Million beer drinkers expected - Beer Fest in Belgrade between August 17 and 21

Under the slogan Fun for All, the 9th Beer Fest will be held in Belgrade between August 17 and 21. At the first this year's presentation of the festival, Neda Kurjacki from the Belgrade Cultural Network pointed out that the number of visitors was growing larger every year and that, after 900,000 people had visited the five-day festival in 2010, million beer drinkers were expected in 2011.

What definitely contributes to all that is presentation at tourism fairs in Europe and around the world, as well as some other things, one of which is mentioning of the festival in the book "Public Relations, Strategies and Tactics" by Denis Wilcox, professor in public relations at the Californian University of San Jose. Ms. Kurjacki stressed that the entrance would again be free of charge and announced that the band Simple Minds would be a special guest. The festival will be humanitarian in nature. That means that the entire revenue from the souvenir sales (T-shirts, hats, baseball hats) will be donated for the procurement of gift sets for all babies born in Belgrade. This gift set contains everything that a mom and her baby need in the first days following the birth.

Gordana Plamenac, director of the Tourism Organization of Serbia, pointed out that four festivals were advertised at all tourism fairs - Exit, Guca, Nisville, and Beer Fest. She is of the opinion that the big number of airlines has contributed to an increase in the number of tourists and that Serbia is included in the world map thanks to a series of positive experiences gained by the people who are coming to Serbia.

Goran Petkovic, state secretary for tourism, said that Serbia was very successful when it comes to the "production of fun" so that they expected million people to visit the festival in 2011.

- What makes Beer Fest different from the others is its innovation. Every year the festival has a new dimension: from ecological to the care for the youngest, which is the theme this year - Petkovic concluded.