Foundation and early years The first International Song Festival in Sopot was in 1961. The festival was organized by musician and composer
Władysław Szpilman, then working as the head of
Polish Radio's music department. Additional organizational support came from Szymon Zakrzewski from Polish Artists Management (PAGART). The first three festivals (1961–1963) were held at the
Gdansk Shipyard hall after which the festival moved to the
Forest Opera. Through most of its history, the main prize has been the Amber Nightingale trophy.
Replacement by Intervision Between 1977 and 1980 it was replaced by the
Intervision Song Contest, which was still held in Sopot. Unlike the
Eurovision Song Contest, the Sopot International Music Festival often changed its formulas to pick a winner and offered many different contests for its participants. For example, at the 4th Intervision Song Festival (held in Sopot August 20–23, 1980) two competitions were effective: one for artists representing television companies, the other for those representing record companies. In the first the jury considered the artistic merits of the songs entered; while in the second, it judged the performers' interpretation." The festival has always been open to non-European acts, and countries like Cuba, Dominican Republic, Mongolia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Peru, South Africa and many others have been represented in this event. The contest lost popularity in Poland and abroad in the 1980s, declining further during the 1990s, and the rather unconvincing organisations by
Telewizja Polska (TVP) made the authorities of Sopot give the organization of the 2005 Sopot International Song Festival to a private TV channel,
TVN. Since 1999, there was no contest. TVP chose to invite well-known artists instead, featuring the likes of
Whitney Houston,
Tina Turner,
The Corrs,
Lionel Richie,
UB40,
Ricky Martin and
Simply Red to perform. In 2005, TVN brought the international competition back, taking over from TVP, and in 2006 invited
Elton John and
Katie Melua. The Sopot International Song Festival is usually considered bigger than the
Benidorm Song Festival because of its ability to attract star performers.
Revival In 2010 and 2011, the festival did not take place due to renovation of the
Forest Opera. Since 2012, it is called
Sopot Top Of The Top Festival and is broadcast annually by
Polsat. In 2014, the name was changed to
Polsat Sopot Festival. In 2015, Polsat decided not to organize the festival. However, the city authorities decided to organize a one-day festival in Sopot this year, but without a television broadcast. In 2016, the concert did not take place due to the lack of a television partner, which initially was to be TVP. After a year of break, the decision was made to restore the festival. Since 2017, it has been organized and broadcast by TVN again. The festival also provided opportunity to listen to international stars. In the past, it featured
Charles Aznavour,
Demis Roussos,
Boney M,
Gloria Gaynor,
Petula Clark,
Johnny Cash,
Chuck Berry,
Shirley Bassey,
Village People,
Kool and the Gang,
Vanessa Mae,
Sabrina,
C.C.Catch,
Annie Lennox,
Paul Young,
Marillion,
Scorpions,
Alphaville,
Kim Wilde,
Bonnie Tyler,
Jimmy Somerville,
Erasure,
Belinda Carlisle,
Vaya Con Dios,
Chris Rea,
Bryan Adams,
Tanita Tikaram,
La Toya Jackson,
Rick Astley,
Shakin’ Stevens,
Londonbeat,
Bad Boys Blue,
Technotronic. Kajagoogoo,
Limahl,
Goran Bregovic,
Norah Jones,
Anastacia,
Maryla Rodowicz,
Ricky Martin,
In-Grid,
Alla Pugacheva and many others. ==Competition overview and winners==