Budapest’s Sziget Festival: New Design, Budget Food, More Stars, Less Dust
Hungary’s largest cultural export, the Sziget Festival, is back this year with a range of new attractions and performances, according to the festival’s main organizer, Tamás Kádár. The festival, which runs from August 10th to the 15th, will feature performances from over 60 countries on 40 different stages. Billie Eilish will perform in Hungary for the first time alongside other headliners such as Florence and the Machine, Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Mumford and Sons, Lorde, and Macklemore.
After a two-year hiatus due to COVID-19, the festival experienced losses of 2.2 billion forints (EUR 5.9m), which they hope to make up with last year’s profits of 400 million forints. Ticket sales figures are already positive, with organizers expecting “easily” over 100,000 foreign visitors and even more Hungarian attendees. The Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, and Billie Eilish days are expected to sell out.
Several new features will be introduced this year, including sustainability initiatives, better amenities, more diverse catering, and spectacle enhancements. Kádár confirms that the spending on headliners is continuously rising. Additionally, The Freedom Tent and The Colosseum will feature various prominent DJs and artists, while the Cirque du Soleil tent will host Ukrainian circus students with Prague-based troupe Cirk La Putyka.
The Sziget Festival is one of Europe’s biggest festivals, drawing over half a million visitors from around the world each year.
