The Festival Internacional de Benicàssim (), commonly abbreviated as FIB, is an annual

music festival A music festival is a festival, community event with music, performances of singing and instrument playing that is often presented with a theme such as musical genre (e.g., rock music, rock, blues, folk music, folk, jazz, classical music), nation ...

that takes place in the town of Benicàssim, in the

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. It focuses mainly on pop, rock, and

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

artists, as well as short films, fashion shows and art. The festival begins on the second Tuesday of July, which is when the camping grounds open - although music officially commences Thursday afternoon. FIB is notable for having bands play through the night (5 pm8 am) and has three main stages, Las Palmas, Visa, and South Beach Dance, with capacities of approximately 30,000, 15,000 and 8,000, respectively. In 2009, the festival capacity exceeded 50,000; in 2020, more than 150,000 visited the festival over the four days the festival lasted.

History

The first FIB took place in 1995. Since then, Benicàssim has been dedicated to rock, pop, and electronic music as well as featuring artists who are a reference on the world stage.

Location

FIB is held in the seaside resort of Benicassim (Castellón province) on Costa del Azahar, Valencia, Spain, 92.2 km away from Valencia Airport. Festival goers who have purchased multi-day passes can camp for up to nine days starting the Monday before and ending Tuesday after the festival has ended.

Previous bands

Since the first festival in 1995, some of the most notable artists who have played the festival include The Arctic Monkeys,

Beck Beck David Hansen (born Bek David Campbell; July 8, 1970), known mononymously as Beck, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his Experimental music, experimental and Lo-fi mus ...

, Blur, The Chemical Brothers,

Depeche Mode Depeche Mode are an English electronic music, electronic band formed in Basildon, Essex in 1980. Originally formed with the line-up of Dave Gahan, Martin Gore, Andy Fletcher (musician), Andy Fletcher and Vince Clarke, the band currently consists ...

, Franz Ferdinand, The Killers,

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

, Ladytron,

Morrissey Steven Patrick Morrissey ( ; born 22 May 1959), known :wikt:mononym, mononymously as Morrissey, is an English singer and songwriter. He came to prominence as the frontman and lyricist of rock band the Smiths, who were active from 1982 to 198 ...

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

, Primal Scream,

Radiohead Radiohead are an English rock band formed in Abingdon-on-Thames, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, in 1985. The band members are Thom Yorke (vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards); brothers Jonny Greenwood (guitar, keyboards, other instruments) and Colin Gre ...

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

, Ride,

Sigur Rós Sigur Rós () is an Icelandic post-rock band that formed in 1994 in Reykjavík. It comprises lead vocalist and guitarist Jónsi, Jón Þór "Jónsi" Birgisson, bassist Georg Hólm, and keyboardist Kjartan Sveinsson. Known for their ethereal soun ...

The Stone Roses The Stone Roses were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The band's classic and most prominent lineup consisted of vocalist I ...

The Strokes The Strokes are an American Rock music, rock band formed in New York City in 1998. The band is composed of lead singer and primary songwriter Julian Casablancas, guitarists Nick Valensi and Albert Hammond, Jr., Albert Hammond Jr., bassist Nikola ...

, Teenage Fanclub,

Paul Weller John William Weller (born 25 May 1958), better known as Paul Weller, is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside ...

and

Brian Wilson Brian Douglas Wilson (June 20, 1942 – June 11, 2025) was an American musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who co-founded the Beach Boys. Often Brian Wilson is a genius, called a genius for his novel approaches to pop compositio ...

2005 Festival

The eleventh festival took place on August 5–7, 2005, with

The Cure The Cure are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Crawley in 1976 by Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith (vocals, guitar) and Lol Tolhurst (drums). The band's current line-up comprises Smith, Perry Bamonte (guitar and keyboards), Reev ...

, Keane and

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

were later announced as headliners of the "FIBstart" event on Thursday July 4, supported by The Tears and The Polyphonic Spree. Fischerspooner, !!! and Róisín Murphy headlined the weekend on the Hellomoto Stage, while

The Kills The Kills are an English-American rock music, rock duo formed by American singer Alison Mosshart, Alison "VV" Mosshart and English guitarist Jamie Hince, Jamie "Hotel" Hince. They are signed to Domino Recording Company, Domino Records. Their fi ...

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who originally formed in 1996 as Runston Parva, before reforming as Parva in 2000, and releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their cur ...

and

The Wedding Present The Wedding Present are an English indie rock group formed in 1985 in Leeds, England, by members of The Lost Pandas. The band has been led by vocalist and guitarist David Gedge, the band's only constant member. Closely linked to the C86 scene ...

headlined the Fiberfib.com Stage. Other bands playing the festival included Basement Jaxx,

The Lemonheads The Lemonheads are an American alternative rock band formed in Boston in 1986 by Evan Dando, Ben Deily, and Jesse Peretz. Dando has remained the band's only constant member. After their initial punk-influenced releases and tours as an indep ...

, Hot Hot Heat, Kasabian, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds,

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

, Dinosaur Jr.,

LCD Soundsystem LCD Soundsystem is an American Dance-punk#Contemporary dance-punk, dance-punk revival band from Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2002 by James Murphy (electronic musician), James Murphy, of DFA Records. The band comprises Murphy (vocals ...

, Ladytron, Doves, Radio 4 and Richard Hawley. Benecassim-T-2005

2006 Festival

The 12th Benicàssim Festival occurred between July 20–23, 2006. Performers included Franz Ferdinand, The Pixies,

Placebo A placebo ( ) can be roughly defined as a sham medical treatment. Common placebos include inert tablets (like sugar pills), inert injections (like saline), sham surgery, and other procedures. Placebos are used in randomized clinical trials ...

, Echo & the Bunnymen, Madness,

, Scissor Sisters, Babyshambles, Beth Orton,

Editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

, The Futureheads, We Are Scientists, The Kooks and Art Brut, among others.

2007 Festival

The 13th edition of the festival was held on the July 19–22, 2007. For this year's festival (and all subsequent festivals thereafter), there was no Hellomoto Stage, with the Pista Pop stage expanded instead. The line-up was as follows:

Escenario Verde (Main Stage)

Fiberfib.com Stage

Afternoon Session

Night Session

Vodafone FIB Club Stage

Vueling Pista Pop Stage

2008 Festival

The 14th Edition of the festival was held on 17, 18, 19 and 20 July 2008.

Escenario Verde (Main Stage)

Fiberfib.com Stage

Vodafone FIB Club Stage

Samsung Pista Pop Stage

2008 Festival: Saturday Night Fiber

Saturday Night Fiber, a spin-off festival created in 2008, took place on the Saturday night of Benicàssim in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

2009 Festival

On December 23, 2008, two of the four headliners for the 2009 festival were announced as

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mount Juliet, Tennessee, in 1999. The band includes brothers Caleb, Nathan, and Jared Followill and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern roc ...

and Franz Ferdinand. Kings of Leon had previously played the festival in 2007, while Franz Ferdinand headlined in 2006. Tickets were made available at a discounted launch price between December 15, 2008 and January 15, 2009, with a four-day weekend pass available for €160 ( £140). This includes full festival entry between July 16–19, as well as camping between July 13–21. On 27 January 2009, it was reported that

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment On 2 February 2009, ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' confirmed that The Killers would be headlining the final night of the festival, with Franz Ferdinand playing Saturday 18 July and Kings of Leon playing Friday 17 July. The article also stated that Oasis would headlining the "FIBstart" event on 16 July 2009.

BBC News Online BBC News Online is the website of BBC News, the division of the BBC responsible for newsgathering and production. It is one of the most popular news websites, with 1.2 billion website visits in April 2021, as well as being used by 60% of the U ...

confirmed that

would be playing on Friday 17 July. On 26 February 2009, it was announced that

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are an English rock band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler (singer), Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from ...

, Friendly Fires, White Lies, The Bishops and Boys Noize had been added to the line-up, with Benicàssim's official website confirming which days the bands would be playing. Further line-up additions were made on 17 March 2009, and again on 2 April 2009. The line-up was as follows:

2009 festival disruption

On the night of Friday 17 July a large fire broke out in scrubland within a few hundred metres of the festival site. High winds contributed to the difficulty of fighting the fire and caused conditions on many of the stages to become unsafe. As a result, a number of acts including the

, Maxïmo Park, Boys Noize and Yuksek were unable to perform. Tom Tom Club did perform but had to be taken off for their own safety. Maxïmo Park performed the following night following a cancellation by Lily Allen. Several hundred festival goers had to be evacuated from the campsite to a nearby sports hall. The festival resumed the following day with limited disruption. Glamour model Bianca Gascoigne and Ringtone artist Ross Kent were reported in tabloid newspapers as having "gone missing" but reappeared several days later.

2010 Festival

Escenario Verde (Main Stage)

Fiberfib.com Stage

Eastpak FIB Club Stage

Due to illness, Lily Allen's Sunday set was canceled and Ellie Goulding was moved up to replace her. Roy Pridmore was a late addition to the bill.

2011 Festival

Maravillas Stage Fiberfib.com Stage Fib Club Jack Daniels Stage Saturday *The Dandies

2012 Festival

The 2012 Festival took place from July 12, 2012 - July 15, 2012.

Maravillas

Trident Senses

FIB Club

Controversy

FIB has received criticism from nationalist sectors in Spain, aimed at the fact that it does not support Valencian culture, even though it takes place in the

and receives a high amount of public money to finance itself. FIB's director Jose Luis Morán stated in an interview that he did not intend to include any band in the festival that had lyrics in Catalan, Euskera or Galego. Among the people and associations that have criticized this is Marina Albiol, an Esquerra Unida politician."FIB should have a minimum of its music in Valencian, because it enjoys public sponsoring."
"Marina Albiol's blog", July 16, 2007

References

External links

Official websiteOfficial MySpace FIBBenicassim Festival GuideBenicassim Festival information on flights and hotelsPhotos from Festival Internacional de Benicàssim 2007 Benicassim Festival Information Site
*
Recommended Benicassim Festival Accommodation Provider
{{DEFAULTSORT:Festival Internacional de Benicassim Music festivals in Spain 1995 establishments in Spain Rock festivals in Spain Electronic music festivals in Spain Music festivals established in 1995