the floor". A total of 18 rock bands participated, 15 Yugoslav and 3 foreign, including Bijelo Dugme, Zoran Miščević and Siluete, Divlje Jagode, Film, Haustor, and Iron Maiden. The festival was notorious for bad organization, scrappy stage, no toilets and water, and power outages. Unusually heavy rains turned hippodrome's ground into the mire, and reduced temperature to almost winter conditions. Iron Maiden's Steve Harris, noting that there is no roof above the stage, said if there is rain, everything will probably explode. In the end, the festival finished as planned, and with 36,000 visitors was one of the major rock events in Europe in 1981. Today, the Hippodrome covers an area of . Last major renovation occurred in the 1980s, while on 30 October 1999 a major fire destroyed section of the bleachers, the roof above it and an umpire's tower. In 2006 the bankruptcy proceeding began but was retracted in 2008 and the hippodrome became a city owned enterprise. The highest attendance on one event was recorded in 1989 when the trotting derby was attended by 10,000 spectators. In March 2017, city manager Goran Vesić said that the hippodrome is just accumulating debts and that the question is whether it is on the right place. As the stories of the city government's wishes to demolish the hippodrome and build a residential and commercial complex instead circulated the public for several years, his statement prompted the public reaction. Other possible indications that the hippodrome will be demolished included the fact that Belgrade was removed from the international racing calendars, the 95th racing season (for 2017) wasn't scheduled and contract with the French partner, signed in 1988 for the period of 30 years, which prevented the city to change the purpose of the hippodrome, expires in 2018. Also, city announced the bidding for an architectural competition concerning the wider Careva Ćuprija area (hippodrome, Sugar Refinery in Čukarica and the "Jugopetrol" complex), in total. Public actions against the relocation and petition ensued. Vesić promptly reacted, stating that he never said that the hippodrome will be demolished and that all this is a nonsense, but then added that a fact is that a new location, on which the hippodrome would develop, should be found. Certain races were later announced. In May 2017, the conditions of the future bidding were made public by which the hippodrome is kept on its present location. Problems and