Let’s go back to the start…..in a nutshell once upon a time there was a small lush green country hanging around the western fringe of Europe. A vibrant little spot with a bit of attitude to boot. At some point in our short history urban generation kicked in and Concrete poured through the veins of our landscape. Pidgeons got tough – Kids got creative. Born from boredom were some of the most vibrant, creative and positive aspects of youth culture today. Kings of Concrete is a celebration of these. We wanted to create a space where we could bring them all together in one giant living breathing entity, a spectacle like no other.
2008
We made the decision to run it over two days in order to get the maximum result from all our efforts and BOO-YA….did we do just that! It was awesome. Bigger comps, better features, incredible demos and workshops, a selection of mind blowing artists. We linked up with the Big Bang drumming festival and MundoCapoiera. It was intense….
Now in its 4th year and still very much in its infancy the Kings of Concrete is just learning to walk. As much as we want to blow this out of the water we’ve accepted not to stretch ourselves too thin and that progression is more about direction than speed. We look to progress every aspect every year. It may only be a tweak here and there and maybe a brand new feature somewhere else and that’s all it has to be. The spirit is alive and ready to invoke after an 11 month snooze.
Get ready people – the Kings of Concrete is back!
2007
We stepped it up. Skaters from Blueprint skate team, Vaughan Baker and Colin Kennedy came along to join in the fun. Foes crew invited over Jano and Odisse to collaborate on a master piece. Bob Byrne turned up to do a giant live comic book strip. The only heartbreaker was that after months of planning and an intense site build it was all over after 8 hours. Taking that site down after just one day was a heart breaker and we vowed never to do that again. Lesson learnt!
2006
After spending millions on skatestopping all major cities the Irish government finally recognised the need to facilitate these activities and agreed to fund 21 skateparks around the country. The decision was nothing short of transformational. We will forever be grateful but it’s only the first step and much, much more is needed to help nurture and grow these activities.
That same year Cultivate were organising a community festival celebrating multi culturalism in Ireland. They approached us about adding in a “youth” section in the wood quay amphitheatre to celebrate the long overdue skatepark initiative. Time was tight and despite a complete lack of budget the chance to put on a skate event was just too appealing. It was a big space to fill so we got in touch with some writers such as Kube, Omin, Pi, Ds, DBC and Will St Leger who created an explosion of colour and style as an appropriate backdrop. Dj’s turned up to spin some sounds, break dancers came to battle, parkour crews decided to running up and down buildings would be fun - BOOM - the Kings of Concrete was born.
The day was such a success that Dublin City Council approached us and offered some funding for the Kings of Concrete as a stand alone event. DCC’s support has been unwavering over the years and we are eternally grateful for this. We also acknowledge that it is our responsibility to make this event self sustainable in the very near future.
