Скачать или смотреть Half a million people attend Thompson concert in Zagreb

Marko Perković Thompson held a big concert at the Zagreb Hippodrome on Saturday night, which was attended by around half a million people.

The concert started at exactly 19 lct and ended around midnight. The organizers confirmed to Croatian Television that 504 thousand people gathered at the Hippodrome, making this concert the largest musical event of its kind in Croatia.

Thompson opened the concert with the song "Ustani iz sjene", followed by "Ravnoteža". The atmosphere was further enhanced by a torch that ignited the audience.

After the second song, Thompson addressed the crowd. "Praised be Jesus and Mary, my dear people. First of all, I want to express my deep gratitude to you for coming in such large numbers," said Thompson, emphasising that the audience did not come only from Croatian regions, but also from other European countries.

"Now, with this concert, we will show great unity. I want to send a message to the whole of Europe to return to its tradition, to its Christian roots. Only then can Croatia be strong again," said the singer.

At the end of his speech, he wished that everything would go well.

Thompson performed a repertoire from different phases of his musical career as a performer, from the early nineties to the latest albums. He also sang "Bojna Čavoglave", the lyrics of which provoked divided reactions in the public.

He also shouted the controversial salute "Za dom", to which the audience thunderously responded with "spremni" (ready), with which the song begins. The salute was used by HOS units (Croatian paramilitary forces during the 1991-1995 war in Croatia) and by some Croatian soldiers during that war, but was actually created in the WW2 Nazi-style Independent State of Croatia (NDH).

Otherwise, in terms of organisation and security, the three-hour spectacle went smoothly and without incidents, and the audience was delighted with the atmosphere and the concert.
SHOTLIST
VS Audience at the concert

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “There are so many people, the atmosphere is great and I feel good. That is most important.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “It is very emotional and more than expected.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “This is pure patriotism. We’re enjoying it.”

people leaving the premises after the concert

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan and reporter: “I loved it! I had a really great time and I would do it over and over a hundred times. (reporter: Did you expect it to be like that?) Yes, even more, it caught me by surprise. It was a really beautiful experience. (reporter: Can you describe the whole experience in words?) It is indescribable; we can’t put it in words.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “The last part of the concert was the best, everything after ‘Bojna Čavoglave’. The whole concert was great, but this was the cherry on top.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “A perfect spectacle. Indescribable – I’m sure that nothing like this has ever happened in Croatia, and there is no chance that anyone does it again. It was wonderful and emotional, and there were no incidents, the organisation was perfect. The children enjoyed the concert.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) two fans: “It was wonderful! A fantastic feeling! There was no incident, there was no bad energy, and everything was so positive. Thank you all! (reporter: Did you expect it, were you surprised by everything?) It was so good! I was really surprised with everything at the concert, it was awesome.”

VOXPOPS (Croatian) fan: “It was such an emotion, like a blessing from God, which all the people could feel. I am so grateful that I was here. Greetings to everyone, thank you, I have to go now.”

VS Concert venue (the hippodrome) morning after