Following a trip to Homelands on a holiday in the UK,
Brazilian dance music promoter Luiz Eurico had a vision
for a similar festival in South America. In partnership
with leading Beer brand Skol, the festival ‘Skolbeats’
was created in 2000.

Held with a little more than 20.000 people, the first ever
Skolbeats was a huge surprise to fans of dance music
in Brazil. The festival’s lineup was similar to a smaller
scale Homelands but attracted tens of thousands of
people from all over Latin America as there was literally
nothing else like it. The originality and novelty made
for a party that was as fresh and exciting as anything
else the DJs performing had seen in years.

Following the success of the Skolbeats launch in 2000,
the second edition in 2001 took the festival to another
level. It became a festival tour with events in on
consecutive dates in Curitiba, Rio De Janeiro and
Sao Paulo. The final date of the three-day tour was in
Sao Paulo and was held at the world-famous Interlagos
Formula 1 Race Track. This was the first year that UK
club promoters were invited to host arenas with
Movement and The End taking charge of the
Drum & Bass and Techno tents respectively,
and the growing number of international DJs, including
Roger Sanchez, Mr. C, Andy C and John Digweed,
performing reflected the rapid growth of the festival.

2002 continued the development of Skolbeats as it
switched to the one date in Sao Paulo and with two more
UK club brands taking control of Arenas. Movement and
The End were joined by Gatecrasher and Bugged Out
and the line-up continued to impress with the likes of
Todd Terry, Eric Morillo, Goldie, Dave Angel and John
’00’ Fleming performing. The addition of a live stage
though was the most exciting part of Skolbeats 2002 with
major international acts such as Kosheen, Groove Armada
and Layo & Bushwacka! performing.

In 2003 the festival switched to Anhembi Carnical Complex
which is a famous carnival arena. The new venue allowed
for an even bigger capacity, with the festival now pulling
in over 50,000 people and even bigger line-ups including
a show stopping live performance from local legends
DJ Marky & XRS.

Fast-forward to the present day and preparations for
Skolbeats 2005 are in place. Continuing efforts by the
Skolbeats organisers to top the previous year’s event have
resulted in a line-up that boasts some of the most
cutting-edge DJs and live acts as well as some heavyweight
superstar DJs. With the inclusion of a brand new
Essential Selection Arena and live broadcasts across the
world from BBC Radio 1 it is evident that the rest of the
world is now sitting up and recognising that South America
has the planet's most exciting dance music scene,
and it is there for the rest of the world to enjoy!