus"), an astronaut in 2014 ("Escape Velocity"), and a caterpillar that "metamorphosized" into a butterfly in 2015 ("Papilio Merraculous").[125] The collective reprised the astronaut for the 2019 festival ("Overview Effect"), with weathering affects applied to the design.[126]

Some of the works have been featured at Art Basel, and involved participants from architecture schools, both local and international. A few of the visual artists, such as Hotshot the Robot, Robochrist Industries, the Tesla Coil (Cauac), Cyclecide, and The Do LaB, alongside avant-garde performance troupe Lucent Dossier Experience, have appeared for several consecutive years. Poster artist Emek has produced limited edition posters every year since 2007.

Organization

As the host city to Coachella and the Stagecoach Festival, Indio provides several services such as police and fire protection, private security, medical services, outside law enforcement, and city staff services. These services for the three weekends of festivals totaled $2.77 million in 2012.[127] All public safety needs are coordinated by Indio's police department, requiring them to liaison with nearly 12 agencies, including police departments from nearby cities, the sheriff's department, California Highway Patrol, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, American Medical Response, and the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control.[127] To avoid disturbing local residents, a curfew for music performances is enforced; since 2010, it has been 1 a.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, an hour later than the previous curfew,[127] and midnight on Sundays.[71] Goldenvoice must pay a fine of $1,000 for each minute the festival exceeds the curfew.[71]

Environmental sustainability

Shilpa Shetty

Shilpa Shetty Kundra (born 8 June 1975)[2] is an Indian actress and television personality primarily known for her work in Hindi films and the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 5.
Shetty was born in Mangalore. In 2016, during a visit to a fashion show in Dhaka, Shetty mentioned that her Bengali ancestors hailed from Sylhet in Bangladesh as well as her future plans on visiting her ancestral Sylheti homestead and acting in a Bangladeshi film.[3] Her father Surendra and her mother, Sunanda are both manufacturers of tamper-proof water caps in the pharmaceutical industry. In Mumbai, Shetty attended St. Anthony Girls' High School in Chembur, Mumbai, and later attended Podar College in Matunga. A trained Bharatanatyam dancer, she was also captain of the volleyball team at school.[4]

In 1991, after completing her tenth grade examinations, Shetty began her career as a model with a Limca television commercial, and subsequently featured in several other commercials and advertisements, following which she began receiving offers for film roles. Shetty continued to pursue her career as a model, until she became an actress.[5]

Acting career
Debut and early roles (1993–1994)
In September 1992, Shetty signed for and began working on her first film – the romantic drama Gaata Rahe Mera Dil[6] – to be directed by Dilip Naik which tells the story of a girl involved in a love triangle between two men (played by Ronit Roy and Rohit Roy). However, the film went unreleased, which meant that Shetty's debut release was her next film, Abbas-Mustan's thriller Baazigar, alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Kajol. Inspired by the Hollywood film A Kiss Before Dying, the film featured Shetty in the supporting role of Seema Chopra, a girl who is murdered by her revenge-seeking boyfriend, played by Khan. Baazigar proved to be a major box office hit and finished up as the fourth-highest-grossing film of the year.[7] Both the film as well as Shetty's performance received critical appreciation; Shetty eventually received the Best Supporting Actress and the Lux New Face of the Year (now known as Best Female Debut) nominations at the annual Filmfare Awards ceremony.[8]

In 1994, Shetty had three film releases.[7] Her first release that year was the action drama Aag, in which she played her first leading role. Co-starring Govinda and Sonali Bendre, the film saw Shetty portray Bijli, a village belle who is actually a plainclothes policewoman assigned to arrest a murderer (played by Govinda) at any cost. Aag emerged as a moderate box office success and fetched a mixed to positive critical reception, as did Shetty's performance. Shetty next starred alongside Akshay Kumar, Saif Ali Khan, Raageshwari and Shakti Kapoor in the action comedy Main Khiladi Tu Anari. In the film, Shetty played the dual roles of Mona (a cabaret dancer and a gangster's girlfriend) and her look-alike Basanti (a village belle). The film which marked Shetty's first of many collaborations with Kumar proved to be a super-hit at the box office. Both the film as well as Shetty's performance received major critical acclaim; the success of Main Khiladi Tu Anari proved to be a breakthrough for Shetty. Her third and final release that year was the romantic drama Aao Pyaar Karen opposite Saif Ali Khan. The film which narrates the love story of a wealthy man and his maid (played by Khan and Shetty respectively) under-performed at the box office.[7]

Public recognition and widespread success (1995–1999)
In 1995, Shetty starred in Hathkadi, where she was working alongside actors such as Saif Ali Khan, Govinda and Madhoo, but they failed at the box office. She made her Tamil film debut with the 1996 released Mr. Romeo alongside actors Prabhu Deva and Madhoo. The film was a sleeper musical hit at the box office. 1997 was one of her busiest years: she appeared in six different films, beginning with the Telugu language film Veedevadandi Babu. Her first major Bollywood film of that year was the action thriller Auzaar. Shilpa portrayed the character of Prathna Thakur alongside actors Salman Khan and Sanjay Kapoor. In 1998, she had one release, Pardesi Babu, for which she received critical acclaim and won the Bollywood Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Critically acclaimed roles; commercial success (2000–2007)
In 2000, Shetty received acclaim for her role in Dhadkan, which earned reasonable takings at the Indian box office.[9] She received several nominations under the Best Actress category in award ceremonies. She would later go on to star with Anil Kapoor and Karisma Kapoor in the film Rishtey (2002). Her comic performance as an eccentric fisherwoman was appreciated and she received a nomination under the Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award category and nominations for Best Comedian as well.[10]

In 2004, Shetty appeared in Garv, in which she portrayed a Muslim orphan and disillusioned table dancer starring opposite Salman Khan. According to Shetty, she chose to do the film because she liked the subject. The film was a police drama.[11] She received much acclaim for her performance in Phir Milenge, where she made a sensitive portrayal of a successful city high-flyer who contracts HIV from unprotected sex and becomes a social outcast as a result. The film, based on 1993's Philadelphia, was perceived to have tackled a social taboo as yet unaddressed by Bollywood.[5] The film earned Shetty a Filmfare Best Actress nomination, and provided an impetus for her HIV-related charity work (see below). Film critic Taran Adarsh from IndiaFM noted: "Phir Milenge belongs to Shilpa Shetty completely. She delivers, what can be rightly called, the performance of her career."[12] This marked a break from the previous trend of superficial song-and-dance items in favour of roles which have a greater depth of character,[11] exemplified by her film Dus (2005), an action thriller. Although it received average returns at the box office,[13] Shetty stated that she had taken the role to reinvent herself by portraying the rather unconventional character of an anti-terrorist squad member.[11]

In 2005, Shetty starred opposite Upendra in the Kannada film Auto Shankar. The film was a major box office success and it earned her the name "The Gabbar Singh of the South" due to her villainous role in the film.[14] The same year, she starred in the film Fareb with her younger sister Shamita Shetty. Shetty had one release in 2006, the much delayed Shaadi Karke Phas Gaya Yaar. The film was a box office flop, but she got good reviews for her role as a not entirely likeable wife.[15] In 2006, she was a judge alongside Farah Khan & Sanjay Leela Bhansali on Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa, a Sony Entertainment Television dance show based on the original UK show Strictly Come Dancing.

Shetty was once featured in Mani Ratnam's stage show Netru, Indru, Naalai.

2007 proved to be Shetty's most successful year at the box office. Her first release, Life in a... Metro, won a significant reception and became the first Bollywood movie to premiere at Leicester Square.[16] The film performed well at the box office and was declared a semi-hit within three weeks. Additionally, the film was critically acclaimed and Shetty's performance was appreciated, with Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN writing: "It's a terrific performance and unquestionably Shilpa's best to date".[17] Her second release, alongside three Deols ( Dharmendra, Sunny and Bobby), the drama Apne, was also a box office success.

Shetty starred in the unreleased 2010 Indo-Chinese drama The Desire, a film rescued during production by her mother, who stepped in when its producer abandoned the project unfinished.

Off-screen work
In February 2006, Shetty lent support to a BBC World Service Trust television show designed to tackle the problem of HIV-AIDS in India.[18] According to reports, she participated in order to show solidarity with HIV-AIDS sufferers.[18] According to Shetty, the issue was particularly close to her heart as she had portrayed an HIV-positive sufferer in her 2004 film Phir Milenge. Speaking about the film and HIV in general, Shetty said: "Why not a film on HIV positive patients? It is a social stigma in our society. We made this film to highlight this problem ... This film will bring about a social awareness about AIDS in our country. It is high time we talked about this in our society".[11]

In March 2006, various sources reported Shetty's joining PETA as part of an advertising campaign against the use of wild animals in circuses.[19] According to a PETA India press release, Shetty is a long-time PETA supporter and has assisted the campaign by posing for photographs in a figure-hugging tiger costume. She explained that her crouching in a cage was uncomfortable during the photoshoot, but that her discomfort was insignificant compared to the pain suffered by the creatures. "These once dignified animals only leave their cages, which are barely larger than the size of their bodies, for a few minutes each day to be forced into the ring to perform tricks which make no sense and are upsetting to them. The best way to help animals suffering in circuses is to boycott the circus".[20] Shetty revealed in a later interview that she felt strongly about this cause and that she was appalled to hear of the cruel treatment suffered by such animals. "I thought I should stop that. If I can make a little difference to their lives, why not go for it?"[11]

In September 2006, alongside Farah Khan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shetty began the first season of the dance reality show Jhalak Dikhhla Jaa. In January 2007, Shetty was a contestant on and the subsequent winner of the British reality television series Celebrity Big Brother 5.[21] She was the first Indian celebrity included in the show. Reportedly paid Rs.31.5 m (£367,500 GBP) for her participation,[22] she said to presenter Davina McCall, "I just want every Indian to be extremely proud that I'm in here".[23] As for her participation, she stated: "I have zero expectations. The only thing I really hope to keep is my self-respect and my dignity."[24] Her sister Shamita told The Times of India that this "is the boldest decision Shilpa has taken so far."[25] During her stay on the show, Shetty instructed fellow housemates Carole Malone and Ken Russell in meditation,[26] and flirted with Dirk Benedict[27] but tempers started to fray by Day 7 as a clique formed in the house disapproving of Shilpa's presence.[28][29] Following a worldwide controversy that publicised her as a target of racist bullying within the house, Shetty won the contest after gaining 63% of the public vote and described the experience as "incredible and overwhelming". She further thanked the public for "a fantastic opportunity to make my country proud".[30]

In August 2008, Shetty began hosting the second season of the reality television series Bigg Boss, the Indian version of the international reality television series Big Brother.

In February 2009, Shetty and Raj Kundra became part owners of the Indian Premier League franchise cricket team Rajasthan Royals by paying approximately US$15.4 million for an 11.7% stake. Shetty also co-owns the Indian chain of spas and salon called Iosis.[31][32]

St Patricks Day

Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (Irish: Lá Fhéile Pádraig, "the Day of the Festival of Patrick"), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (c. AD 385–461), the foremost patron saint of Ireland.

Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Christian feast day in the early 17th century and is observed by the Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion (especially the Church of Ireland),[4] the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Lutheran Church. The day commemorates Saint Patrick and the arrival of Christianity in Ireland,[3] and celebrates the heritage and culture of the Irish in general.[5] Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, céilís, and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.[6] Christians who belong to liturgical denominations also attend church services[5][7] and historically the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol were lifted for the day, which has encouraged and propagated the holiday's tradition of alcohol consumption.[5][6][8][9]

Saint Patrick's Day is a public holiday in the Republic of Ireland,[10] Northern Ireland,[11] the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador (for provincial government employees), and the British Overseas Territory of Montserrat. It is also widely celebrated in the United Kingdom,[12] Canada, United States, Brazil, Argentina, Australia and New Zealand, especially amongst Irish diaspora. Saint Patrick's Day is celebrated in more countries than any other national festival.[13] Modern celebrations have been greatly influenced by those of the Irish diaspora, particularly those that developed in North America. However, there has been criticism of Saint Patrick's Day celebrations for having become too commercialised and for fostering negative stereotypes of the Irish people.
Patrick was a 5th-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Much of what is known about Saint Patrick comes from the Declaration, which was allegedly written by Patrick himself. It is believed that he was born in Roman Britain in the fourth century, into a wealthy Romano-British family. His father was a deacon and his grandfather was a priest in the Christian church. According to the Declaration, at the age of sixteen, he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and taken as a slave to Gaelic Ireland.[14] It says that he spent six years there working as a shepherd and that during this time he "found God". The Declaration says that God told Patrick to flee to the coast, where a ship would be waiting to take him home. After making his way home, Patrick went on to become a priest.

According to tradition, Patrick returned to Ireland to convert the pagan Irish to Christianity. The Declaration says that he spent many years evangelising in the northern half of Ireland and converted "thousands". Patrick's efforts against the druids were eventually turned into an allegory in which he drove "snakes" out of Ireland, despite the fact that snakes were not known to inhabit the region.

Tradition holds that he died on 17 March and was buried at Downpatrick. Over the following centuries, many legends grew up around Patrick and he became Ireland's foremost saint.

Celebration and traditions
oday's St Patrick's Day celebrations have been greatly influenced by those that developed among the Irish diaspora, especially in North America. Until the late 20th century, St Patrick's Day was often a bigger celebration among the diaspora than it was in Ireland.[13]

Celebrations generally involve public parades and festivals, Irish traditional music sessions (céilithe), and the wearing of green attire or shamrocks.[6] There are also formal gatherings such as banquets and dances, although these were more common in the past. St Patrick's Day parades began in North America in the 18th century but did not spread to Ireland until the 20th century.[15] The participants generally include marching bands, the military, fire brigades, cultural organisations, charitable organisations, voluntary associations, youth groups, fraternities, and so on. However, over time, many of the parades have become more akin to a carnival. More effort is made to use the Irish language, especially in Ireland, where the week of St Patrick's Day is "Irish language week".

Since 2010, famous landmarks have been lit up in green on St Patrick's Day as part of Tourism Ireland's "Global Greening Initiative" or "Going Green for St Patrick´s Day".[16][17] The Sydney Opera House and the Sky Tower in Auckland were the first landmarks to participate and since then over 300 landmarks in fifty countries across the globe have gone green for St Patricks day.[18][19]

Christians may also attend church services,[5][7] and the Lenten restrictions on eating and drinking alcohol are lifted for the day. Perhaps because of this, drinking alcohol – particularly Irish whiskey, beer, or cider – has become an integral part of the celebrations.[5][6][8][9] The St Patrick's Day custom of "drowning the shamrock" or "wetting the shamrock" was historically popular, especially in Ireland. At the end of the celebrations, a shamrock is put into the bottom of a cup, which is then filled with whiskey, beer, or cider. It is then drunk as a toast to St Patrick, Ireland, or those present. The shamrock would either be swallowed with the drink or taken out and tossed over the shoulder for good luck.[20][21][22]

Irish Government Ministers travel abroad on official visits to various countries around the globe to celebrate St Patrick's Day and promote Ireland.[23][24] The most prominent of these is the visit of the Irish Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) with the U.S. President which happens on or around St Patrick's Day.[25][26] Traditionally the Taoiseach presents the U.S. President a Waterford Crystal bowl filled with shamrocks.[27] This tradition began when in 1952, Irish Ambassador to the U.S. John Hearne sent a box of shamrocks to President Harry S. Truman. From then on it became an annual tradition of the Irish ambassador to the U.S. to present the St Patrick's Day shamrock to an official in the U.S. President's administration, although on some occasions the shamrock presentation was made by the Irish Taoiseach or Irish President to the U.S. President personally in Washington, such as when President Dwight D. Eisenhower met Taoiseach John A. Costello in 1956 and President Seán T. O'Kelly in 1959 or when President Ronald Reagan met Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald in 1986 and Taoiseach Charles J. Haughey in 1987.[28][29] However it was only after the meeting between Taoiseach Albert Reynolds and President Bill Clinton in 1994 that the presenting of the shamrock ceremony became an annual event for the leaders of both countries for St Patrick's Day.[30][31]

Wearing green
On St Patrick's Day, it is customary to wear shamrocks, green clothing or green accessories. St Patrick is said to have used the shamrock, a three-leaved plant, to explain the Holy Trinity to the pagan Irish.[32][33] This story first appears in writing in 1726, though it may be older. In pagan Ireland, three was a significant number and the Irish had many triple deities, a fact that may have aided St Patrick in his evangelisation efforts.[34][35] Patricia Monaghan says there is no evidence that the shamrock was sacred to the pagan Irish.[34] However, Jack Santino speculates that it may have represented the regenerative powers of nature, and was recast in a Christian context‍—‌icons of St Patrick often depict the saint "with a cross in one hand and a sprig of shamrocks in the other".[36] Roger Homan writes, "We can perhaps see St Patrick drawing upon the visual concept of the triskele when he uses the shamrock to explain the Trinity".[37]

The first association of the colour green with Ireland is from the 11th century pseudo-historical book Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland), which forms part of the Mythological Cycle in Irish Mythology and describes the story of Goídel Glas who is credited as the eponymous ancestor of the Gaels and creator of the Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic, Manx).[38][39] In the story Goídel Glas, who was the son of Scota and Niul, was bitten by a snake and was saved from death by Moses placing his staff on the snakebite. As a reminder of the incident he would retain a green mark that would stay with him and he would lead his people to a land that would be free of snakes.[40] This is emphasized in his name Goídel which was anglicised to the word Gaelic and Glas which is the Irish word for green.[38][39] Another story from the Lebor Gabála Érenn written after the adventures of Goídel Glas refers to Íth climbing the tower (in reference to the Tower of Hercules) his father Breogán builds in Brigantia (modern day Corunna in Galicia, Spain) on a winters day and is so captivated by the sight of a beautiful green island in the distance that he must set sail immediately. This story also introduces three national personifications of Ireland, Banba, Fódla and Ériu.[38][39][40]

The colour green was further associated with Ireland from the 1640s, when the green harp flag was used by the Irish Catholic Confederation. Green ribbons and shamrocks have been worn on St Patrick's Day since at least the 1680s.[41] The Friendly Brothers of St Patrick, an Irish fraternity founded in about 1750,[42] adopted green as its colour.[43] However, when the Order of St. Patrick—an Anglo-Irish chivalric order—was founded in 1783 it adopted blue as its colour, which led to blue being associated with St Patrick. During the 1790s, green would become associated with Irish nationalism, due to its use by the United Irishmen. This was a republican organisation—led mostly by Protestants but with many Catholic members—who launched a rebellion in 1798 against British rule. The phrase "wearing of the green" comes from a song of the same name, which laments United Irishmen supporters being persecuted for wearing green. The late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries have seen the re-emergence of Irish cultural symbols, such as the Irish Language, Irish mythology, and the colour green, through the Gaelic Revival and the Irish Literary Revival which served to stir Irish nationalist sentiment. The influence of green was more prominently observable in the flags of the 1916 Easter Rising such as the Sunburst flag, the Starry Plough Banner, and the Proclamation Flag of the Irish Republic which was flown over the General Post Office, Dublin together with the Irish Tricolour. Throughout these centuries, the colour green and its association with St Patrick's Day grew.[44]

The wearing of the 'St Patrick's Day Cross' was also a popular custom in Ireland until the early 20th century. These were a Celtic Christian cross made of paper that was "covered with silk or ribbon of different colours, and a bunch or rosette of green silk in the centre".[45]

Celebrations by region
Ireland

In 1903, St Patrick's Day became an official public holiday in Ireland. This was thanks to the Bank Holiday (Ireland) Act 1903, an act of the United Kingdom Parliament introduced by Irish Member of Parliament James O'Mara.[51] O'Mara later introduced the law which required that public houses be shut on 17 March after drinking got out of hand, a provision that was repealed in the 1970s.

The first St Patrick's Day parade in Ireland was held in Waterford in 1903. The week of St Patrick's Day 1903 had been declared Irish Language Week by the Gaelic League and in Waterford they opted to have a procession on Sunday 15 March. The procession comprised the Mayor and members of Waterford Corporation, the Trades Hall, the various trade unions and bands who included the 'Barrack St Band' and the 'Thomas Francis Meagher Band'.[52] The parade began at the premises of the Gaelic League in George's St and finished in the Peoples Park, where the public were addressed by the Mayor and other dignitaries.[53][54] On Tuesday 17 March, most Waterford businesses—including public houses—were closed and marching bands paraded as they had two days previously.[55] The Waterford Trades Hall had been emphatic that the National Holiday be observed.[53]

On St Patrick's Day 1916, the Irish Volunteers—an Irish nationalist paramilitary organisation—held parades throughout Ireland. The authorities recorded 38 St Patrick's Day parades, involving 6,000 marchers, almost half of whom were said to be armed.[56] The following month, the Irish Volunteers launched the Easter Rising against British rule. This marked the beginning of the Irish revolutionary period and led to the Irish War of Independence and Civil War. During this time, St Patrick's Day celebrations in Ireland were muted, although the day was sometimes chosen to hold large political rallies.[57] The celebrations remained low-key after the creation of the Irish Free State; the only state-organized observance was a military procession and trooping of the colours, and an Irish-language mass attended by government ministers.[58] In 1927, the Irish Free State government banned the selling of alcohol on St Patrick's Day, although it remained legal in Northern Ireland. The ban was not repealed until 1961.[59]

The first official, state-sponsored St Patrick's Day parade in Dublin took place in 1931.[60] On two occasions, parades across the Republic of Ireland have been cancelled from taking place on St Patrick´s Day, with both years involving health and safety reasons.[61][62] In 2001, as a precaution to to the foot-and-mouth outbreak, St Patrick´s Day celebrations were postponed to May[63][64][65] and in 2020, as a consequence to the severity of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, the St Patrick´s Day Parade was cancelled outright.

In Northern Ireland, the celebration of St Patrick's Day was affected by sectarian divisions.[69] A majority of the population were Protestant Ulster unionists who saw themselves as British, while a substantial minority were Catholic Irish nationalists who saw themselves as Irish. Although it was a public holiday, Northern Ireland's unionist government did not officially observe St Patrick's Day.[69] During the conflict known as the Troubles (late 1960s–late 1990s), public St Patrick's Day celebrations were rare and tended to be associated with the Catholic community.[69] In 1976, loyalists detonated a car bomb outside a pub crowded with Catholics celebrating St Patrick's Day in Dungannon; four civilians were killed and many injured. However, some Protestant unionists attempted to 're-claim' the festival, and in 1985 the Orange Order held its own St Patrick's Day parade.[69] Since the end of the conflict in 1998 there have been cross-community St Patrick's Day parades in towns throughout Northern Ireland, which have attracted thousands of spectators.[69]

In the mid-1990s the government of the Republic of Ireland began a campaign to use St Patrick's Day to showcase Ireland and its culture.[70] The government set up a group called St Patrick's Festival, with the aims:

To offer a national festival that ranks amongst all of the greatest celebrations in the world

To create energy and excitement throughout Ireland via innovation, creativity, grassroots involvement, and marketing activity

To provide the opportunity and motivation for people of Irish descent (and those who sometimes wish they were Irish) to attend and join in the imaginative and expressive celebrations

To project, internationally, an accurate image of Ireland as a creative, professional and sophisticated country with wide appeal.[71]

The first St Patrick's Festival was held on 17 March 1996. In 1997, it became a three-day event, and by 2000 it was a four-day event. By 2006, the festival was five days long; more than 675,000 people attended the 2009 parade. Overall 2009's five-day festival saw almost 1 million visitors, who took part in festivities that included concerts, outdoor theatre performances, and fireworks.[72] The Skyfest which ran from 2006 to 2012 formed the centrepiece of the St Patrick's festival.[73][74]

The topic of the 2004 St Patrick's Symposium was "Talking Irish", during which the nature of Irish identity, economic success, and the future were discussed. Since 1996, there has been a greater emphasis on celebrating and projecting a fluid and inclusive notion of "Irishness" rather than an identity based around traditional religious or ethnic allegiance. The week around St Patrick's Day usually involves Irish language speakers using more Irish during Seachtain na Gaeilge ("Irish Language Week").[75]

Christian leaders in Ireland have expressed concern about the secularisation of St Patrick's Day. In The Word magazine's March 2007 issue, Fr Vincent Twomey wrote, "It is time to reclaim St Patrick's Day as a church festival". He questioned the need for "mindless alcohol-fuelled revelry" and concluded that "it is time to bring the piety and the fun together".[76]

As well as Dublin, many other cities, towns, and villages in Ireland hold their own parades and festivals, including Cork, Belfast, Derry, Galway, Kilkenny, Limerick, and Waterford.

The biggest celebrations outside the cities are in Downpatrick, County Down, where Saint Patrick is said to be buried. The shortest St. Patrick's Day parade in the world formerly took place in Dripsey, County Cork. The parade lasted just 23.4 metres and traveled between the village's two pubs. The annual event began in 1999, but ceased after five years when one of the two pubs closed.[77]

Elsewhere in Europe

England

In England, the British Royals traditionally present bowls of shamrock to members of the Irish Guards, a regiment in the British Army, following Queen Alexandra introducing the tradition in 1901.[78][79] Since 2012 the Duchess of Cambridge has presented the bowls of shamrock to the Irish Guards. While female royals are often tasked with presenting the bowls of shamrock, male royals have also undertaking the role, such as King George VI in 1950 to mark the 50th anniversary of the formation of the Irish Guards, and in 2016 the Duke of Cambridge in place of his wife.[80][81] Fresh Shamrocks are presented to the Irish Guards, regardless of where they are stationed, and are flown in from Ireland.[82]

While some St Patrick's Day celebrations could be conducted openly in Britain pre 1960s, this would change following the commencement by the IRA's bombing campaign on mainland Britain and as a consequence this resulted in a suspicion of all things Irish and those who supported them which led to people of Irish descent wearing a sprig of shamrock on St Patrick's day in private or attending specific events.[83] Today after many years following the Good Friday Agreement, people of Irish descent openly wear a sprig of shamrock to celebrate their Irishness.[84]

Christian denominations in Great Britain observing his feast day include The Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church.[85]

Birmingham holds the largest St Patrick's Day parade in Britain with a city centre parade[86] over a two-mile (3 km) route through the city centre. The organisers describe it as the third biggest parade in the world after Dublin and New York.[87]

London, since 2002, has had an annual St Patrick's Day parade which takes place on weekends around the 17th, usually in Trafalgar Square. In 2008 the water in the Trafalgar Square fountains was dyed green.

Liverpool has the highest proportion of residents with Irish ancestry of any English city.[88] This has led to a long-standing celebration on St Patrick's Day in terms of music, cultural events and the parade.

Manchester hosts a two-week Irish festival in the weeks prior to St Patrick's Day. The festival includes an Irish Market based at the city's town hall which flies the Irish tricolour opposite the Union Flag, a large parade as well as a large number of cultural and learning events throughout the two-week period.[89]

Malta

Betfred

Betfred is a bookmaker based in the United Kingdom, founded by Fred and Peter Done.[note 1] It was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford, in 1967. Its turnover in 2004 was more than £3.5 billion, having risen from £550 million in 2003.[1] It has its head office is in Birchwood, Warrington and also has offices in Media City, Salford Quays, Salford.

Betfred.com, the company's online gambling site, is based in Gibraltar and registered as Petfre (Gibraltar) Limited
Done Bookmakers was first established as a single shop in Ordsall, Salford in 1967. Fred and Peter Done financed the first Done Bookmakers shop with capital made from a winning bet they placed on England to win the 1966 World Cup.[3]

In 1997, Done Bookmakers acquired the Robert Walker chain of bookmakers, taking their total to one hundred shops. By 2000, the total number of shops nationwide had risen to two hundred, and in 2002, Done Bookmakers opened their first shop in the Greater London area.[4]

The current name Betfred was first used in 2004. In 2004, Betfred also launched their digital platform Betfred.com and offer sports betting, online casino, online games, bingo, lotto, online poker and virtual sports as well as pool betting.[5] In November 2004, a Betfred customer became the first betting shop millionaire; a customer known only as Ken selected six winners on the totescoop6 and pocketed £1,132,657 in a Salford shop.[6]

Betfred’s retail expansion continued with shops opening around the United Kingdom. Betfred's five hundredth shop opened in Cardiff in 2005.[7] In 2013, the company established Betfred TV, an in house channel that is available in all shops both on the high street and on the racecourse. This was the first of its kind in the United Kingdom.[citation needed]

Fred Done was the first bookmaker to pay out early (i.e. before the result was guaranteed), when in March 1998 it paid out to gamblers who had bet that Manchester United would win the Premier League, only for Arsenal to pip United by one point.[8]

During the 2004–05 FA Premier League season, Done lost £1m to fellow bookmaker Victor Chandler after staking that amount that Manchester United would finish higher than Chelsea. The bet was offered to other high profile bookmakers yet only Chandler took him up on the offer. Chelsea finished 18 points clear of third placed Manchester United and won their first Premiership title under Jose Mourinho.[9]

Betfred also paid out early on Manchester United to win the 2011–12 Premier League title, only for Manchester City to beat them on goal difference.[10]

In 2013, it was widely reported that Fred Done formed part of the 'Red Knights' consortium that were looking to buy English Premier League club Manchester United from the current owners the Glazer Family. The reports proved to be incorrect but Done remained a season ticket holder at Old Trafford.[11]

As of July 2017, Betfred operates over 1,650 shops throughout the United Kingdom, after the purchase of 322 shops due to the merger between fellow bookmakers Ladbrokes and Coral in October 2016. Betfred also operates shops on fifty one racecourses around the country, including Newmarket, Epsom and Cheltenham.[12] In August 2017, Betfred appointed former Nottingham Forest and England footballer Stuart Pearce as its brand ambassador. The company believed Pearce to be the epitome of Betfred; uncomplicated.[13]
In September 2017, Betfred celebrated their fiftieth year of business. A documentary film about the history of the company was released on the official channel of Betfred on Youtube.[14][15] In July 2018, Betfred won a court case against HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC). The ruling states that Betfred overpaid Value-Added Tax (VAT), and could see a £100 million refund.[16]

In November 2018, punter David Smith took Betfred to court after he claimed to have won a jackpot of £1.7 million, having mistakenly written "Bailarico", a losing horse, on the betting slip, rather than "Bialco", a winner.[17] The betting arbitrator IBAS ruled against him.[18]

Sponsorship
Horse racing
Betfred is one of the largest sponsors of horse racing in the United Kingdom, with races spread across racecourses in the country, including the Midlands National run at Uttoxeter Racecourse, the Dante Stakes and Ebor Handicap both at York Racecourse, and the Betfred Cesarewitch Handicap on the Rowley Mile course at Newmarket Racecourse.

In 2005, Betfred became sponsors of the Group One Sprint Cup at Haydock Park. The race is run over the minimum distance of five furlongs. The sponsorship ended in 2016. Betfred also sponsored the most prestigious jumps race the Cheltenham Gold Cup between the years of 2012 and 2015.[19]

Rugby league
In October 2016, Betfred began a three year period as the main sponsor of rugby league's Super League, the northern hemisphere's premier rugby league competition with twelve teams spread across England, and Catalans Dragons based in Perpignan, France.[20]

Snooker
Betfred sponsored the World Snooker Championships from 2009 to 2012, before losing the sponsorship rights.[citation needed] In 2015, it was announced that Betfred were to become the sponsors of the tournament once again, and increase the winner’s prize money to £375,000.[21][citation needed]

Football
Betfred was the official betting partner of Manchester United from 2006 to 2013.[22][citation needed]

In May 2016, it was announced that Betfred would take over sponsorship of the Scottish League Cup for three years, rebranding it the Betfred Cup.[23] In June 2017, Betfred was confirmed as the new official shirt sponsors of Championship side Bolton Wanderers, in an agreement which will initially last for two years.[24]

The Tote
On 3 June 2011, Betfred won the auction to purchase the then Government owned Tote betting operation in a deal worth £265m.[25] The counter bid was lodged by the SIP (Sports Investment Partners) consortium headed by former city banker and British Airways chairman Sir Martin Broughton. Betfred pledged £155m into racing over the next seven years,[26] as well as creating the Tote Racing Development Board, giving greater say to industry figures.[27]

In September 2016, according to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport "In terms of the Tote Racing Development Board, I can confirm that as a stand alone concept it has not been set up to date. Betfred has confirmed that Totepool work with race course owners and management on a continuing basis (which may serve the same purpose as the intended Tote racing development board)."

The deal gave Betfred exclusive control over the on course betting system for seven years. Football manager and racehorse owner Sir Alex Ferguson had lent his support to Betfred's bid.[28] In 2018, the exclusive licence taken out by Betfred officially ran out.[29]

Action by the Regulator
In June 2016, the UK Gambling Commission (UKGC) Commission required Betfred to pay more than £800,000 in compensation and in contribution towards socially responsible causes as part of a regulatory settlement[30].

This was in response to Betfred’s failure to adhere to its anti money laundering and social responsibility policies. The Gambling Commission’s investigation followed a court case, that resulted in one customer of Betfred being jailed for three years and four months, after admitting to stealing from his employer[31]. A significant proportion of the stolen money was spent with Betfred.

In April 2019, the Commission ordered Betfred and Paddy Power to terminate new betting products.[32] This followed the introduction of reduced maximum stakes on fixed odds betting terminals (FOBTS) from £100 to £2. The Commission was “concerned that the new products undermine the changes made”.

The Guardian accused the companies of trying to circumvent the government’s enforced FOBTs £2 reduction, with their new games.[33] Betfred’s "Virtual Cycling" product offered customers the chance to wager up to £500 per stake. Both Paddy Power and Betfred withdrew their games. UKGC said it was investigating the matter and that both bookmakers could ‘still face regulatory action’, as it investigated ‘key senior staff at bookmakers who are responsible for bringing those products to market’.

In October 2019, the Commission ordered Petfre, Betfred’s parent, to pay £322,000 for money laundering failures.

An investigation revealed the operator had failed to carry out adequate ‘source of funds’ checks on a customer who deposited £210,000, and lost £140,000, of stolen money over one twelve day period in November 2017. The Commission said that one customer who was able to deposit and lose such significant amounts in such a short period of time, clearly indicated failings in the effectiveness of Petfre’s anti money laundering policies and procedures.