Sziget Festival is Coming 5 August to 12 August 2013.
Sziget Festival About
The Sziget Festival in Budapest, Hungary is one of the biggest music and cultural extravaganza in Europe. ‘Sziget’ meaning ‘Island’, is held every August on the Northern Budapest Island on the River Danube.
Sziget Festival includes acts from various genres and at present stages more than 1000 performances each year. So far there has been a blues stage, a jazz tent, a world music stage, alongside the main stage with popular rock concerts. Sziget Festival has oodles of other things on offer to festival goers, there is; theatre, dance, classical music, cabaret, films, fine art, crafts, literary presentations, programmes for kids, sports and other recreational activities.
Started in 1993 as a local event, the festival earlier was a congregation of various groups of Hungarian artists and rock enthusiasts. It has gradually grown into a large European fiesta, showcasing over a thousand international artists over 60 stages, from various genres, to 400,000 daily visitors!
Sziget Festival 2012 will celebrate its 20th year with performances from renowned artists namely – Korn, The Vaccines, Magnetic Man, Two Door Cinema Club, Beatsteaks, dEUS, Ministry, Bebel Gilberto, Caro Emerald… you name it!
Tickets can be purchased online. Camping facilities are also available at the venue.
Advice For Visitors to the Sziget Festival
The experienced festival-goer knows that a little bit of preparation can serve in transforming a miserable festival experience into a brilliant one that the weather can’t spoil, and it’s certainly worth bearing a few things in mind if you’re keen to come to Sziget this year.
First, decide if you’re camping or staying outside the island. There are pros and cons to both, with camping being arguably more fun and definitely cheaper as you can save on accommodation and travel costs. You’re also in the heart of the action and more likely to make friends. On the downside you’re going to be staying in a hot sweaty tent with no creature comforts for seven or eight days, queuing for washing facilities, and possibly getting very wet (whilst Sziget is no rival to Glastonbury, rain is a reasonably common occurrence). If you do decide to camp the key is to get to the festival as early as possible (check out the official website for when the island opens) and find a good place to pitch your tent. Those that pitch too near the dance/heavy metal tent or toilets are in for a rocky ride. If you decide to stay in a hostel or apartment the key is to find somewhere close to the festival to minimise your journey time – you’ll be making the journey twice a day so you want to keep it down as much as possible. The entrance is on the Buda side and most people arrive by the HEV train. Check out our hotels and hostels page for some ideas.
Other essential advice would be to pack wisely. Sleeping mats/lilos, earplugs, wellies and waterproofs are all invaluable purchases. It is acceptable to bring food onto the festival grounds but no drinks, including water, so bear this in mind too. Otherwise play safely and you’re bound to have a fantastic time!
