Yarkon Park (Hebrew: פארק
הירקון, Park
HaYarkon)
is a large park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually.
Named after the Yarkon River which flows
through it, the park includes extensive lawns, sports facilities, botanical gardens, an aviary, a water park, two outdoor concert venues and lakes.
History
Planning of the park began in 1969. When it was opened
to the public in 1973, it was called Ganei Yehoshua, honoring Yehoshua Rabinovich, the mayor of Tel Aviv between 1969-1974.
Landmarks
The park has six gardens: Gan HaBanim (Fallen Soldiers Memorial Garden), Gan Nifga'ei HaTeror (Terror Victims Memorial Garden), Gan HaSlaim (Rock Garden), Gan HaKaktusim (Cactus Garden), Gan HaGazum (Trimmed Garden), and Gan HaTropi (Tropical Garden).
The Rock Garden, one of the largest of its kind in the
world, reflects Israel's geological diversity. In its 10-acre enclosure the
rocks are interspersed with some 3,500 species of plants, including over six
acres of cacti. The
five-acre Tropical Garden has a wooden walkway shaded by palm trees leading to
a small lake. The rainforest-like microclimate supports a large variety of orchids and vines.
The Yarkon
River runs through the park and
reaches the Mediterranean Sea at the
park's western edge, then connects into the Tel Aviv Port, an
entertainment and tourism center. Despite clean-up efforts in the last few
years, the river is still polluted. Despite its polluted waters, on July 2011
Tel Aviv's mayor, Ron Huldai,
jumped into the water and swam in the lake. Nevertheless, the region has
retained its biodiversity. It is home to an abundance of insects, water
fowl, golden jackals, porcupines and mongoose.
Events
Many popular musical acts have played the park,
including Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Peter Gabriel, Madonna, David
Bowie, Carlos Santana, Dire
Straits, Bon
Jovi, Elton
John, Aerosmith, Metallica, U2, Depeche
Mode, Guns N' Roses, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Ugly
Kid Joe, Linkin
Park, Ozzy Osbourne, Joe
Cocker, Eurythmics, Westlife, Five, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Rihanna, Sia, OneRepublic, Lady
Gaga, Justin Bieber, Rod
Stewart, Queen + Adam Lambert and Britney Spears.
American singer Britney Spears performed
there on July 3, 2017 as part of her Britney: Live in Concert. It was attended by a crowd of 60,000
people. The country even delayed their election for the new chairperson of
the Israeli Labor Party. It was originally scheduled for July 3, the same day as Spears's
concert, but government officials feared people would choose the Britney
concert over finding a polling station, so they pushed voting back a day.
The superstar Michael Jackson performed
there, on September 19/21 1993 during his Dangerous World Tour attended by a crowd of 80,000 people in the first show and 100,000
people in the second show.
Italian opera house La
Scala performed a free outdoor
concert of Verdi's Requiem in the
park as a part of Tel Aviv's 100th anniversary celebrations, attracting about
100,000 people.