A police official in Preah Sihanouk province on Tuesday said he has met with the organizers of Kazantip—a raucous eastern European electronic music festival set to be held on Koh Puos island off the coast of Sihanoukville next month—to discuss the event, which he described as a “friendly meal party.”
Y Sokha, deputy provincial police chief, said he told organizers of the event—which was held on the Crimean peninsula for years before being moved to Georgia in 2014 due to conflict in the region—to get permission from provincial officials before they allow thousands of revelers to descend on the tiny island between February 18 and 28.
“A team came to meet our police on January 2 and I asked them to get legal permission from the provincial authorities…because there will be lots of guests,” Mr. Sokha said.
“They said it was a kind of friendly meal party and that they are expecting to have 2,000 to 3,000 people come and join them on Koh Puos,” he said, adding that police would be on the lookout for any “irregular” behavior on the island during the event.
Preah Sihanouk governor Chhit Sokhom said he was unaware of plans for electronic music festivals in the province next month.
Kazantip came up against opposition from Christian groups in Georgia prior to the 2014 event due to the festival’s hedonistic and riotous reputation.
The festival boasts its own “constitution,” Article 2 of which refers to the event as a “democratic state with a leading queen represented by a beauty who gets elected during festival time every week.” Article 14 outlines the official “state fetishes” including “freaks and girls with high heels.”
The lineup for the festival—which is currently selling “Hardcore,” “Party Animal” and “VIP” ticket packages, described alternatively as “viZas,” on its website— has not yet been announced.
Kazantip “president” and founder Nikita Marshunok could not be reached Tuesday.
