The Smile Sentan Music Peace Festival was a large concert held three times - August 1-3, 1998, August 4-6, 1999, and May 1-4, 2000 - at the National Stadium in Fusa, Sentan. This concert was held during the Sentanese Civil War, a political civil war in Sentan between opposing parties the New Sentan Party (NSP) and Sentanese Socialist Party (SSP).
Background[]
After Reginald van Wouters was arrested on sexual assault charges and dismissed from his Prime Minister position, a emergency election was held and Konrád Barta of the New Sentan Party (NSP) was elected. He declared the State of Sentan on July 25, 1995, and pursued a neoconservative agenda by nationalizing some of the country's major export industries and promoting a "peace through strength" plan. His agenda proved to be financially unsustainable, as his policies deterred foreign investment in Sentan. Beginning in 1997, he was also opposed by the more liberal Koro Shibukawa of the Sentanese Socialist Party (SSP), and the two politicians allied with militia groups to help them increase their hold on power, with the New Sentan Party mainly associating with Gyönyörű Földünk.
Ironically, the idea for the Smile Sentan Music Peace Festival came from two such militia members from rival political factions, who happened to be locked up in the same jail cell together and who both wanted to alleviate the violence. Joseph Horváth (NSP - Gyönyörű Földünk) and Adam Kenkichi (SSP - Antifa Sentan) decided that the best means to bring the country together was to use music as a uniting factor and organize a major concert. Kenkichi flew to Los Angeles after being released from jail and convinced managers and record industry executives to allow their artists to perform at the concert.