Pirate Bay throws party on 10th birthday

The bash, held in Wikiparken in Väsby, was thrown to coincide with site surviving a decade despite numerous court battles. Organizer Erik Lönroth announced earlier in the week that the party would have been scrapped had an energy drink company not provided a cash donation.

“The consequence of this stunt is that everyone can come to this party – for free!” he told tech news website Torrentfreak.

Those who did attend were treated to over 30 performers featuring music and stand-up comedy along with GoGo dancers.

In a blog post written by site’s admins they paid tribute to their longevity; “Not because of cops, mafiaa (sic) or corrupt politicians but because we thought that we’d eventually be to old for this (expletive).

“But hey, running this ship makes us feel young,” it said.

The Pirate Bay began life in 2003 as a tiny BitTorrent tracker which rapidly turned into the world’s largest file sharing site. Over the decade the founders have moved their servers around Scandinavia, been raided by the police, had key people throw into jail and been locked in a constant battle with copyright holders.

Users of The Pirate Bay are able to upload and download media using peer-to-peer BitTorrent technology, although the site itself does not host any of the content.

To celebrate their 10th anniversary the programmers have developed the Pirate Browser which allows users to access the site and similar torrent pages in regions where they are currently blocked.

Under the tagline ‘no more censorship’ the browser is aimed towards Pirate Bay fans in regions like north Korea, United Kingdom, Ireland and Denmark where the site can’t be accessed.

“It’s a simple one-click browser that circumvents censorship and blockades and makes the site instantly available and accessible,” the Pirate Bay said on its blog.

Meanwhile at the party, organizer Erik Lönroth tweeted: “We celebrate with a bang. A decade of filesharing with The Pirate Bay. Thank you.”