Budapest rocks this August to the sounds of the stunning Sziget Festival from 10 to 17 August, an annual week-long event that attracts thousands of fans from more than 70 countries around the world. Let Baroque Travel get you there.
Budapest’s sizzling Sziget Festival is one of the largest multicultural events in Europe. Now in it’s 23rd year, it’s located in a tiny little paradise island in the midst of Budapest, offering visitors a non-stop party atmosphere with exciting live music concerts.
It’s the perfect way to end off a summer holiday in Europe – an exciting festival brimming with music and events, plus the opportunity to explore one of Europe’s best-kept secrets, Budapest. Óbudai Island is where it all happens – the name ‘Sziget’ means Island, and this island’s fabulous, free spirit comes to the fore during this week of fun, sun, music and excitement. A non-stop event, the Sziget Festival offers 50 different program venues and around 200 programs each day.
Bands performing include some of the most famous international music groups in the pop/rock scene, also stars of world and electronic music, not to mention metal, jazz, fold, blues, alternative and even classical sounds.
But the sizzling Sziget festival isn’t just about the music. Visitors enjoy all sorts of unique experiences and events, including theater, exhibitions and a circus. There’s a beach section where fans can soak up the sun on the banks of the Danube, not to mention the sights and sounds of Budapest itself, with its charming historic buildings, a lively cultural scene, Turkish spas and special pubs.
The highlight of the festival is the special venue, the BK Europe Stage, located on the Island of Freedom, where bands already famous in their own countries will wow the crowds. Bands like Erotic Market from France, and Wailing Trees, winner of the European Reggae Contest in 2014. There’s Splendid from the Netherlands, who offer an energetic combination of pop, hip hop and reggae sounds, and My Baby, a Dutch brother and sister duo. Spain’s offering is Delafe y Las Flores Azules and The Always Drinking Marching Band, a group of musicians, actors, dancers, pub poets and others that has performed together since 1997 on the streets. And German singer and multi-instrumentalist Robert Laupert will also make his mark. And that’s just a tiny taste of what to expect when Budapest rocks this August.
The BK Europe Stage also hosts various bands involved in the Central and Eastern European Talent Exchange Program (CEETEP), which aims to include talented acts from all over this part of Europe in Europe’s biggest festivals. The Sziget Festival has recently won the coveted title Best Major Festival in Europe by the European Festival Awards.