GEM Fest: Anaklia welcomes global stars for electronic music festival

Georgia’s western coastal town Anaklia is gearing up to host this year's GEM Fest, the largest electronic music festival and one of the biggest music occasions in the country.

From August 10-14, nearly 100 international and local artists including several world famous musicians will flock to the Black Sea resort town to perform at the second annual GEM Fest.

Over five days and four nights tens of thousands of music enthusiasts from Georgia and abroad are expected to spend their days and nights enjoying the tunes of top artists Grammy Award-winning German DJ Paul van Dyk, producer and live performer Paul Kalkbrenner and Icelandic electronic band GusGus.

See the preview video for the 2016 edition of GEM Fest below:

The three world-famous acts are among 94 international and local artists who will perform at the annual festival. Other well-known names set to perform include trance music duo Cosmic Gate, German DJ Anja Schneider and Australian beatboxer Dub FX.

Dozens of local artists will also rock the stages, including Gacha Bakradze, Gio Shengelia and Jorjick.

This year's GEM Fest will feature nearly 100 foreign and local artists over five days. Photo from Gem Fest.

The festival will boast five stages, dozens of catering spots and a tent town called GEM City that’s designed to accommodate 10,000 visitors. The festival itself and other infrastructure is located "on the beach in the natural subtropical environment framed by conceptual and modern architecture", stated the festival’s website.

GEM Fest organisers said they had seen "unprecedented interest" from visitors from Turkey, Iran and Russia, particularly after the cancellation of this year's highly anticipated Outline Festival in Moscow earlier this month.

About 40 percent of tickets sold had been purchased by music fans from other countries in the South Caucasus, Baltic States, Western Europe and other regions while the remaining 60 percent had been sold to local revellers.

GEM Fest will be held on Anaklia's Black Sea coast. Photo from Gem Fest.

To promote cultural and personal interaction between Georgian citizens on either side of the Administrative Boundary Line (ABL), people who lived in occupied Abkhazia can attend the festival for free, said event organisers.

At last year’s GEM Fest, 74 people crossed the ABL from breakaway Abkhazia to attend the inaugural event. This year organisers are hoping to see "up to 7,000" people come from Abkhazia.

Last year's Gem Fest attracted global headliners including famous Dutch DJ Armin Van Buuren, Berlin-based band Tale of Us and German duo Booka Shade in performances alongside a line-up of local bands and artists.

See the Official Aftermovie of the 2015 Gem Fest below:

Anaklia is located north of the port city Poti near the administrative border with breakaway Abkhazia region. It is a warm, coastal region that boasts several unique tourist attractions; such as the longest pedestrian bridge in Europe connecting the Ganmukhuri resort area to Anaklia along a 540m long walkway over the Enguri River.

The 2016 Gem Fest is one of the events within Check in Georgia, a Governmental cultural project bringing together dozens of festivals and cultural events across Georgia under one umbrella.

The full line-up and additional details of the festival can be viewed on the official website here.