Yarkon Park (, Park HaYarkon; officially named Ganei Yehoshua, ) is a park in Tel Aviv, Israel, with about sixteen million visits annually.Park Hayarkon – the Central Park of Tel Aviv 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. The park covers an area of 3.5 km². At 375 hectares, it is slightly larger than Central Park in New York and double the size of Hyde Park in London.
History In 1925, the municipality of Tel Aviv invited urban planner Patrick Geddes to prepare an expansion of the city towards the Yarkon, which was considered the city's natural border. Palestinian Arab and Jewish farmers grew vegetables and maintained orchards on the banks of the river, and Geddes suggested a park should be established on the Yarkon's southern bank. Planting of trees began in the early 1940s, starting on the river's southern bank and expanding eastward with the city, though at that time, without a comprehensive plan. This was implemented for the benefit of the city's inhabitants, predominantly Olim from Europe who were unaccustomed to the region's climate, and with the goal of establishing Jewish ownership, European imagery, and a callback to a biblical landscape likely more verdant than that of the region in the 20th century.
1948 brought about unprecedented change to the region. The mass displacement of Palestinians, along with urban overcrowding caused by the arrival of one million Jews from Europe and the Middle East presented Prime Minister Ben Gurion with an opportunity to establish new parks. In 1950, the government of Israel established 175 hectares on the northern bank of the Yarkon, for the purpose of establishing a park, and a planting project then began on the Yarkon's northern bank. This northern area had been within the village lands of Al-Shaykh Muwannis; today the park also covers parts of the village lands of Jarisha, Al-Mas'udiyya and Al-Jammasin al-Gharbi.
In 1959, the Mapai (Labor Party) came into power in Tel Aviv. They were already in power on the national level. This union of local and national government allowed the inception of various large scale projects in Tel-Aviv. In 1961, damage to the Yarkon's banks lead the municipality to initiate development of a comprehensive plan for Yarkon Park. When it was opened to the public in 1973, it was called Ganei Yehoshua, honoring Yehoshua Rabinovich, the mayor of Tel Aviv between 1969 and 1974.Changing pollution into paradise
Landmarks The Seven Mills section of the park contains the remnants of Jarisha/Jarisha Mills, a Palestinian village that was depopulated in the lead up to the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
Tel Gerisa is an archaeological site in the park, that has been identified by Benjamin Mazar and Yohanan Aharoni with the biblical Gath Rimmon. The landmark preserves the name of the historically nearby Palestinian Arab village of Jarisha, after which the Tel was named.
The Rock Garden, one of the largest of its kind in the world, reflects Israel's geological diversity. In its 4-hectare enclosure, the rocks are interspersed with some 3,500 species of plants, including over 2.4 hectares of cacti. The 2-hectare 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.
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, in 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.
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 (Cacti Garden), HaGan HaGazum (Trimmed Garden), and HaGan HaTropi (Tropical Garden).
Music events
Many popular musical acts have played the park, including Michael Jackson, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner, 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, Morrissey, Eurythmics, Westlife, Five, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Rihanna, Sia, OneRepublic, Lady Gaga, Justin Bieber, Rod Stewart, Queen + Adam Lambert, Noa Kirel, Britney Spears and Jennifer Lopez.
American singer Britney Spears performed in the park on July 3, 2017, as part of her Britney: Live in Concert. It was attended by a crowd of 60,000 people. Due to the concert, the Israeli Labor Party delayed their election for a new chairperson by a day. It was originally scheduled for July 3, the same day as Spears's concert, but party officials feared traffic jams and that party members would choose the concert over finding a polling station.
Michael Jackson performed there, on September 19/21, 1993 during his Dangerous World Tour attended by a crowd of 70,000 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.
American singer Jennifer Lopez performed in the park as part of her It's My Party (tour) on August 1, 2019. It was attended by a crowd of 57,000 people.
Concerts +List of concerts at Yarkon Park Year Date Artist Tour Tickets Gross 1985 May 1 Dire Straits Brothers in Arms Tour rowspan="2" rowspan="2" May 2 1987 July 21 Tina Turner Break Every Rule Tour rowspan="2" rowspan="2" July 22 September 5 Bob Dylan Temples in Flames Tour 1993 May 22 Guns N' Roses Use Your Illusion Tour 40,000 June 17 Elton John The One Tour June 30 Metallica Nowhere Else to Roam Tour September 19 Michael Jackson Dangerous World Tour 170,000 September 21 October 4 Madonna The Girlie Show World Tour 80,000 1994 July 12 Aerosmith Get a Grip Tour 1996 July 3 David Bowie Outside Summer Festivals Tour 1997 September 30 U2 PopMart Tour 31,566 $1,809,388 2001 May 16 Westlife Where Dreams Come True Tour 2008 September 25 Paul McCartney Friendship First Concert 45,000 2009 September 1 Madonna Sticky & Sweet Tour 99,674 $14,656,063 September 2 2010 September 28 Ozzy Osbourne Scream World Tour 25,000 November 15 Linkin Park A Thousand Suns World Tour 45,000 2011 April 14 Justin Bieber My World Tour 23,000 2012 July 3 Guns N' Roses Up Close and Personal Tour September 10 Red Hot Chili Peppers I'm with You Tour 50,000 2013 May 7 Depeche Mode Delta Machine Tour 49,325 $1,752,446 October 22 Rihanna Diamonds World Tour 50,554 $6,121,631 2014 May 28 Justin Timberlake The 20/20 Experience World Tour 44,634 $5,169,975 June 4 The Rolling Stones 14 On Fire 48,167 $8,276,709 September 13 Lady Gaga ArtRave: The Artpop Ball 18,984 $1,786,945 2015 May 2 Robbie Williams Let Me Entertain You Tour 40,000 May 28 OneRepublic Native Tour 20,000 October 3 Bon Jovi Bon Jovi Live! 56,000 2016 September 12 Queen + Adam Lambert 2016 Summer Festival Tour 50,000 May 26 Elton John Wonderful Crazy Night Tour August 11 Sia Nostalgic for the Present Tour 39,000 2017 May 3 Justin Bieber Purpose World Tour 53,813 $6,495,093 May 17 Aerosmith Aero-Vederci Baby! Tour 50,000 June 14 Rod Stewart The Hits Tour 20,000 July 3 Britney Spears Britney: Live in Concert 60,000 July 15 Guns N' Roses Not In This Lifetime... Tour 57,204 $6,761,681 July 19 Radiohead A Moon Shaped Pool Tour 48,011 $6,221,906 2018 May 26 Enrique Iglesias Enrique Iglesias Live 41,365 $2,946,286 June 28 Maluma Fame Tour 2019 July 25 Bon Jovi This House Is Not for Sale Tour 50,000 August 1 Jennifer Lopez It's My Party 57,000 2022 May 9 Maroon 5 2022 Tour 60,000 May 10 50,000 2023 March 14 Travis Scott 35,000 June 1 Robbie Williams XXV Tour 30,000 June 5 Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses 2023 Tour 60,000 August 29 Imagine Dragons Mercury World Tour September 23 Noa Kirel 60,000 October 4 Bruno Mars Bruno Mars Live63,000
Sports Yarkon Park contains several sporting facilities, numerous bike paths, and rowers use the Yarkon River which flows through the park.
Sportek Tel Aviv A multi-sport centre, Sportek Tel Aviv, is located in the park, and facilitates various sports such as rock climbing, soccer, and Australian rules football. The facilities include a full size rugby union pitch, which is the home grounds of ASA Tel Aviv and Tel Aviv Ibex.
See also Biodiversity in Israel List of national parks and nature reserves of Israel Tourism in Israel Railway park Tel Aviv National Sport Center – Tel Aviv
References
External links Yarkon National Park at the Israel Nature and National Parks Protection Authority