SZIGET ANNOUNCE THE NATIONAL AS FINAL HEADLINER.

American indie rock nobility The National complete the illustrious Sziget headliner bill, joining global superstars Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Florence + The Machine, Post Malone, The 1975, Twenty One Pilots and Martin Garrix. New additions to the genre-spanning line-up also include Brooklyn folk rockers Big Thief, DJ powerhouse Jax Jones, Canadian experimental rock collective Broken Social Scene and more. One, three, five and seven-day tickets and accommodation options for Sziget 2019 are now on sale. For more information, head to szigetfestival.com

With seven albums under their belt - four of which made NME’s top 500 albums of all time list - The National are one of the most successful and revered American rock bands in history. A sincerely conscious and political five-piece, their poetic, melancholic form of indie art-rock has won them awards including a Grammy in 2017, and their headline performance is set to be unmissable.

The undisputed king of collaborations and incredible multi-instrumentalist Mura Masa joins the line-up as well as powerful pop ballad one-to-watch Grace Carter. British music royalty and ex-Smiths and Cribs guitarist Johnny Marr is set to rock the Budapest stage, while British homegrown singer-songwriter Tom Odell will soothe the crowds with his stunning vocals and musicianship.

Texan psychedelic rock trio Khruangbin’s unique blend of soul, funk, instrumental rock and world music will provide the soundtrack to the sunny Hungarian summer, while electronic duo Honne’s synthpop bangers are perfect for when the sun starts to go down. Also announced are the likes of house music veteran Sonny Fodera, DJ, producer and remix wizard Jax Jones, emerging electronic star David August and more new talent to discover.

Over the years Sziget has played host to some of the most prestigious names in music, including the likes of David Bowie, Oasis, The Stone Roses, Iggy Pop, Radiohead, Arctic Monkeys, Sex Pistols, Dua Lipa and Kendrick Lamar.

More than just its headliners, Sziget brings together a programme of world music, theatre, cabaret, installations, performances and art. Set in the heart of Budapest on Óbuda Island, Sziget is a community built festival and known as the 'Island of Freedom'. Attended by 500,000+ Szitizens from over 100 countries each year, the festival is dedicated to embracing diversity as a part of its 'Love Revolution', using the power of the community to celebrate and bring love, acceptance, tolerance and freedom to the heart of Budapest and beyond. With preparations well underway for next August, year 27 is set to be Sziget’s biggest and best festival to date.

Sziget returns in 2019 between 7 - 13 August. Three-day tickets are now on sale starting at €199, with a ticket price increase set for 7 March. For more details on Sziget head to szigetfestival.com.

NEW LINE-UP ADDITIONS

The National
Mura Masa
Johnny Marr
Tom Odell
Big Thief
Honne
Jax Jones
Coheed & Cambria
Broken Social Scene
Khruangbin
David August
Polo & Pan
Black Mountain
Ocean Alley
Grace Carter
Sonny Fodera
Burak Yeter


ALREADY ANNOUNCED

Foo Fighters
Ed Sheeran
Florence + The Machine
Post Malone
Twenty One Pilots
The 1975
Martin Garrix
Richard Ashcroft
Franz Ferdinand
James Blake
Years&Years
Tove Lo
Catfish & The Bottlemen
Kodaline
Chvrches
Jungle
The Blaze
Razorlight
Son Lux
Richie Hatin CLOSER
Maribou State
Jain
IDLES
Yeasayer
Yellow Days
Parcels
Superorganism
Pale Waves
Tove Styrke
Boy Pablo
Masego
Iamddb
Protoje &The Indiggnation
Xavier Rudd
Frank Turner & The Sleeping Souls
Alma
Gang Of Youths
Of Mice & Men
Frank Carter & The Rattlesnakes
Wanda
W&W
Vini Vici
Carnage
Sigala
Yungblud
Elderbrook
Roosevelt
Anna of The North
Hucci
Fakear
Tamino
Valeras
Welshly Arms

Sziget is proud to announce its final additions to the lineup for 2018. Internationally acclaimed artist and multi-talented musician, Bonobo will perform a very special live set on the sun-soaked island of Óbudai-sziget.

Since releasing Black Sands in 2009, the British musician gained acclaim for his use of sample-based production and multi-layered atmospheres. His unique style and stunning single Kerala earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Dance Recording and Best Electronic/ Dance Album. The musician's style is not only tinged with electronic undertones but also incorporates elements of world music and organic instrumentalization, making him a perfect announcement for this inclusive gathering of 'Szitizens' from around the world.

Joining him is EDM producer, DJ, singer-songwriter and label owner, Flux Pavilion. After being nominated for BBC Sound of 2012, the multi-talented artist has toured the world and released multiple hit singles such as the massive 'I Can't Stop'. Alongside him is Dutch duo Yellow Claw, hailing from Amsterdam, they often incorporate elements of all genres such as hip-hop, dubstep and big room house when performing, and are currently signed to Diplo's label Mad Decent. Also announced are Oscar and the Wolf, Rhye, Michael Calfan and What So Not.

Taking place on Budapest's Óbudai-sziget, Sziget is one of the world's largest music and arts festivals, transforming into the 'Island of Freedom' every year in August. Welcoming over 450,000 'Szitizens' from around the world and all walks of life. Revellers are sure to enjoy performances from some of the world's biggest artists and best new talent, including hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar, and acclaimed DJ extraordinaire Kygo. There’s also the mindblowing virtual band, Gorillaz, pop’s newest darling and 2018 Brit Award winner, Dua Lipa, songstress Lana Del Rey and the folk-rock legends Mumford & Sons who are playing a European festival exclusive.

This year, elrow will be hosting an epic End Party in the Bacardi Arena. Elrow's known for its amazing, crazy, and colorful parties. For Sziget, the group's unique show concept will be Sambowdromo do Brasil, showcasing interactive performances, stilt walkers, acrobats, confetti blizzards and much more!

The celebrated festival won ‘Line-Up of the Year’ at the European Festival Awards 2017 after standing out among a group of festivals including Glastonbury, Roskilde and Lollapalooza, for a second year running in a category compiled by experts and voted for by the public.

One, three, five and seven day tickets for Sziget are on sale. Prices start at just €75. For more information and tickets, visit szigetfestival.com.

Line-Up (A-Z):

Alle Farben
Arctic Monkeys
Asaf Avidan
Aurora
Bastille
Bilderbuch
Blossoms
Bonobo live
Borgore
BØRNS
Cigarettes After Sex
Clean Bandit
Damian Lazarus & the Ancient Moons
Delta Heavy
Desiigner
DJ Licious
Don Diablo
Dua Lipa
Everything Everything
Fever Ray
Fink
Flux Pavilion
Gogol Bordello
Goo Goo Dolls
Gorgon City live
Gorillaz
Halott Pénz
Jan Blomqvist
Joe Goddard (live)
JP Cooper
Kaleo
Kendrick Lamar
King Arthur
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
KSHMR
Kygo
La Femme
Lana del Rey
Lemaitre
Lewis Capaldi
Liam Gallagher
Lianne La Havas
Little Dragon
Lykke Li
Michael Calfan
Milky Chance
MØ
Mumford & Sons
My Baby
Nick Murphy fka Chet Faker
Nothing But Thieves
Oscar and the Wolf
Parov Stelar
Pertubator
Petit Biscuit
Punnany Massif
Rhye
Scarlxrd
Seasick Steve
SG Lewis
Shame
Shawn Mendes
Slaves
Sofi Tukker
Stormzy
The Kooks
The Living End
The War on Drugs
Tujamo
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Vad Fruttik
What So Not
WhoMadeWho
Wolf Alice
Yellow Claw
Yellow Days
Zara Larsson
Zhu
Zonderling

+ many more artists across over 50 stages

- Arriving by train to Sziget -

Budapest has three major train stations: Nyugati Pályaudvar, Keleti Pályaudvar, Déli Pályaudvar. From any of these train stations you can get to Sziget very easily by public transportation. Plan the best route to the festival via the BKK (Centre for Budapest Transport) route planner site.

But we also have some tips:

From Nyugati Pályaudvar (20-25 minutes):

Take Tram 4-6 (right in front of the station) towards Széll Kálmán Tér. Get off the tram at the third stop called Margit Híd-Budai Hídfő. You will cross the Danube on the beautiful Margharet Bridge. On one side you can see the Margharet Island and on the other side you can see the Parliament and also the Castle!
At Margit Híd-Budai Hídfő take the stairs and get on the HÉV towards Szentende / Békásmegyer. The Sziget stop is called Filatorigát (4th stop). Get off here and follow the crowd until the entrance!
From Keleti Pályaudvar (40-45 minutes):

Look for the metro sign at the station! You should get on Metro 2 - Red Line towards Déli Pályaudvar. Travel on this air-conditioned, comfy vehicle until Batthyányi Tér (5th stop).
At the Batthyányi Tér station look for the HÉV lines and get on this train-like wagon chain and ride until Filatorigát (5th stop). Get off here and follow the crowd until the entrance!
From Déli Pályaudvar (25-30 minutes):

Look for the metro sign at the station! You should get on Metro 2 - Red Line towards Örs Vezér Tér. Travel on this air-conditioned, comfy vehicle until Batthyányi Tér (2nd stop).
At the Batthyányi Tér station look for the HÉV lines and get on this train-like wagon chain and ride until Filatorigát (5th stop). Get off here and follow the crowd until the entrance!

LANA DEL REY ANNOUNCED AS FINAL HEADLINER FOR SZIGET 2018

The dreamy pop queen joins the star-studded line up including Arctic Monkeys, Dua Lipa, Gorillaz, Kendrick Lamar, Kygo & Mumford & Sons as headliners and over 100 artists across the seven-day festival.

8th-15th August 2018
Óbudai-sziget, Budapest, Hungary
szigetfestival.com



Sziget can today reveal that Lana Del Rey will be bringing some glamorously melancholic pop to the 26th edition of Sziget. She’ll be joining the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Dua Lipa, Gorillaz, Kendrick Lamar, Mumford & Sons, and Kygo who are all headlining this unforgettable festival. Hosting some of the world’s biggest stars, Sziget has 50 stages, bringing together over 450,000 people and is tipped as the continent’s Glastonbury equivalent. Having won ‘Line-up of the Year’ in 2017, Sziget is back 8-15 August. Day tickets start at €70 with three, five and seven-day tickets also available. For more information and tickets, visit szigetfestival.com.







The ‘Lust for Life’ hitmaker, Lana Del Rey will be bringing her unique style of glamorous pop melancholia to Budapest’s Sziget Festival in August. Recognized for her dreamy lyricism, tragic romance and ability to tap into historic pop culture, she’s come a long way from her New York roots. Her homemade music videos for ‘Video Games’ and ‘Blue Jeans’ went viral for their stylized cinematic qualities in the build up to her breakthrough album ‘Born to Die’, for which she won a Brit award. Her second album, ‘Paradise’ earned her two Grammy nominations

Del Rey’s most recent accomplishments include collaborations with The Weeknd, ASAP Rocky and Stevie Nicks for her number-one album ‘Lust for Life’. Recently it was revealed that the pop icon was in the process of writing a musical and shared a dreamy rendition of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s ‘You Must Love Me’, originally performed by Madonna. She is sure to exude retro sensibility with futuristic flair when she plays the sun-kissed island of Sziget this summer.

Further new additions to the Sziget 2018 line up also revealed include Fever Ray, BØRNS, Asaf Avidan, Don Diablo, Aurora, Unknown Mortal Orchestra, ZHU, Tujamo, Damian Lazarus & the Ancient Moons, Jan Blomqvist & band and SG Lewis.

Sziget is one of the world’s largest music and arts festivals. It takes place on Budapest's Óbudai-sziget, which is appropriately transformed into the 'Island of Freedom' every August. It welcomes 'Szitizens' from over 100 nations, of all backgrounds, in one place. Revelers will enjoy performances courtesy of some of today’s biggest artists, including hip-hop superstar Kendrick Lamar, and acclaimed DJ extraordinaire Kygo. There’s also the mind-blowing virtual band, Gorillaz, pop’s newest darling and 2018 Brit Award winner, Dua Lipa and the folk-rock legends Mumford & Sons who are playing a European festival exclusive.

The celebrated festival won ‘Line-Up of the Year’ at the European Festival Awards 2017 after standing out among a group of festivals including Glastonbury, Rokslide and Lollapalooza, for a second year running in a category compiled by experts and voted for by the public.

One-, three-, five- and seven-day tickets for Sziget are on sale. Prices start at just €70. For more information and tickets, visit szigetfestival.com.


Sziget 2018 line up :

Arctic Monkeys
Dua Lipa
Gorillaz
Kendrick Lamar
Kygo
Lana Del Rey
Mumford & Sons
Shawn Mendes
Liam Gallagher
Bastille
Lykke Li
Stormzy
Parov Stelar
The War On Drugs
The Kooks
MØ
Nick Murphy fka Chet Faker
Kaleo
Zara Larsson
Gogol Bordello
Clean Bandit
Blossoms
Fever Ray
Milky Chance
Børns
Wolf Alice
Lianne La Havas
Desiigner
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Asaf Avidan
Little Dragon
Cigarettes After Sex
JP Cooper
Gorgon City live
Goo Goo Dolls
Fink
Seasick Steve
Don Diablo
Above & Beyond
Unknown Mortal Orchestra
Petit Biscuit
Aurora
Nothing But Thieves
Slaves
KSHMR
Everything Everything
Borgore
ZHU
Lewis Capaldi
Lemaitre
The Living End
La Femme
Sofi Tukker
Scarlxrd
Joe Goddard live
Tujamo
Ummet Ozcan
Sam Feldt live
Jay Hardway
Delta Heavy
The Him
Seven Lions
Alle Farben
Yellow Days
Damian Lazarus & The Ancient Moons
Bilderbuch
WhoMadeWho
Shame
My Baby
Jan Blomqvist & Band
SG Lewis
Perturbator

TICKETS
Starting at €70, are available here:
https://szigetfestival.com/en/tickets/category/entry-ticket


8th-15th August 2018

The full program of Sziget Festival is still expanding as there are more than 50 venues where non-stop program will entertain the Szitizens for a whole week. This time Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Biffy Clyro, Birdy and more have been added to the line-up. Discounted tickets are available until 31st May.

Sziget Festival has multiple venues with an endless variety of program featuring the biggest headliners, the most exciting bands of today, the freshest European talents, world music performers from all over the world, the biggest DJs and many more. It is worth to take a look at the already announced performers of Sziget as it will be a really intensive week. This time Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Biffy Clyro, Birdy, Breaking Benjamin, Tycho, Don Diablo, Marteria, Allah-Las, Bakermat and HVOB have been added.

Tickets for a discounted price are available until 31st May!

All names announced so far in alphabetical order:

Alex Clare
Allah-Las
Alt-J
Andy C
Anne-Marie
Bad Religion
Bakermat
Bassjackers
Bear's Den
Biffy Clyro
Billy Talent
Birdy
Breaking Benjamin
Cashmere Cat
Charli XCX
Chef'Special
Clean Bandit
Crystal Fighters
Danny Brown
De Staat
Dimenson
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
DJ Shadow
Don Diablo
Dubioza Kollektiv
Flume
Fritz Kalkbrenner
George Ezra
GTA
GusGus
HVOB
Interpol
Jagwar Ma
Jamie Cullum
Kasabian
Kensington
Leningrad
Leon
Mac Demarco
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Major Lazer
Mando Diao
Materia
Maurice West
Metronomy
Nervo
Nothing but Thieves
OH Wonder
Oliver Heldens
P!NK
Paul Van Dyk
PJ Harvey
Rita Ora
Rone
Rudimental live
Steve Aoki
Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
The Courteeners
The Kills
The Naked and Famous
The Pretty Reckless
The Strypes
The Vaccines
Tom Odell
Two Door Cinema Club
Tycho
Valentino Khan
Vince Staples
W&W
Watsky
Weval
White Lies
Wiz Khalifa

Over the past thirty years, ever since the collective term: world music widespread for the ethnic-based music it has become one of the most popular music trends. Bands and performers became well-known from countries of which you don’t hear about too often, and where - as the Cape Verde Islands and Madagascar - record industry did not exist.

Sziget World Music Stage takes the part in the world music movement since 2000 and at its current site it serves approximately fifteen thousand people. Over the past seventeen years, the stage has gained outstanding international ranking, since all the bests of the genre have performed on it, and because it constantly reacted sensitively to the new trends and waves of world music. More than two hundred artists have accepted the invitation, the world's biggest stars from England to Guinea from Belgium to Senegal.

The world music venue providing carefree, fun "party music" pays special attention to the popular Balkan- and ska-based dance music performers, in addition to the world music stars, of course, presents the recently appeared fresh performers as well. In spite of the dance music dominance – without losing of the quality, professionalism or the ethnic features – it does not rule out the sensitive or experimental productions either.

From the returning performers might be highlighted: the Serbian Goran Bregovic – whose evergreens are spreading for decades as the anthems of the Balkans – as the front man of the inevitable Wedding and Funeral Band; the world's only Grammy-winning klezmer band, the legendary Klezmatics; the elementary Russian ska classic, celebrating the twentieth year of its existence: Leningrad; the Moroccan Gnawa revolutionizing Orchestre National de Barbés; the king of Latin ska from Sicilí: Roy Paci & Aretuska; with its cathartic "ethno-chaos" the Ukrainian DakhaBrakha, the Malian Tamikrest who are changing desert blues into desert rock; and with its overwhelming Pan-African dance music the Mokoomba from Zimbabwe.

The series of novelties is consisted of the stars of the near future, with the Gaye Su Akyol who is mixing Turkish folk music with psychedelic rock; the creator of Brazilian afrobeat: Bixiga 70; the leader of the re-blooming Latin psychedelia from Tucson, the Orkestra Mendoza; with satirical punk klezmer, the Israeli Jewish Monkeys; but here is the irresistible Chilean Chico Trujillo as well. Finally the Mongol Hanggai presents its rock based throat singing; it turns out why Magnifico is the "Balkan charlatan"; and why the young Portuguese Marta Rent is cited among the biggest American soul singers of the sixties. From the very popular multicultural French bands this year Zoufris Maracas and La Gapette will entertain the audience, and then we have not talked about the line-up of Roma music every night...

However, the site will also pamper the gypsy music lovers. John Langan Band from Glasgow will have its first debut in Hungary, with its Celtic-punk, Balkan, flamenco mixture. The Balkan and Latin music will take a hold of the audience at the multi-ethnic concert of the Barcelona-based Electrorumbaiao, while the French La Caravane Passe will bring the world of jazz.
As we mentioned above, there will be several Hungarian productions as well. And the same stylistic richness, variety and "party spirit" will be presented at their concerts as at the international performer’s concerts.
After all, who could resist the crushing-jumping "speed-freak-folk-punk" madness of Betyars Bohemian; the internationally also well-known ska band; the Romengo bringing all the charm of traditional Roma music; or the Besh o droM mixing Eastern European and Balkan music with crazy energy?
In 2017, for the first time, there will be a special Day 0 program focusing on the Hungarian world music performers, featuring the following six bands: Zoord, Parno Graszt, Kerekes Band, Söndörgő, Lajkó Félix and Óperentzia.

Tickets
Passes are still available for Sziget Festival, both 7-day and 5-day passes. The first 2 days, 9-10 August are not included in the 5-day passes. Day tickets are available for all 7 days. Tickets for a discounted price are available until 31 May.

Sziget Festival, one of the biggest multicultural music & arts festival, will once again host a colorful music program. This time Wiz Khalifa, Rita Ora, Paul Van Dyk and more have been announced to the line-up. Discounted tickets are available until 31st May.

What: Sziget Festival
Where: Óbuda Island, Budapest, Hungary
When: 9-16 August, 2017
Website: www.szigetfestival.com
Ticket link: http://szigetfestival.com/tickets/category/entry-ticket
Official Aftermovie: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2-6NB2SEgLk

Sziget Festival is known for its diverse program held on a huge island in the middle of Budapest. The festival has more than 50 program venues and music goes on 24/7. Among the line-up one can already find Kasabian, Major Lazer, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Flume, PJ Harvey, Alt-J and many more. This time Wiz Khalifa was announced for the Dan Panaitescu Main Stage as well as Rita Ora. To the endless program of the huge A38 Tent Alex Clare, Dimension, The Courteeners, Her and The Vaccines were confirmed. The gigantic tent of the Arena will welcome Paul Van Dyk and Bassjackers among the already announced other names.

All names announced so far in alphabetical order:

Alex Clare
Alt-J
Andy C
Anne-Marie
Bad Religion
Bassjackers
Bear's Den
Billy Talent
Cashmere Cat
Charli XCX
Chef'Special
Clean Bandit
Crystal Fighters
Danny Brown
De Staat
Dimenson
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
DJ Shadow
Dubioza Kollektiv
Flume
Fritz Kalkbrenner
George Ezra
GTA
GusGus
Her
Interpol
Jagwar Ma
Jamie Cullum
Kasabian
Kensington
Leningrad
León
Mac Demarco
Major Lazer
Mando Diao
Maurice West
Metronomy
Nervo
Nothing but Thieves
OH Wonder
Oliver Heldens
Paul Van Dyk
PJ Harvey
Rita Ora
Rone
Rudimental live
Steve Aoki
Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
The Courteeners
The Kills
The Naked and Famous
The Pretty Reckless
The Strypes
The Vaccines
Tom Odell
Two Door Cinema Club
Valentino Khan
Vince Staples
W&W
Watsky
Weval
White Lies
Wiz Khalifa

Sziget Festival is on the European festival radar for 25 years now, bringing music and art from all genres to the huge island. Programs never stop, one can always find music or any activity non-stop during the 7 days. There are more than 50 program venues where contemporary circus, art, dance and many more entertain the Szitizens, apart from the music acts. This time, besides the already announced names, we can find PJ Harvey, Alt-J, Rudimental live, George Ezra, White Lies and Dubioza Kolektiv on the Dan Panaitescu Main Stage. One of the favorite venues of the festival, the huge A38 tent, will host once again music for all like The Naked and Famous, Mando Diao, Anne-Marie, Andy C, Watsky, Nothing But Thieves, Léon, Bear’s Den, Chef’Special, De Staat, Valentino Khan, The Strypes, Rone and Weval among the already announced names. The electronic party central of the island, the giant tent of Arena, is happy to have Steve Aoki and Nervo this round.

All names announced so far in alphabetical order:

Alt-J
Andy C
Anne-Marie
Bad Religion
Bear's Den
Billy Talent
Cashmere Cat
Charli XCX
Chef'Special
Clean Bandit
Crystal Fighters
Danny Brown
De Staat
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
DJ Shadow
Dubioza Kolektiv
Flume
Fritz Kalkbrenner
George Ezra
GTA
GusGus
Interpol
Jagwar Ma
Jamie Cullum
Kasabian
Kensington
Leningrad
León
Mac Demarco
Major Lazer
Mando Diao
Maurice West
Metronomy
Nervo
Nothing but Thieves
OH Wonder
Oliver Heldens
PJ Harvey
Rone
Rudimental live
Steve Aoki
Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
The Kills
The Naked and Famous
The Pretty Reckless
The Strypes
Tom Odell
Two Door Cinema Club
Vince Staples
W&W
Watsky
Weval
White Lies

Sziget Festival, the one-week music and arts festival, will once again have a colorful and exciting line-up. This time Kasabian, Interpol, Billy Talent, Flume, Crystal Fighters, Charli XCX and many more have been added. The 25th Island of Freedom will be held on a beautiful green island in the middle of Budapest between 9-16 August, 2017.

Sziget is a place where more than 50 venues await its Szitizens during 7 days non-stop. Probably this is the biggest multicultural festival, where almost 500.000 people meet from more than 100 countries to celebrate. Awarded this year as Artists’ Favorite Festival at the European Festival Award, Sziget now received all awards that are out there on the European festival scene. The program is announced continuously, but this time organizers have added 16 new names to the line-up.

The music program always aims to be as colorful as possible, representing almost all genres.
Among the 16 names now we can find many who will perform on the Main Stage of the island as Kasabian, Billy Talent, Jamie Cullum, The Kills, Clean Bandit and Metronomy. The gigantic tent of A38 will host superb productions as Interpol, Flume, Crystal Fighters, The Pretty Reckless, Fritz Kalkbrenner, Jagwar Ma, Charli XCX, Cashmere Cat, Danny Brown while the home for electronic music, the Arena will welcome Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano as well as Maurice West. The energetic band, Leningrad will perform on the World Music Stage.

Party never stops on the island, but besides music there are hundreds of programs representing the most important performing arts as circus, contemporary theatre and dance, street theatres and many more. In addition, activities are uncountable when it comes to arts & crafts, sports, cinema. The full program with all fun, music, performing arts and activities will come in the upcoming months.

All names announced so far in alphabetical order:

Bad Religion
Billy Talent
Cashmere Cat
Charli XCX
Clean Bandit
Crystal Fighters
Danny Brown
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
DJ Shadow
Fritz Kalkbrenner
GTA
GusGus
Interpol
Jagwar Ma
Jamie Cullum
Kasabian
Kensington
Leningrad
Mac Demarco
Major Lazer
Maurice West
Metronomy
OH Wonder
Oliver Heldens
Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano
The Kills
The Pretty Reckless
Tom Odell
Two Door Cinema Club
Vince Staples
W&W

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget Festival, the Island of Freedom, a week-long festival holiday in Budapest has just announced the first 14 names of the line-up. The announcement series will be continuous from now on, featuring not only music, but contemporary theatre, circus, art and many more! Sziget is held between 9-16 August 2017 and passes for a discounted price are available till 31st December.

Sziget Festival takes place on a beautiful green island in the middle of Budapest, where more than 500,000 Szitizens unite from more than 100 countries to celebrate. Sziget has received the award for ‘Best Major European Festival’ twice, while last year it was awarded for the festival with the ‘Best Line-Up’. The program of Sziget breaks down to more than 50 venues, where one can not only plan to see top headline acts on the Main Stage, but can experience a unique vibe, where the program is on 24/7.

The series of announcements for the festival has now started. Hundreds of acts and programs will be announced in the forthcoming months, now starting with 14 names, representing different genres and keeping the music line-up as colorful as always. Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike will host the spectacular End Show of the 25th Sziget, happening as the last act on the Main Stage, on the last festival day. Major Lazer will also take over the Main Stage of Sziget as a headline act, while Tom Odell will bring his charm as well as Two Door Cinema Club. The gigantic tent of A38 will also host numerous acts. From the very firsts here are the following: Bad Religion, DJ Shadow, Kensington, Mac DeMarco, Oh Wonder, Vince Staples, GusGus and GTA. Kicking off the program of the Arena: Oliver Heldens and W&W are the first to be confirmed. Many more are expected to be announced for even more venues in the upcoming months.

Tickets
During the kick-off 25 hours of ticket sales, more than 25% of passes were sold, while now one can buy passes for a discounted price until 31st December.

First names announced (in alphabetical order):
Bad Religion
Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike
DJ Shadow
GTA
GusGus
Kensington
Mac DeMarco
Major Lazer
Oh Wonder
Oliver Heldens
Tom Odell
Two Door Cinema Club
Vince Staples
W&W

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Become a Szitizen Prime for #sziget2017 and let’s celebrate the 25th Sziget together! The Szitizen Prime holders are the first inhabitants of the Island of Freedom, and you can become one by buying your 7-Day or 5-Day Pass in the first 25 hours of ticket sales. If you do this, you will also receive a Szitizen Prime package delivered to your address! Take a look what you will receive for sure with buying your best priced tickets!

A limited edition Szitizen Prime T-shirt, which you can wear to let everyone know you are one of the first inhabitants of the Island of Freedom. A super cool pair of Szitizen Prime socks to help keep you warm in the cold winter months. A unique Sziget Patch for your favorite clothes or bags
Sziget stickers to stick anywhere you like. A Sziget pin to show you are a proud Szitizen Prime member.

By buying your 7-Day or 5-Day pass within 25 hours of the ticket sales on September 25, you will not only receive a Szitizen Prime package, but you also have the chance to get an extra VIP package!

With the Szitizen Prime VIP packages you will be able to view a concert we pick from the Front of House tower of the Main Stage, participate in the ultimate backstage tour, have dinner at the backstage catering of the Main Stage, and you will receive the 13-day Citypass to explore Budapest!

Don't forget: ticket sales start today!
You have 25 hours: 5 PM (CEST), 25 September - 6 PM (CEST), 26 September!


As Sziget is a 7-Day event it is important that you have a good place to rest and take a break from all the partying, whether it’s during the day or night. Fortunately for you, Sziget offers a variety of on-site accommodation options so that you can choose the one best fit to your liking.

Sziget is unique because you can sleep wherever you want - this option is included in your 7-day/5-day pass! This is our Basic Camping option. But don’t worry, in case you are looking for something more, you can still book your spot to one of our upgrade campsites! And you can choose from our glamping packages if you fancy staying in a more private comfy accommodation.

Sziget Festival has reached a new milestone by selling out all of the 7 Days Passes before July. The Island of Freedom will also set a new record in the number of nationalities represented at the event, as presales ticket buyers come from a total of 102 countries. Important hint for late-buyers: day tickets are still available, but make sure you decide quickly!

The Budapest-based major festival has attracted a growing number of visitors for the last years and – in spite of an increased capacity – has already sold all 5 Days and 7 Days Passes for the 2016 edition. All Sziget passes include camping possibility, so the organizers also wanted to make sure Szitizens staying onsite can find enough places for their tents.

‘2016 is clearly a record-breaking year for us. We’ve never sold so many tickets so quickly, which is good for the company as well. Besides working as hard as we can, we’re also very proud of the fact that fans from all over the world trust us and join us for this magic week!’ – said Tamas Kadar, CEO of Sziget Cultural Management. ‘Of course we’re also happy to welcome visitors with day tickets, but I would like to urge everybody not to leave buying these at the last moment, because the quantity is limited’.

More information and day tickets available at szigetfestival.com

If you want to become a Szitizen of #sziget2016 you better hurry up as we have less than 1000 passes left for this year’s Island of Freedom! Come and join us and have the best time of your summer!

Sziget, the week-long festival in the middle of Budapest, has a colorful and exciting program variety that is now considered ready. The more than 1500 programs taking place non-stop on the island can now be checked on the festival website. Less than 5% of the Sziget passes are available at the moment and with the current sales dynamic they will most probably sell out by the end of June.

A beautiful green island on the Danube, is the location of the non-stop music and arts festival, Sziget, in the middle of August. The program is now complete and there will be around 1500 things to do during the 168 hours. The multicultural gathering where Szitizens are already coming from 98 countries will be a massive celebration. The Main Stage will host The Chemical Brothers, Rihanna, Manu Chao La Ventura, Muse, David Guetta, SIA, Hardwell, Die Antwoord, Jake Bugg, Bastille, John Newman, Sigur Rós, Tinie Tempah, Years & Years, Kaiser Chiefs, Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds, The Lumineers, The Last Shadow Puppets and more! The OTP Bank A38 stage will bring its well-known vibrant atmosphere this year with: MØ, Travis Scott, Kovacs, Editors, Unkle, Kodaline, Róisín Murphy, Boy, Bloc Party, Tourist, The Neighborhood, CHVRCHES, M83, Fidlar, Jess Gylnne, Crystal Castles and many many more! The electronic party scene will shift this time as well to the Telekom Arena where Afrojack, Vinai, Dyro, Fedde Le Grand, DVBBS, Zedd, Nicky Romero, Laidback Luke and many more will entertain Szitizens. Moreover more than 10 other stages will wait the music lovers with different genres as well as more than 40 other program venues, where art, fun and many activities will be in the focus!

Károly Gerendai, founder of Sziget Festival, said: "If tickets will sell with this dynamic, they will be sold by the end of June. After this point only day tickets will be available that are also selling out with record-speed. Our previous experience was that day tickets were bought on-the-spot, but now more than 40% of day tickets are sold in advance."

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

The line-up of Sziget Festival is getting more and more diverse, representing all genres. This time The Chemical Brothers, Tinie Tempah, Editors, BOY, BØRNS, Fedde Le Grand, Laidback Luke and many more were added to the line-up. This one is the last major music announcement of the 7 day festival, as the program is almost ready. Tickets are selling out with record speed, so those who would like to party non-stop for 7 days and enjoy the Sziget vibe, should definitely act now.

The program of more the more than 50 program venues are continuously being added to the seven days of fun of the Island of Freedom. At Sziget visitors cannot only enjoy the biggest acts playing on the Main Stage and other popular venues, but also discover exciting installations, programs and many art forms as contemporary circus, theatre, dance, street theatres and many more! The non-stop program variety of the seven days is almost ready, the detailed schedule is coming up next week.

On the Main Stage The Chemical Brothers will be performing on 10 August and Tinie Tempah on 14 August. For the past twenty years, The Chemical Brothers have redefined the idea of live electronic music. All the while, it has adhered to the same basic idea: that the gig should create its own transcendent audio/visual space where the audience can lose themselves for the duration of the set. Tinie Tempah, the British rapper will definitely bring some great vibes to the Main Stage. He remains one of the most likeable pop stars today.

The OTP Bank A38 Stage is happy to host Editors, who are now officially back, the charismatic duo of Valeska Steiner and Sonja Glass aka BOY, American musician and singer BØRNS as well as Wiwek, Snails, Maduk ft. MC Mota, Noisia 'Outer Edges' and Kasra.

The gigantic tent of electronic music has also a pretty good number of names, where next to the already announced acts of Afrojack, Vinai, Dyro, DVBBS, Zedd, Nicky Romero now Jay Hardway, Volt&State, Fedde Le Grand, D-Wayne, Tujamo and Laidback Luke have been added. The Telekom Arena will also host Apster, StadiumX, Breathe Carolina, Nick Talos, Blinders, 2empress, Ravitez, Las Salinas and Yves V.

Tickets are selling out this year with record-speed. The 5 days passes are no longer available and more than 90% of the 7 days passes are already sold. So, those who would like to enjoy the 7 days of the Island of Freedom should hurry up.

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

The time has arrived for the last major music announcement for #sziget2016! The program is almost ready, you can check the daily schedule starting from next week! Stay excited for the announcements of the more than 50 other program venues, where you will definitely spend the time of your life! :) Tickets this year are selling out with record-speed, so if you want to join us in the 7 days celebration than you should get your ticket in advance in time!


Last, but not least welcome:

The Chemical Brothers / Tinie Tempah / Editors /
Fedde Le Grand / Laidback Luke / Breathe Carolina / BOY / D-Wayne / Jay Hardway / Noisia 'Outer Edges' /
Maduk ft. MC Mota / Kasra / Snails / StadiumX / Yves V / Wiwek / 2empress / Apster / Blinders / Las Salinas /
Nick Talos / Ravitez / Tujamo / Volt & State

Sziget Festival is once again expecting a record turnout as already 90% of the passes are sold. Szitizens come already from 95 countries, so Sziget will once again become a giant multi-cultural gathering with 7 days of great music, arts and many more. Sziget is held on a beautiful green island in the middle of Budapest between 10-17 August.

The Island of Freedom is one of the best-known and most international festivals, taking its own path and highlighting the fact that it’s a lot more than just a sequence of concerts. Sziget has been elected the 'Best Major European Festival' several times and last year's Island of Freedom was awarded as the festival with the 'Best Line-Up' in Europe. The 7 days non-stop festival does not only host well-known acts from all genres, but non-musical programs are at least as important as the main stage acts. Sziget traditionally presents a huge variety of artistic projects, also showcasing non-musical programs, like circus, theatre, dance, exhibitions and so on. Besides, it’s also an important Sziget-mission to give space to the colourful world of music, so opera, folk music, world music, or classical tunes are all strongly represented at the festival.

The 2016 festival already welcomes Szitizens from 95 countries, so it is guaranteed that it will once again be a huge international, multi-cultural gathering with a lot of fun. 5 Days Passes are already sold out for more than a month now, but 10% of the 7 days passes are still available, so those who want to be part of this experience should get their tickets as soon as possible. Those coming for couple of days can put together their Sziget time with day tickets, available also in a limited number. Although the upgrade campsites are no longer available, camping spots are available on the festival area with services in the Sziget City Center.

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Don’t miss out the chance to get your 7 Days Pass for a discounted price of 249€ that includes 7 days of non-stop experience!

We already announced the following names and there are many more to come:

Rihanna * Muse * David Guetta * Sia
Manu Chao La Ventura * Hardwell – Sziget End Show
Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds * Bastille
Sigur Rós * The Last Shadow Puppets * John Newman
The Lumineers * DIE ANTWOORD * Sum 41
Kaiser Chiefs * Parov Stelar * Nicky Romero
Crystal Castles * Years & Years * M83 * Jake Bugg CHVRCHES * Róisín Murphy * Bloc Party * MØ
Travis Scott * BRING ME THE HORIZON
Bullet for My Valentine * Jess Glynne * Skunk Anansie
Afrojack * Parkway Drive * Zedd * DVBBS * Kodaline
Wilkinson Live * Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg
The Neighbourhood * Dillon Francis * Carnage
Naughty Boy * Vinai * Molotov * Fidlar * Excision * Dyro
Unkle live * Boys Noize * K.I.Z. * Datsik * Aurora TroyBoi * Movits * Oscar And The Wolf * Kovacs
Rico & Sticks # Opgezwolletotnu * Tourist * JAIN
Dj Sliink
and many others

Sziget Festival is known for 7 days of non-stop programs at more than 50 venues. Here visitors can encounter all music genres and probably all art forms as well. The Colosseum venue built entirely by pallets will once again host numerous electro DJs, who will definitely bring the beats to this artsy location. Tickets for Sziget are selling out real quick and advanced round tickets for a discounted price are available until 5th May.

Colosseum is one of the most beloved electro venues at Sziget Festival. The open-air round-shape installation opens every day at noon and does not stop till sunrise. This year the built-up itself will come to a new life, but the much awaited acts of the genre will not change. This year the main acts of the venue operating for 7 days will feature Tale Of Us, The Martinez Brothers, Mind Against, Sasha, Sharam, Sam Paganini, Butch, John Digweed, Max Cooper, Woo York (live), Pulsinger & IRL, Kevin Luke, &Me, Boddika, Behrouz, Mendo, Johannes Heil, Dorisburg (live), Nastia and Demi.

Tickets are selling out real quick for this year's Sziget Festival and passes for a discounted price are available until 5th May. So those who would like to feel the real Sziget vibe, should definitely get their tickets in time.

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks!

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget is the Island of Freedom and also the winner of the ‘Best European Festival Line-up Award’ in 2015. To live up to its traditions, the festival continues to build its identity upon a very diverse and open-minded program structure, making sure that it is much more than ‘just’ a music festival. Sziget tickets are selling with record speed this year, so visitors do well to buy their passes as early as possible. This year will bring along some new developments focusing on environmental protection, hygiene, spectacular installations and the quality of services. Sziget Festival takes place in Budapest between 10-17 August, 2016.

Last year's Sziget week hosted altogether 441 thousand people. Not only Szitizens, but the industry, artists and press reflected to #sziget2015 as the best Sziget so far. The Island of Freedom already received the "Best Major European Festival" award twice, but last year it was awarded as the festival with the "Best European Line-up".

Károly Gerendai, Main Organizer and Founder of the festival said: "After such an esteemed past it is not easy to organize a better festival, but we will definitely give it a try. Last year we closed Sziget 2015 with 3 completely sold out days, where Sziget hosted 90 thousand people, this time we prepare for a sold out week. 5 days passes are already sold out and almost three-quarter of the 7 days passes are also sold. The ticket prices will change this year 5th May, so we definitely expect many tickets to sell until then. Also important to add that even before the announcements many passes were already gone. We can explain this with the unique Sziget atmosphere as one of the most important motives for visitors to choose Sziget."

This unique atmosphere has been the essential part of Sziget from the beginning, merging a diverse music line-up with many programs beyond music as theatre, dance, circus and many more. This is all topped with quality services, exciting visuals and spectacular installations. These are the guarantees of success on a very packed festival market.

Art of Freedom
When it comes to the visual landscape of Sziget, Gerendai added, that Sziget received more than 200 applications to its Art of Freedom tender this year. These ideas and concepts arrived from designers, sculptors, artists or just enthusiastic "amateurs" from all over the world. Out of all applications almost 100 will come to life in any corner of the island. These gigantic installations and peculiar lights bring one, very important aspect to the previously mentioned special Sziget atmosphere, so all day, visitors can wander to one of the 50 venues through many worlds.

Environmental protection & service developments
Since the first Sziget, organizers work year by year to develop a great system for environmental protection. They find it crucially important to promote the concept of a sustainable festival, so this year there will be special campaigns and dedicated communication to help boost environmentally friendly festival time spending. This year's theme will be recycling, conscious consumer shopping, selective waste collection, use of green energy and many more. The commercial actors of the festival will be banned to use plastic bags and the food stalls will use compostable and recycled materials. Besides the already numerous bins, this year there separate cigarette stub holders will be introduced as well. Connected to recycling and the humanitarian spirit of the Island of Freedom, organizers will continue with last year's successful campaign, to ask Szitizens to collect their camping accessories, tents, blankets, mattresses which they are not willing to take home and dedicate it to the refugees.

Hygiene at Sziget has always been above average, but this year the toilet and shower blocks will be further developed and the number of cleaning staff will be increased as well. This time not only the increase of comfort is the guiding principle, but also to make these unites as visually part of island as possible. Part of the easy guidance on the huge island, there will be a great development to make it even easier to find the different program venues on the island.

The gastronomy landscape of Sziget aims to be both diverse and high quality. This time even more restaurants will be present from outside Hungary. For instance FoodStock, festival kitchen of the Slovakian restaurant Fou Zoo, will also bring a nice twist to the wide variety of hamburgers, pizzas, the most exciting food trucks, Hungarian specialties and prominent kitchens from all over the world.

The cashless payment system this year at Sziget will be operated by Festipay, now part of the Sziget group. The festival visitors can meet countless innovative developments, so one cannot only follow where certain amounts were spent or the current balance, but also register a credit card and top-up the festival card without standing in line. The international debut of a brand new virtual festival card, that will allow full payment services through mobile phones, will also be at Sziget.

Security
Every year organizers emphasize the importance and priority of security of its Szitizens. The activities of Sziget have been outstanding previously as well, but development is crucial all the time. This year the number of security staff will be increased and the biggest development will be visible around the entrances. A new "check-in" system will operate, just as the one at the airports. So, when exchanging the voucher to a wristband the visitors will be asked to show their ID and check-in to the festival. A camera system installed at the entrances will monitor the person exchanging the ticket and entering.

Program

Music program of 2016

The Main Stage will again host the biggest acts of Sziget for 7 days, starting on Wednesday, 10th August. Szitizens can enjoy Rihanna, Jake Bugg, Manu Chao La Ventura, Muse, David Guetta, Sia, Sigur Rós, Noel Gallager's High Flying Birds, The Last Shadow Puppets, Bastille, John Newman, The Lumineers, Years&Years and many more. This year's End Show will be hosted by Hardwell. The lovely tent of the OTP Bank A38 Stage will host acts like MØ, Travis Scott, Jain, Kovacs, Unkle, Kodaline, Róisín Murphy, Tourist, The Neighbourhood, CHVRCHES, M83, Dillon Francis, Aurora, Carnage, Fidlar, Jess Glynne and Crystal Castles. More announcements for both stages are still expected.

One of the most vibrant stages of Sziget, the World Music Stage, will once again bring some party! Performers are coming from all around the world, bringing super exciting productions such as Buika, Goran Bregovic Wedding and Funeral Band, Leningrad, Rachid Taha, Systema Solar, Soviet Suprem, Kultur Shock, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra and many more. The electronic music scene is represented at two dedicated venues, the Telekom Arena and the Colosseum. The already announced acts for the Telekom Arena are Afrojack, Vinai, Dyro, DVBBS, Zedd and Nicky Romero. There are many more to come! In addition, the Colosseum is a very special party venue, as it is built entirely on pallets. The line-up will come shortly.

The concept behind the Europe Stage is to host solid European bands, who have already proven their talent in their home countries and now have the opportunity to showcase their music in front of Sziget fans from more than 80 countries. The program of the stage is not ready yet, announcements are continuous, but the acts we already know are: I Ministri, The Zen Circus and Salmo from Italy, Ceza from Turkey, La Smala from Belgium, Perturbator and Deluxe from France, Brunettes Shoot Blondes from Ukraine, Therr Maitz from Russia, Israeli Maya Isacowitz, Isolation Berlin and Die Nerven from Germany, Golan from Romania, En.Dru from Czech Republic, Palace Winter from Denmark, Abu and Serafyn from Switzerland, Thunder & Co. and Groove Salvation from Portugal and Queer Jane from Slovakia. The slots on 10th & 11th August (Day -1 and Day 0) are dedicated to the up-and-coming European talents, who will come from 16 European countries. These bands are the winners of the Sziget talent contests organized in their countries, who will showcase their music on these special dedicated days on the Europe Stage.

The Petőfi Radio - Telekom VOLT Festival stage will once again host the most popular and promising bands of the Hungarian music scene, as Kiscsillag, Bin-Jip, Péterfy Bori & Love Band, Hiperkarma, MiddleMist Red or Szabó Balázs bandája while, The Budapest Park Tribute Stage will bring some well-known tunes to the party. One of the most authentic venues of the island is the Campfire venue, where Szitizens, who received the most votes through the Campfire application bring the music. Strictly acoustic, besides the campfire. The winner 25 groups will perform at a new location. The Blues Pub will host those who love blues music. Among the performers we can find Errol Linton from the UK, Leif de Leeuw Band and Erik Ankoné from the Netherlands, the Krakow Street Band from Poland and Hungarian bands as Jambalaya, Tom White & the Mad Circus, Lead Zeppelin, or the Jack Canon Band. The Lightstage designed by the Blokk Építészműhely will be decorated with hundreds of lights, which will shine on the beautiful green grass of the entrance of Camping Alternativa. The stage, in cooperation with Puglia Sounds music export office, will host Italian, French, Dutch and Hungarian talents as L'Orso, Barbados, Bugo, Dirty Harry’s Dynamite, Giosada & Band, Landlord, Lola, Lysergic, Mama Marjas, Osc2X, Selton, or Teapot Industries.

The "Soul of Sziget" - non-musical programs at Sziget 2016

The programs, that actually make Sziget different from any other festival, are those that are spread all around the island on numerous locations, making the festival vibe a real cultural experience. The French Transe Express will be this year's Giant Street Theatre company at Sziget, who will bring their newest production called 'Mù', which will invite the Szitizens to the wonderful world of Jules Verne, where we can follow the members of the company from the depth of the seas through fire and air straight to the Moon. This is a very spectacular and amazing production that will definitely enchant the viewers! The Cirque du Sziget will bring unique and spectacular productions once again, where great international new-circus companies will arrive and entertain the crowd. The German More Promotions will bring their production called 'Soap', arriving from Australia, the company of Circa will bring their production called 'Beyond' . The Québec Circus School from Canada is bringing 'La Souche' and the Hungarian Circus Institute will be also present at the venue with the performance called 'The Ball', performed together with the students of the Québec Circus School. 'Miss Dolly' is the performance of the French company of Marcel et ses drôles de femmes. Also from Canada, Les Dudes will perform 'Let's do this!' , while the Hungarian company Recirquel is coming back to Sziget with their performance 'Paris De Nuit' .

The Theatre and Dance Tent will host once again the most exciting contemporary theatre and dance companies at two venues: in the tent itself and also on an outdoor stage. Outside we can meet the youngest generation of contemporary dance both from Hungary and all over the world. From Hungary we can meet Milán Újvári, Adél Juhász and Áron Porteleki, Viktor Szeri and Júlia Vavra as well as Body Lotion, formation of Virág Arany and Júlia Lányi. József Trefeli and Gábor Varga will bring their production called 'Jinx 103'. From the international scene we can see three performances on the outdoor stage: Maastheater from Rotterdam bringing 'Twins' and 'Play it Back'. From Israel arrives Roni Chadash and Etay Axelros and Chiaki Horita. In addition, Turkish Ziya Azazi comes back to Sziget with the performance called 'Ember' . In the tent there will be performances twice a day, so Szitizens can check out the world famous Hiroaki Umeda with the so called 'Fluid Intelligence'. The Japanese choreographer is working with five Hungarian dancers this year on this play that will have its debut at Sziget. Important to mention the other companies as E.sperimenti Dance Company, the National Dance Company of Wales, the Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company, Dani Pannullo Dancetheatre Company and Cortez-Fontán.

The Hungarikum Village will once again bring to Sziget the Hungarian countryside and show Szitizens what Hungarian customs, virtue, food and drinks are all about. Every year has a special theme, this time it will be the "toys and games". The fresh and dynamic venue of Sziget, the Afo-Latin-Reggae Village will be very colorful again! Every day special workshops, dance and drum lessons, yoga classes, capoeira, salsa, samba, African dance and drum workshops, Northern African belly dance and Afro-Caribbean dance workshops will await the Szitizens. Straight from Senegal, the Sory Ballet Camara will bring their authentic African dance and drumshow production and also representing the South-Asian reggae scene Ras Muhamad from Indonesia will bring some nice beats.

The Sziget Beach is one of the most popular venues, as it is the place to be if one wants to enjoy the sun and chill in the Danube. This year Sziget Beach will be teamed up again with the Cökxpôn Chill Garden, where the only thing to do is "chill". The venue of the Classical, Opera and Jazz Stage will host Gabriel Prokofiev, who is the grandson of the famous musician. At the venue Szitizens can not only enjoy contemporary opera, but can also interact with the artists when it comes to conducting or composing. Fans of jazz should also migrate here as great concerts and programs will await them.

The venue of the Travelling Funfair "Vándor Vurstli" will bring a unique atmosphere, a magical world to Sziget, where everything is possible and we can all turn back time. There will be a lot of shooting, tossing and striking game-structures all with some fanfare music! This time Szitizens can also enjoy the Catalan Automatarium and the white caravan of the Omnivolant. The small street theatres bring life to any corner of Sziget, you don't even know where you will meet them! This year Sziget welcomes Brincadeira, Sarruga and Murmuyo.

The Museum Quarter is where Szitizens can meet the most important Hungarian museums in a highly interactive and fun way. However this year there is also a special guest, the Musée national de l'historie de l'immigration. The prestigious museum from Paris together with the Museum of Ethnography from Budapest will have an almost 30 meters long exhibition and interactive program series focusing on the topic of borders. This way the center of attention will be the borders and migration, where they will show migration issues starting from the fall of the Berlin Wall.

The I Ching Labyrinth is an interactive venue, where visitors can learn about themselves and help them to discover unknown truths with the help of the I Ching, the Chinese Book of Changes, and the 64 hexagrams.The exiting and interesting venue of GameLandHub will present the digitally controlled world around us. Besides digital games, traditional games also can be found as well as the new generation of the world’s best and latest party board games. Here Szitizens can also master their knowledge of the Rubik's Cube and play poker as well. At the venue of the Chess Tent Szitizens can start learning or strengthen their chess knowledge.

Similarly to last year Hungarian movies will be screened at Sziget with English subtitles at the #szigetcinema venue, while at the TEDx Club one can come to debate, talk, discuss smaller and larger topics of the world. Many creative ideas will be revealed here and Szitizens can meet Hungarian and international speakers coming from different fields. The Magic Mirror is the resident queer and LGBT venue of Sziget. The venue is the host of man discussions this year in English language brought to the Szitizens by Kristóf Steiner, while the movie screenings will once again feature the queer movies of the Berlinale Film Festival, where the Q&As will be hosted by Kristian Petersen. This year Dave Thompson will bring some laughter with his stand-up performances and finishing the program every day, Szitizens can enjoy the Variéte show, this time directed by Markus Pabst, who is the founder of the Base Berlin. The show will feature artists as David Pereira and Jack Woodhead.

In the ArtZone, Szitizens will have the opportunity to try out different art forms and to create arts and crafts. In the main focus we can find re-cycled materials and with the help of the most prominent artistic groups there will be several opportunities to be creative. This year the Architects of Air are arriving with Trilumin-Luminarium. A Luminarium is an 800 square meter inflatable sculpture made up of labyrinthine tunnels and inspiring spacious domes - a sensual world of liquid-light and color. The interactive and community art project of the Before I Die encourages people to share their personal desires, secrets and fears in one common space. The giant board of Candy Chang will await Szitizens to leave those they would like to see/feel/experience before they die.

In partnership with sport associations Sziget's aim is to provide a place for Szitizens to get to know various new sport activities or just find some leisure time enjoying their favorite sports. This place is the SportsZone, where in 2016, the year of the Olympics and the UEFA European Championships Sziget is planning special activities and surprises, such as establishing a center for the Olympics with live broadcast of the events of Olympic Games. At the NGO Island Sziget is awaiting organizations with multilingual programs in important subjects as being environmentally friendly, human rights and minority rights, drug prevention, social issues and education. The Ability Park is an internationally awarded interactive adventure park that shows visitors in a fun way what persons with disabilities experience in their everyday lives.

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks!

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget Festival is a non-stop music and arts festival with hundreds of program offered every day for its 7 days. This time some new names have been added to the line-up such as Afrojack, Die Antwoord, Skunk Anansie, Troyboi and many more. Sziget is held on a lovely green island in the middle of Budapest between 10-17 August. Advance round 1 tickets are available until 5th May.

Sziget aims to represent as many genres and art forms as possible. This is the place where contemporary circus and EDM are neighbors and where the to-do list of visitors is just endless. The list of program venues are expanding continuously as the programs themselves. You can find the map of program venues here:
http://szigetfestival.com/info/map

New names

Grammy Award winning Dutch DJ and producer Afrojack, will definitely make a great party at Sziget, as well as the South African rap-rave group of Die Antwoord. The Canadian-born, LA based duo of DVBBS will definitely bring their high-energy presence behind (and on top of) the deck at Sziget. Szitizens can celebrate the anniversary of the birth of Punk; 40th anniversary with Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg, while Skunk Anansie will return to Sziget with a great live show. TroyBoi, one of South East London's most closely guarded secrets has recently emerged from the shadows and is set to take the music industry by storm, now coming to the Island of Freedom. Moreover ZEDD, Russian-German Grammy Award winning musician and DJ is also coming as well as Carnage.

Already announced names in alphabetical order:

Afrojack
Aurora
Bastille
Bloc Party
Boys Noize
Bring Me The Horizon
Bullet For My Valentine
Carnage
CHVRCHES
Crystal Castles
Datsik
David Guetta
Die Antwoord
Dillon Francis
DJ Sliink
DVBBS
Dyro
Excision
FIDLAR
Hardwell
JAIN
Jake Bugg
Jess Glynne
John Newman
K.I.Z.
Kaiser Chiefs
Kodaline
Kovacs
M83
Manu Chao La Ventura
Marky Ramone's Blitzkrieg
MØ
Molotov
Movits!
Muse
Naughty Boy
Nicky Romero
Noel Gallagher
Oscar and the Wolf
Parkway Drive
Parov Stelar
Rico & Sticks
Rihanna
Róisín Murphy
SIA
Sigur Rós
Skunk Anansie
Sum 41
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Lumineers
The Neighbourhood
Tourist
Travis Scott
TroyBoi
Unkle (live)
Vinai
Wilkinson (live)
Years & Years
Zedd

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks! Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget, the week-long music and arts festival in Budapest, is happy to announce the program of its World Music Stage. This year the venue will start its program on Day 0, 11th August, opening with Buika and following with such names as Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Band, Leningrad, Rachid Taha and many more from all over the globe. The Island of Freedom will happen between 10-17 August.

Sziget continuously offers one of the most diverse and progressive music programs, presenting artists from across the globe. This year, music fans can enjoy some first-class music at Sziget’s World Music Stage where concerts will start in the afternoon going till the evening, but the venue will not close afterwards as DJs will bring the beats till sunrise. This year the World Music Stage will already open on Day 0, so 11th August.


The program

Buika combines all manner of styles along with her emotionally charged lyrics and a broken sensuality in her voice. Her numerous awards and honors attest to that. It will be a great start to the program of the venue. A very much awaited act, Leningrad, will definitely spice up the hot August day. The Russian band plays ska with punk, combining their music also with Russian marches, dance and folk songs. Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Band will bring superb energies as his music marries sounds of a gypsy brass band with traditional Bulgarian polyphonies. The great atmosphere and dancing is guaranteed. Rachid Taha is an Algerian singer based in France. His music is influenced by many different styles such as rock, electronic, punk and raï. From Hungary, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra, will bring deep rooted traditional ska spiced up with a violin to add some Hungarian flavor to the music, that is fine tuned with reggae riddims and jazzy melodies. Moreover Szitizens can enjoy the 'power gypsy dance' of Baro Drom Orkestar, Balkan dances and elektro swing with Django Lassi, traditional Balkan, gypsy, Turkish music merged with swing and jazz by The Džambo Aguševi Orchestra, pop and Afro-American rhythms with Enzo Avitable or the energies of the brass band of Fanfare Ciocarlia or even the Afro-Caribbean and folkloric music of Colombia, with contemporary rhythms and cultural styles such as hip hop, house, techno, breakbeat brought by Systema Solar.


Program of the World Music Stage (in alphabetical order):

Aziza Brahim
Baro Drom Orkestar
Buika
Cimbaliband
Django Lassi
Dudu Tassa & The Kuwaitis
Enzo Avitabile & Bottari & Scorribanda
Fanfare Ciocarlia
Goran Bregovic Wedding and Funeral Band
Hackney Colliery Band
Ilaria Graziano, Francesco Forni
Kultur Shock
La Dame Blanche
La-33
Lajkó Félix feat Óperentzia
Leningrad
Les Hurlements d'Léo
Malasañers
Mau Mau
Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra
Psycho Mutants
Rachid Taha
Rupa & The April Fishes
Soviet Suprem
Systema Solar
The Džambo Aguševi Orchestra
Värttinä
Yiddish Twist Orchestra


More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks! Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

We are very happy to let you know that we have added 9 names to the #sziget2016 line-up today! You can check already announced names and get in the mood with listening to the official playlist of Sziget on Spotify! Prepare for #sziget2016 as it’s going to be the best week of your summer! We guarantee that!


#Sziget2016 new names

Hardwell * Manu Chao La Ventura *
Kaiser Chiefs * Fidlar * Boys Noize *
Dillon Francis * Movits! * Vinai * DJ Sliink

Sziget is happy to announce Rihanna as the Day 0 headliner of the Island of Freedom. The week-long festival holiday is held between 10-17 August, 2016.

Rihanna is one of the most successful and talented singers of today. The 28-year-old icon is the youngest female artist who has achieved 14 number one singles, won 8 Grammy Awards and 12 Billboard Music Awards. Her very much awaited album 'Anti' was released this year and received great reviews already. Rihanna is followed by more than 100 million people and her hits were played 8 billion times on the biggest video player. It is a great pleasure to have her exclusively at Sziget Festival.

The music line-up is shaping up for this year's Sziget Festival, among the already announced acts we can find Muse, David Guetta, Sia, The Last Shadow Puppets, Noel Gallagher, Bastille and many more! New announcement can be expected shortly as well as more information about the non-musical programs of the island.

The music and arts festival welcomes people from more than 90 countries every year. Those who are interested should hurry up as festival passes are selling quickly and upgrade campsites even quicker (e.g. the VIP Camping is already sold out). Luckily there are still a number accommodation options available here: http://szigetfestival.com/accommodation

Already announced acts (in alphabetical order):

Aurora
Bastille
Bloc Party
Bring Me The Horizon
Bullet For My Valentine
Crystal Castles
CHVRCHES
Datsik
David Guetta
Dyro
Excision
JAIN
Jake Bugg
Jess Glynne
John Newman
K.I.Z.
Kodaline
Kovacs
M83
MØ
Molotov
Muse
Naughty Boy
Nicky Romero
Noel Gallagher
Oscar and the Wolf
Parkway Drive
Parov Stelar
Rico & Sticks
Rihanna
Róisín Murphy
SIA
Sigur Rós
Sum 41
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Lumineers
The Neighbourhood
Tourist
Travis Scott
Unkle (live)
Wilkinson (live)
Years & Years

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks! Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget continues its series of announcements, this time with a total of 14 exciting acts. The Island of Freedom in Budapest will be happy to host Sia, Excision, Dyro, Noel Gallagher, Travis Scott and many more. The program is shaping up nicely for the week-long festival holiday, held between 10-17 August, 2016.

In addition to the already announced names (including Muse, David Guetta, The Last Shadow Puppets, Bastille) 14 new names have now been announced for Sziget 2016. The Island of Freedom is proud to host singer-songwriter Sia as well as British music scene icon Noel Gallagher. Jake Bugg will bring his indie folk tunes to Sziget, Molotov will definitely rock the place, while Travis Scott will hit the stage with his hiphop beats. Straight from Canada arrives Crystal Castles with their experimental electronic sounds as well as Excision with some dubstep. The genre mixture of Sziget is further proven by welcoming UNKLE with their live set, French singer-songwriter JAIN, Wilkinson with his live set, Norwegian singer Aurora, top Dutch DJ Dyro, Belgian electropop band Oscar and the Wolf and British electronic artist Tourist.

The music line-up is shaping up for this year's Sziget Festival, but festival visitors can also expect a huge wave of announcements coming up in the near future connected to the "soul of Sziget", including hundreds of non-musical programs happening on the island. Sziget is not only a music festival, but a place where the agenda of NGOs or contemporary dance and theatre are as important as any music acts.

The 24/7 festival opens its gates in August awaiting people from more than 90 countries. Those who are interested should hurry up as festival passes are selling quickly and upgrade campsites even quicker (e.g. the VIP Camping is already sold out). Luckily there are still a number accommodation options available here: http://szigetfestival.com/accommodation

Already announced acts (in alphabetical order):

Aurora
Bastille
Bloc Party
Bring Me The Horizon
Bullet For My Valentine
Crystal Castles
CHVRCHES
Datsik
David Guetta
Dyro
Excision
JAIN
Jake Bugg
Jess Glynne
John Newman
K.I.Z.
Kodaline
Kovacs
M83
MØ
Molotov
Muse
Naughty Boy
Nicky Romero
Noel Gallagher
Oscar and the Wolf
Parkway Drive
Parov Stelar
Rico & Sticks
Róisín Murphy
SIA
Sigur Rós
Sum 41
The Last Shadow Puppets
The Lumineers
The Neighbourhood
Tourist
Travis Scott
Unkle (live)
Wilkinson (live)
Years & Years

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks! Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

The program is shaping up for the 7 days celebration of music and arts, also known as Sziget. The proud winner of the best line-up category at the recent European Festival Awards has added 14 new acts to the confirmed list of the 2016 edition, including Muse, The Last Shadow Puppets, David Guetta, The Lumineers and many more. Make sure you don’t miss the Budapest-based event, held between 10-17 August, 2016.

Sziget, the Island of Freedom is always happy to announce the wide range of music and arts performances happening at the 7 days festival. The newly added music acts once again represent the colorful and endless program hosted on the island. Much awaited Muse will definitely please Sziget fanatics, while David Guetta will once again bring an energetic party to the Island of Freedom. The popular superduo of Miles Kane and Alex Turner, The Last Shadow Puppets is very much awaited to Budapest this summer, as well as The Lumineers who will have their new album out in April. The British trio of Years & Years, Irish singer-songwriter Róisín Murphy, Welsh heavy metal band Bullet For My Valentine and the truly fabulous Jess Glynne will also perform among the many programs planned for #sziget2016. In addition, Australian rockers Parkway Drive, Berlin-based hip hop group K.I.Z., alternative rock band The Neighbourhood, Dutch super talent Kovacs, Canadian music producer and DJ, Datsik and Dutch hip hop act Rico & Sticks with their # OPGEZWOLLETOTNU tour will all head to Sziget this year.

All acts confirmed for Sziget so far (in alphabetical order):

BASTILLE
BLOC PARTY
BRING ME THE HORIZON
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE
CHVRCHES
DATSIK
DAVID GUETTA
JESS GLYNNE
JOHN NEWMAN
K.I.Z
KODALINE
KOVACS
M83
MO
MUSE
NAUGHTY BOY
NICKY ROMERO
PARKWAY DRIVE
PAROV STELAR BAND
RICO & STICKS # OPGEZWOLLETOTNU
ROISIN MURPHY
SIGUR RÓS
SUM 41
THE LAST SHADOW PUPPETS
THE LUMINEERS
THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
YEARS & YEARS

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks! Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

Dear Szitizen!

The Holiday season is almost over and that means also the end of the Early Bird ticket sales for Sziget 2016.
Know already on the last day of 2015 where you will spend the week of your summer in 2016!

Sziget is waiting for you!

Let’s get my Early Bird ticket
http://szigetfestival.com/tickets/category/entry-ticket?utm_campaign=earlybird&utm_source=newsletter20151230&utm_medium=link&utm_content=UK

7 DAYS PASS - 235€
5 DAYS PASS - 199€

Sziget Festival invites music and art lovers, open-minded people from all over the world for the 24th time to Budapest next year. More than 25% of the available Sziget 2016 passes have already been sold. The first eight names are now added to the line-up and many more to come later on. Sziget is held between 10-17 August, 2016 and early bird tickets are available till 31st December.

The success of last year's Best European Major Festival seems to continue, as more than 25% of the 2016 Sziget passes have been sold during the first 24 hours of the ticket sales campaign. In 2015 a total of 441.000 Szitizens attended the event, representing more than 95 countries and this probably makes Sziget one of the most multicultural festivals in the world. The series of announcements for the festival has also started. Hundreds of acts and programs will be announced in the forthcoming months, now starting with eight names, representing different genres and keeping the music line-up as colorful as always.

First names announced (in alphabetical order):
Bring Me The Horizon
John Newman
Kodaline
M83
MO
Naughty Boy
Parov Stelar
Sigúr Ros

For more information check website: www.szigetfestival.com
Tickets available: szigetfestival.com/tickets/category/entry-ticket

Does summer feel far away? Have a look at the official Sziget Aftermovie to get some heat into your body. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EsUfKeepyPk

Avicii, Swedish EDM DJ, remixer, and record producer will arrive this year to Sziget. He is ranked 3rd on DJ Magazine '​s annual Top 100 DJs in 2012 and 2013 and has been nominated twice for a Grammy Award. Szitizens will, for sure, hear some of his most famous tracks as "Wake Me Up", "You Make Me", "X You", "Hey Brother" and "Addicted to You".

Sziget also welcomes the original line-up of Fred Durst, Wes Borland, Sam Rivers, John Otto, and DJ Lethal, who are back from an eight year hiatus to bring their world back to ours. Limp Bizkit will kick off a world tour in the Spring with a possible new album, which would be the original group’s first full-length effort since 2000. Limp Bizkit’s first three albums have sold over 20 million copies in the U.S. alone, and another 13 million in the rest of the world.

Arriving from Germany, CRO is a phantom, the masked hero 2.0, Germany’s most successful rapper. He changed German hip-hop, all this independently with no support by a major label. With his debut album Raop he even invented his own musical genre. For his productions he mixes indie and classical rap and forges something new, something great and unique.

SOJA blends reggae, go-go, D.C. hardcore, Latin, rock and hip-hop. Originally formed by a group of friends while still in middle school and has built a massive, dedicated fanbase around the world since. After the release of their 2012 album Strength To Survive, the musicians started writing material for what would become their fifth full-length album, “Amid the Noise and Haste.”

Hollywood Undead were born in the underground. Ever since they clawed their way into the mainstream with their 2008 near platinum-selling debut Swan Songs and its acclaimed 2010 follow-up American Tragedy, the masked Los Angeles collective—Johnny 3 Tears, J-Dog, Charlie Scene, Danny, Funny Man, and Da Kurlzz—never lost sight of where they came from. Their third full-length album Notes From The Underground emerges directly from that same place behind the curtain, underneath the veneer, and inside the darkest heart of their city.

American punk rock band from New Brunswick, The Gaslight Anthem, will also rock the stages of the Island of Freedom. The band's fifth full-length studio album, Get Hurt, was released in 2014. Since coming together in 2007, the band has joyfully injected aspects of rock’s most universal languages – arena rock and barroom blues, folk and pure pop – into punk’s round hole, ultimately forging its own powerful, populist sound.

From igniting dancefloors across the globe to releasing some of the most seminal drum and bass tracks ever to see wax, DJ Marky continues to amass an unsurpassable list of achievements, all driven by his dedication, phenomenal technical skills and unique flair. Teaming up with Stamina MC, a multi‐talented natural performer, effortlessly combining the roles of vocalist, host and MC with a massive stage‐presence, Stamina’s well earned reputation speaks for itself. Stamina’s high energy performances are certain to raise the crowd with an outstanding range of lyrics, harmonies and freestyles to match the occasion.

More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks!

Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

News arrived from the Island of Freedom: Telekom is becoming one of the sponsors of Sziget, therefore the mega-tent hosting dance music superstars will be back as Telekom Arena, home of many prominent DJs on the island. In addition, the youngest titan of EDM, Martin Garrix, will present the most spectacular End Show of the Island of Freedom on the Main Stage. Sziget will be as colorful as always and organizers have added 30 new names to the non-stop program offer of the one week multicultural get together.
Sziget Festival, recently crowned as Best Major European Festival, hosts a wide range of programs for 22 years now: all genres and art forms are represented during the 7 days of non-stop party. The festival is organized on a beautiful green island in the middle of Budapest in mid-August and the program is already shaping up. Alt-J, Florence and the Machine, Jamie Woon and many more have been confirmed as well as Day-1 headliner Robbie Williams. The kick off day, 10th August is included in the 7 Days Pass, but day tickets are also available in a limited number. The first 10.000 day tickets for an early bird price have been sold out in a week.
This year's End Show on the Main Stage on 16th August, will be hosted by Martin Garrix, who is currently number four on the Top 100 DJs list. This year's end show will be even more spectacular and exciting full of fireworks, pyrotechnic and other special effects and a magnificent laser show. Added to the Main Stage program, Gogol Bordello will come back this year with a super crazy show, making the whole crowd dance together.
The mega-tent of EDM, the Arena will come back this year, sponsored by Telekom. Many acts will be hosted at this popular venue, such as DJ duo, W&W, Dutch electronic dance music producer and DJ Sander van Doorn, as well as Bassjackers, who played in clubs from Ibiza with Tiesto to Las Vegas with Afrojack. In addition Telekom Arena will host the eclectic multi-genre, cut-n-paste style of British DJ, Jaguar Skills as well as Julian Jordan and Sidney Samson.
The A38 tent is known for a great mixture and variety of performers. The Ting Tings will have a cool show here as well as Passenger, who is known for his heartbreakingly beautiful music. Despite venturing into songwriting just three years ago, 20 year-old Ella Eyre has already attracted many fans and she will definitely blow away the Sziget crowd similarly to Milky Chance, who play an elegant electronic production with acoustic guitars and lush vocals. Jungle's musical style has been described as "midtempo 1970s-style funk" that they will prove at the Island of Freedom. Tyler, The Creator will also have a fascinating gig as well as electronic music mega-revolutionaries, the Infected Mushroom. With a distinctive electronicore style Enter Shikari fuses post-hardcore alternative metal and metalcore with elements of various electronic music genres. Slovenian electronic artist Gramatik, Dutch singer-songwriter, composer, multi-instrumentalist and recording artist Jett Rebel and Kensington will also perform at A38. In addition, Hospitality presents the following names at Sziget this year: Camo & Krooked, High Contrast, Fred V & Grafix, Danny Byrd and MC Dynamite.
The first names have arrived to MasterCard World Music Stage as well. Such stars will perform here as the Fado celebrity Mariza, the Russian underground legends Leningrad, Che Sudaka, who combine everything that is danceable, Goran Bregovic and the Wedding and Funeral Band with the essential sounds of the Balkan and Italy's leading and longest-standing traditional music ensemble the Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino.
The popular venue built upon pallets, Colosseum, will host such names as underground house icons Apollonia, German house DJ Dixon, Brazilian electronic music producer Gui Boratto, remixer-DJ-producer Michael Mayer, techno producer and DJ Marcel Dettmann and Canadian DJ-producer trio My Favorite Robot.
More names, venues, programs will arrive in the upcoming weeks!
Tickets and information: www.szigetfestival.com

10 reasons why Sziget is your choice – even last minute
Sziget Festival opens its gates on 11 August, less than a month away! Passes are selling with record speed, but it’s still not too late to make up your mind. If you’re a late decider, here’s the almost full picture why this one could be your top choice as a festival-holiday in 2014.
1. Full program
Sziget is everything a festival can offer during 7 days: huge stars on the main stages, art, fun and tons of activities all over the island. During the day you can chill at the Sziget Beach, create your own souvenirs at one of the art venues, or just take your time to have some adventures in the city of Budapest! The party already starts in the early afternoon and lasts till the sun comes up again! Prepare your schedule for the best week of 2014 and use the Sziget app to make sure you’re not missing anything!
Get the app here: http://szigetfestival.com/mobileapp
2. Cheap public transport
The Sziget-Budapest Citypass is a specially designed season ticket for Sziget visitors (aka Szitizens) to explore what Budapest has to offer. It includes free public transportation, free rides with the Sziget boat, free entry to one of the famous Turkish spas and further discounts to spas, museums, the Budapest Zoo and many more. In addition, free transfers are offered between the Liszt Ferenc Airport and the festival venue. Moreover, there is a discount for the tickets to the ferris wheel of the Hungarian capital, the Sziget Eye Belváros and the very own ferris wheel of the festival.
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFJCrvo4fP0


3. Free calls
Festfone is a cellphone service that helps Szitizens to keep in touch with their friends at the festival for free! It also give the chance to stay connected to friends and family back home, share & post everything that happens during the event, for a fair price. Different types of phones and data packages are available from low end to smart stuff.
More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ9_mJLvLl4
4. Easy parking
Parking in a big city is always a challenge. The organizers of Sziget have developed several parking packages on the island and in the neighborhood for those Szitizens who decide to hit the road. There are even transfer buses between the festival area and the parking lots. Sziget also strongly supports the idea of carsharing, a great way of saving money, the environment and meeting new friends already on the way to the event!
More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/parking
5. Tents on spot
Sziget offers a special package for those who are up for camping, but would not like to hassle with bringing a tent and camping equipment all the way. After using the camping items there is a possibility to return them and get back a part of the original price.
More information: http://szigetfestival.com/accommodation#campingset
6. Insurance packages
Szitizens can choose from two packages to secure themselves, so in case any unexpected circumstances happen they will have the solution already in their hand. This is the right option if one might have to cancel their trip for some special reasons, in case of any health related issues on spot, any problems with luggage or getting into any sort of trouble.
More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/insurance
7. Guarded lockers
Keeping the most important belongings in a safe place is a great way to focus on the most important job of the week: party. Szitizens have the chance to book guarded lockers and arrive with everything arranged.
More information: http://szigetfestival.com/tickets
8. The Afterparty: B.my.Lake
If you still need some additional party time after a non-stop week of festival-holiday at Sziget, there’s a huge afterparty waiting at Lake Balaton. B.my.Lake is a 3 days underground electro event, winning the ‘Best New Festival’ category at the European Festival Awards last year. 130 DJs right on the beach of the biggest lake of Central Europe, between 18-21 August in 2014. Combined passes are available for the double festival treat and you don’t even have to think how to get there, as Sziget offers transfer solutions for both ways.
More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/bmylake_-_the_sziget_afterparty

9. Variety of accommodations
Not the camping type, but still into festivals? No worries. There’s a huge number of convenient accommodations in Budapest. This city does have a lot to offer also in terms of hotels, hostels, or apartments. You need to simply look around and find the most suitable place for you and your friends!
More details: http://www.booking.com/city/hu/budapest.html?aid=381754&lang=en&label=sziget-navitab-en
+1: Together at the Island of Freedom
Sziget will be held for the 22nd time this year! All the way from the beginning the principle values were set and never changed: freedom, tolerance, love and diversity all wrapped up in music and art, enjoyed by Szitizens from all over the world! A whole island turning into the special world you will never experience during your everyday life. Time to make that decision now!
Check out this year’s Sziget anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeX0qbVQzGg
Only 10 days left to buy your ticket for a discounted price!
More information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

Europe comes to Sziget

The Europe Stage at the Island of Freedom is dedicated specially to the fresh and up-and-coming European bands, who truly represent the “old continent” and multiculturalism with their music. Sziget is proud to host these young titans and also the Youropen Talent Festival on Day -1 and Day 0, presenting talent contest winners from 15 countries. Europe Stage is an afternoon stage, already starting its program at noon every day.
Getting bigger and more colorful is the concept behind the new Europe Stage, merging the former Mambo and Holland meets Hungary stages and providing a truly European alternative... surely the right place to find new European talents that are already known back home, but still looking for their international breakthrough.

In 2014 the Europe Stage also serves as an important venue to present the Berlin music scene, but also introducing Italian, Dutch, Spanish and many other bands from the old continent. Every year a band is invited from a far-off continent, this year from Australia. In 2014 the focus is on the recent, but trendsetting Berlin music scene, as this year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall at many of the Sziget venues.

Make sure you also check out the Youropen Talent Festival, also hosted by the Europe Stage, presenting talent contest winners from over 15 countries on Days 0 and -1. Among the acts you can find the Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Gloria Boateng, BaLaKo, Compact Disk Dummies, Rumatera and many more. You can find the detailed program schedule on the Sziget website.

Here: http://szigetfestival.com/programs#!programmation=grid$

Youropen

Sziget Festival’s Europe Stage will be the home of European talents on days -1 and 0. Youropen is a two days selection of aspiring bands, arriving from 15 different countries and eager to show their skills in front of the world’s possibly most international and open-minded crowd. The program starts at noon and finishes with concerts of bands that are involved in the Central and Eastern European Talent Exchange Program

Discover these young talents! Check them out here: http://szigetfestival.com/

Puglia Village

The Puglia Village, next to the Europe Stage, is placed in a beautiful wooden building where this year’s innovation is a real visual lab. Here any of Sziget’s musicians can record a song with the help of professional sound engineers, and then they can take it home on a CD to share it with the world on the Internet.

The new Europe Stage, promoted by Sziget Festival, L’Alternativa and Puglia Sounds, is an evolution of Puglia Sounds - Mambo Stage that's for the past two years hosted some of the most interesting Italian acts, and from this year is dedicated to the international music: an area of over 1000 square metres with a big stage for performances; the
Puglia Village with a number of workshops and activities linked to the Apulian cultural traditions; and a vast and cosy camping area.

10 reasons why Sziget is your choice – even last minute

Sziget Festival opens its gates on 11 August, less than a month away! Passes are selling with record speed, but it’s still not too late to make up your mind. If you’re a late decider, here’s the almost full picture why this one could be your top choice as a festival-holiday in 2014.

1. Full program

Sziget is everything a festival can offer during 7 days: huge stars on the main stages, art, fun and tons of activities all over the island. During the day you can chill at the Sziget Beach, create your own souvenirs at one of the art venues, or just take your time to have some adventures in the city of Budapest! The party already starts in the early afternoon and lasts till the sun comes up again! Prepare your schedule for the best week of 2014 and use the Sziget app to make sure you’re not missing anything!

Get the app here: http://szigetfestival.com/mobileapp

2. Cheap public transport

The Sziget-Budapest Citypass is a specially designed season ticket for Sziget visitors (aka Szitizens) to explore what Budapest has to offer. It includes free public transportation, free rides with the Sziget boat, free entry to one of the famous Turkish spas and further discounts to spas, museums, the Budapest Zoo and many more. In addition, free transfers are offered between the Liszt Ferenc Airport and the festival venue. Moreover, there is a discount for the tickets to the ferris wheel of the Hungarian capital, the Sziget Eye Belváros and the very own ferris wheel of the festival. More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jFJCrvo4fP0

3. Free calls

Festfone is a cellphone service that helps Szitizens to keep in touch with their friends at the festival for free! It also give the chance to stay connected to friends and family back home, share & post everything that happens during the event, for a fair price. Different types of phones and data packages are available from low end to smart stuff.

More information: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ9_mJLvLl4

4. Easy parking

Parking in a big city is always a challenge. The organizers of Sziget have developed several parking packages on the island and in the neighborhood for those Szitizens who decide to hit the road. There are even transfer buses between the festival area and the parking lots. Sziget also strongly supports the idea of carsharing, a great way of saving money, the environment and meeting new friends already on the way to the event!

More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/parking

5. Tents on spot

Sziget offers a special package for those who are up for camping, but would not like to hassle with bringing a tent and camping equipment all the way. After using the camping items there is a possibility to return them and get back a part of the original price.

More information: http://szigetfestival.com/accommodation#campingset

6. Insurance packages

Szitizens can choose from two packages to secure themselves, so in case any unexpected circumstances happen they will have the solution already in their hand. This is the right option if one might have to cancel their trip for some special reasons, in case of any health related issues on spot, any problems with luggage or getting into any sort of trouble.

More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/insurance

7. Guarded lockers

Keeping the most important belongings in a safe place is a great way to focus on the most important job of the week: party. Szitizens have the chance to book guarded lockers and arrive with everything arranged.

More information: http://szigetfestival.com/tickets

8. The Afterparty: B.my.Lake

If you still need some additional party time after a non-stop week of festival-holiday at Sziget, there’s a huge afterparty waiting at Lake Balaton. B.my.Lake is a 3 days underground electro event, winning the ‘Best New Festival’ category at the European Festival Awards last year. 130 DJs right on the beach of the biggest lake of Central Europe, between 18-21 August in 2014. Combined passes are available for the double festival treat and you don’t even have to think how to get there, as Sziget offers transfer solutions for both ways.

More information: http://szigetfestival.com/_/info/bmylake_-_the_sziget_afterparty

9. Variety of accommodations

Not the camping type, but still into festivals? No worries. There’s a huge number of convenient accommodations in Budapest. This city does have a lot to offer also in terms of hotels, hostels, or apartments. You need to simply look around and find the most suitable place for you and your friends!

More details: http://www.booking.com/city/hu/budapest.html?

10. Together at the Island of Freedom

Sziget will be held for the 22nd time this year. All the way from the beginning the principle values were set and never changed: freedom, tolerance, love and diversity all wrapped up in music and art, enjoyed by Szitizens from all over the world! A whole island turning into the special world you will never experience during your everyday life. Time to make that decision now!
Check out this year’s Sziget anthem: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IeX0qbVQzGg

Only 10 days left to buy your ticket for a discounted price!

More information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget ArtZone is one of the most magical places of the festival, where you can be inspired or revive your inspirations by creating a piece of Art. Whether you are a real artist or never have done anything alike, you can try out many techniques and see what makes you have the most fun. The hippest art schools and designers, well-known old school and contemporary art groups, the coolest visual artists and nice installations will be there to make you feel as happy as a child. Come and let yourself become Peter Pan! (Or Wendy:)

http://szigetfestival.com/news/artzone_at_sziget.750.html

Dear Szitizen,

Sziget is coming.. There will be many moments which will be worth a Facebook post at the festival. If you are a social media junkie, we got you covered.

The Festfone Share & Talk free packages consist of a data capable phone, a Hungarian SIM card with top-up, 1 GB data bundle, and a special surprise festival gift so you can save money and enjoy your festival to the fullest! You do not need to worry about losing your smartphone, or a huge phone bill. And there is more: The Festfone tariffs provide free calls between all Festfone subscribers, so you can stay in touch with your friends in Hungary 24/7.

Sziget 2014, The Gaint Street Theater

12-17 August – 23:00
As the night falls and the concerts end on the Main Stage, Compagnie Malabar from France take the over at the Giant Street Theatres venue with a power-hungry dragon, which comes forward from hiding, to draw the world under its tyranny. Fortunately, there are four brave knights, who will fight with the evil night after night and defeat it….make sure you come and see how it is defeated!

Check the whole Sziget program:
http://szigetfestival.com/programs

Sziget 2014, The Gaint Street Theater

12-17 August – 14:30
'Giant Street Theatres' venue presents Strange Fruit, a Melbourne-based performing arts company that produces and performs a remarkable style of work that fuses theatre, dance and circus, using a unique elevated medium. Their performance called 'Swoon' is a spectacular and tempting comedy with a unique and eclectic musical accompaniment!

Check the whole Sziget program:
http://szigetfestival.com/programs

Strange Fruit:
https://www.facebook.com/strange.fruit.inc

New Sziget app released!

Sziget revealed the 2014 festival app that already includes the detailed daily schedule of the already announced programs. Only 52 days left till the start!

The new Sziget app is ready and totally free for all iOs and Android users! For the next 3 days the detailed schedule of the already announced acts is exclusive on the app, so make sure you get it asap. And here’s what’s in it:

- Check out all the artists by listening to their music through the app
- Browse program by day, date, venue, alphabetical order
- Create your own program schedule with your favourite programs – and synchronise it with the Sziget website + facebook page
- Get notifications before a program starts
- Find yourself and the venues / useful places on the interactive map
- Browse the hidden treasures of the Festival: fun, art and activities
- Get notifications with the freshest infos, read news regarding Sziget
- Check pictures and watch videos

Download the Sziget app from here:
http://szigetfestival.com/mobileapp

Korn and NOFX to Sziget Festival 2014!

Today Sziget Festival revealed the last bands for this years festival:
- Korn
- NOFX
- Angel Haze
- The BossHoss

Now the program is completed and you can see the whole line-up here:
http://szigetfestival.com/programs

There is also abrand new Sziget Mobile App available for download with all announced acts/venues. Read more about the App here:
http://www.szigetfestival.com/mobileapp

Sziget 2014, Line-up for the Europe Stage

The Europe Stage at the Island of Freedom is dedicated specially to the fresh and up-and-coming European bands, who truly represent the “old continent” and multiculturalism with their music. Every year a band is invited from a far-off continent, this year from Australia. In 2014 the focus is on the recent, but trendsetting Berlin music scene, as this year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin wall at many of the Sziget venues.

The Line-up:

13 Wednesday
Raggalution (SLO)
Dubblestandart (A)
Kid Simius live (D)
Gloria Boateng (BE)
Salmo (I)

14 Thursday
Longital (SK)
DVA (CZ)
Mighty Oaks (D)
BaLaKo (RO)
Caparezza (I)

15 Friday
Fismoll (PL)
Money for Rope (AUS)
Charity Children (D)
Amsterdam Klezmer Band (NL)
Diodato (I)

16 Saturday
Carnival Youth (LV)
Seward (E)
Ballet School (D)
Compact Disk Dummies (BE)
Aucan (I)

17 Sunday
Hornsman Coyote & Soulcraft (SRB)
Siriusmo (D)
Gubás Gabi és az Éjszakai Nesz (H)
Rumatera (I)


http://szigetfestival.com/programs/venues/europe_stage.741.html

Sziget 2014, 11 new names added to the line-up

More names were added to the always colorful line-up of Sziget Festival. This year Madness, The Bloody Beetroots, Kelis and many more acts will join the already prestigious music program of the Island of Freedom.

Sziget is definitely the place to be this summer if one is looking for fun and holiday together. The Island of Freedom is not just a music festival, it has many more to offer as the beautiful city of Budapest, non-stop fun and activities on the Island itself and a line-up that is suitable for music fans of all styles. Daily schedule available here.

And the new names are….
Madness / The Bloody Beetroots / Kelis / Leningrad /Band of Skulls / Triggerfinger / Deniz Koyu / Thomas Gold / Quentin Mosimann / Black Sun Empire / INVSN

Sziget 2014, the Campfire Venue.

The Campfire venue is a brand new place at Sziget 2014, where a huge fire will be built to bring the traditional campfire atmosphere.
On the Sziget website (http://en.szigetfestival.com/info/campfire) you can see the selection of the campfire musicans who would love to bring the mood to the intimate and cozy location. Now they just need to collect enough votes to win a slot & a weekly pass so they will be ready to play at the Island of Freedom! Check out the videos and vote for those who could make you sing-a-long!
Voting is till 5th June!

How to vote?
Got to: http://en.szigetfestival.com/info/campfire


You see the little Like button below the videos?
If you liked the video, you voted for it :)

1 LIKE = 1 VOTE

SZIGET 2014
Blues and Irish Stage - full program!

The lovers of blues and Irish music will find their favorites on one stage, with thematic days for both genres.

It's very important to mention that this year's Blues and Irish Stage also serves as a place to remember the great Andor Olah, an excellent blues musician and also a dedicated organizer of the Hungarian blues scene, who died recently.

Line-up
12 Tuesday
ELECTRIC BLUES PARTY: RED BIRD
THE O'NEILLS
BLACKRIDERS
THE IRISH COFFEE
M.É.Z.
PADDY AND THE RATS
THE SCARLET

13 Wednesday
ELECTRIC BLUES PARTY: RED BIRD
HISTORIA (SK)
BEAUX JAXON BLUES QVARTET (USA + HU)
GYO KRETZ (NL)
TÖRÖK ÁDÁM ÉS A MINI
PETER LIPA BAND (SK)
MISSISSIPI BIG BEAT (HU) & CHARLIE FABERT (FR)
BLUES BEAT PARTY: SAB

14 Thursday
ELECTRIC BLUES PARTY: RED BIRD
HÜMILD FOLK MUSIC COMPANY
ÍRKA-FIRKA
ÉIRÍ
FIRKIN
PAT MCMULLAN AND FRIENDS
LOCHNESZ

15 Friday
ELECTRIC BLUES PARTY: RED BIRD
LEVI BAND (PL)
AZALAI DESERT BLUES FEAT. SAID TICHITI ( MAR+ HU) & DIMITRI ESPINOZA (IT)
JACK CANNON BLUES BAND
DORREY LIN LYLES (USA) & JOHNNIE SHEPPERDN BAND (SK + HU)
HENRIK FREISCHLADER (DE)
MUDDY SHOES BAND
BLUES BEAT PARTY: SAB

16 Saturday
ELECTRIC BLUES PARTY: RED BIRD
ISLAND ZENEKAR
GREEN SPIRIT
RED LOCKS
GREENFIELDS
BRAN
FINNEGAN'S WAKE

17 Sunday
JAMBALAYA
ÖLVETI BLUES BAND
FERENCZI GYÖRGY ÉS A RACKAJAM
PRIBOJSZKI MÁTYÁS BAND
SHARRIE WILLIAMS (USA) & THE WISEGUYS (DE+HU)
JAM SESSION in memoriam Andor Oláh: Blue sPot, Dr. TRAE, Dr Valter, Dure, György Ferenczi, Csaba Gaál Boogie, István Mezofi Fifi, Zoltán Nemes, Péter Oszkó Dr., László Ölveti , Gábor Presser, Mátyás Pribojszki, Sab, Sharrie Williams, Szabó Tamás, and many more

Mission:Szitizen, Sziget

Did you know that if you make it to the top 3 teams of Mission:Szitizen you can win a super-cool closed accommodation area? Sleep in beds in a furnished container and enjoy your time at the Szitizen common area! All 3 teams get a fridge full of everything that will be needed for the week! Hurry up and start accomplishing some missions!

Check out how t enter the competition:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21RLyvThMXc

Blink-182 headlines Day -1 at Sziget

The long-awaited Sziget gig of Blink-182 is finally happening! 11 August (Day -1) is the date and some more acts will be announced for the same day, later on. Other new names in the 2014 Sziget line-up include Cee Lo Green and Jimmy Eat World, plus now it’s official that Casper, A Day To Remember and Fedde le Grand will all come to Budapest, playing on Day 0. Weekly Passes still available for the reduced Advance Round 1 prices till 30 April, so it makes sense to hurry up!

After years of waiting, one of the most popular American pop-punk bands, Blink-182 will finally hit the stage at Sziget Festival this year. Looking back on a career of more than 20 years this trio from California has sold millions of records and has countless fans all over the globe. After a short hiatus the band is back on the road and as rocking as ever. The people of Sziget will finally have a chance to party to the biggest punk anthems of the late 90s and early 2000s, such as All The Small Things, First Date, I Miss You, Stay Together For The Kids or The Rock Show.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ht5RZpzPqw

Five-time Grammy winner Cee Lo Green is one of the most charismatic male performers of these days, an iconic songwriter with a unique voice, a creative producer and a movie star. His superpowers come from the ability of mixing hip-hop with soul elements to create sexy and modern r&b. His tunes took over the charts and built up a fanbase of millions. Sziget Main Stage will feel like home for him!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKxodgpyGec

Jimmy Eat World started their career from Mesa, Arizona and quickly became popular with their catchy rock tunes. Their most successful record, Bleed American was released in 2001 and featured multiple hits, among them their most well known song, The Middle. The band has released its 8th studio record, Damage last year and will be rocking the stage at Sziget with these new songs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKsxPW6i3pM

Benjamin Griffey, aka Casper is a talented and popular German rapper, singer and lyricist. The secret to his engaging style lies in its diversity. He doesn’t care about any borders - dividing different musical genres from each other - and mixes his influences freely. You will find anything at his gig, ranging from old-school hip-hop to rock, all coupled with highly critical and thoughtful lyrics.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqObMM_QzVQ
A Day To Remember is a constant figure at all international festivals specialized on the heavy genres. Their music is a mixture of hard driving metalcore and pop-punk. Coupled with their energetic stage performance they will squeeze all reserves from your body, once their show is finished. The band has released five albums so far, they will be presenting their latest effort Common Courtesy at Sziget this year.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pn-6eOxnEMI

Last, but definitely not least: Fedde le Grand will represent the Dutch e-music scene right at Sziget! The award-winning musician and producer is one of the most famous DJs in The Netherlands and also making his name internationally. For many years he’s been having a fix place on DJ Mag’s Top 100, while his tracks and remixes are immensely popular on the world wide web and beyond.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leAScuEmK7A

Budapest, 29 April 2014

More information and tickets: http://www.szigetfestival.com

SZIGET 2014
World Village Stage - full program!

The World Village is a huge concentrated venue that presents great world music bands and also hosting Roma, Afro-Latin and Hungaricum programs. This is where heritage meets global experience and now the World Village is ready to compete with the biggest stages of the festival also in terms of popularity! Full line-up here:

13 Wednesday
OY DIVISION
LA YEGROS
RUPA & THE APRIL FISHES
BASSEKOU KOUYATE & NGONI BA
ROMENGO
DJ KOSTA KOSTOV

14 Thursday
RUSSKAJA
DEPEDRO
YASMINE HAMDAN
PROJEKT RAKIJA
DJ CLICK

15 Friday
THE SEXICAN
NAPRA
CANZONIERE GRECANICO SALENTINO
BESH O DROM
PARNO GRASZT
DJ GAETANO FABRI

16 Saturday
GASMAC GILMORE
TERAKAFT
EL JUNTACADAVERES
PASO
GIPSY BUREK ORKESTAR
DJ GAETANO FABRI + DJ KOSTA KOSTOV + DJ CLICK

17 Sunday
FANFARAI
WINSTON McANUFF & FIXI
SÖNDÖRGŐ
KOBO TOWN
FANFARA TRANSILVANIA
DJ GAETANO FABRI + DJ KOSTA KOSTOV + DJ CLICK

SZIGET 2014
Budapest Park Tribute Stage - full program!

Many of the great rock bands that Sziget would love to invite simply don't tour nowadays (maybe don't even exist any more). We still love their music, so here's the chance to listen to some great live cover gigs. Here is the full line-up:

Line-up
12 Tuesday
THE STARMANS - DAVID BOWIE TRIBUTE BAND
FAITH NO MORE TRIBUTE

13 Wednesday
PIKNIK PARK - LINKIN PARK TRIBUTE BAND
STONED - ROLLING STONES TRIBUTE BAND

14 Thursday
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE TRIBUTE BY SUBSCRIBE
GOOD TIME BOYS- RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS TRIBUTE BAND

15 Friday
DOORS TRIBUTE BAND
TÖKÉLETES HELYETTESEK - KISPÁL ÉS A BORZ TRIBUTE

16 Saturday
HOLLYWOOD ROSE - GUNS ’N’ ROSES TRIBUTE
AB/CD - AC/DC TRIBUTE BAND

17 Sunday
ALCOHOLICA - METALLICA TRIBUTE BAND
GOURANGA - NIRVANA TRIBUTE BAND

Sziget press conference reveals new venues and programs

Sziget was invented to be a community area, a place to meet and get to know people. Since the first edition the festival tried to live up for this mission, providing activities for bigger and smaller groups at the same time. A new venue, the Campfire Stage is also designed for the same purpose, providing the chance for amateur and professional musicians to apply and – if chosen – to play some inspiring acoustic songs at the big fire. This stage is also Sziget’s special way to remember Woodstock, the mother of all festivals that took place 45 years ago. Sziget Community Garden will be another venue that is fresh and new (not just for Sziget but for the whole festival scene) welcoming open-minded visitors and providing a great insight in the world of urban gardens. Sziget Beach was an instant hit in 2013 and the organizing crew is happy to announce that the chill-out beach venue will also return this year. And if we talk about special community areas on the Island of Freedom, we should definitely mention the Ruin Pubs Quarter, introducing some of the most original Budapest bars.

2014 will also see the return of the massive fun activities at the main stage, including the Color Party, the Flag Party, the Balloon Party, the Beach Ball Party and the Bubble Party. And the fun starts already before Sziget, since the organizing crew also decided to start Mission:Szitizen, an international game with the aim to inspire the most dedicated Sziget fans to show the whole world what they got. Teams of 2-4 persons will compete with each other before the festival, trying to accomplish pre-determined missions – ranging from some easy ones all the way to the craziest of ideas – to prove their talent and motivation. The whole competition will be based on an online platform where the teams will upload their newest accomplishments, while the winners will get some great prizes at the festival.

Besides Woodstock, the other important anniversary linked to Sziget 2014 is the fall of the Berlin Wall, exactly 25 years ago. Cooperation with the Berlin arts scene and also a 100 meters long wall – decorated by street artists and the Szitizens themselves – will all serve the purpose to remember this great act of freedom.

Sziget will also bring some changes for the lovers of e-music. The old Arena truly reached its capacity limits, so the organizing team decided to move some of the bigger names to the Main Stage, while also the huge tent of the A38 Stage will host many electro artists, including the newly confirmed Madeon and R3hab. Besides, there will be an even bigger Colosseum venue that is designed to take over the role of the ’party center’.

Hungarian bands will once again get an open air venue in the form of the Petőfi Radio VOLT Festival Stage, presenting the best acts of the host nation and also some acoustic gigs after 11pm.

Another of the spectacular changes is the introduction of the World Village, a huge concentrated venue that presents great world music bands and also hosting Roma, Afro-Latin and Hungaricum programs. This is where heritage meets global experience and now, instead of presenting all this value on smaller separated venues, the World Village is ready to compete with the biggest stages of the festival also in terms of popularity! The World Village stage will have 6 slots per day, presenting the new stars of the world music genre, a magical music journey with bands from Mali, Congo, Argentina, Israel, Canada and so on. Roma bands will also be presented at this venue – keeping the very high standards of the old Roma Stage programs – and what’s also very important: after the concerts there will be DJ sets throughout the evening. During the daytime the World Village will host afro-workshops, drum courses, Thai massage, capoeira and samba presentations, while the Hungaricum programs will also give a nice and very important taste of Hungarian folk culture, including dance courses, handicraft presentations and so much more.

The full line-up of the World Village Stage includes Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba, Besh o droM, Canzoniere Grecanico Salentino, Depedro, DJ Click, DJ Gaetano Fabri, DJ Kosta Kostov, El Juntacadáveres, Fanfarai, Fanfara Transilvania, Gasmac Gilmore, Gipsy Burek Orkestar, Jupiter & Okwess International, Kobo Town, La Yegros, Napra, Oy Division, Parno Graszt, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra, Projekt Rakija, Rupa & the April Fishes, Romengo, Russkaja, Söndörgő, Terakaft, The Sexican, Winston McAnuff & Fixi and Yasmine Hamdan.

Getting bigger and more colorful is also the concept behind the new Europe Stage, merging the former Mambo and Holland meets Hungary stages and providing a truly European alternative… surely the right place to find new European talents that are already known back home, but still looking for their international breakthrough. In 2014 the Europe Stage also serves as an important venue to present the Berlin music scene, but also introducing Italian, Dutch, Spanish and many other bands from the old continent. Make sure you also check out the Youropen Talent Festival, also hosted by the Europe Stage, presenting talent contest winners from over 14 countries on Days 0 and -1.

The lovers of blues and Irish music will also find their favorites on one stage, with thematic days for both genres. And it’s very important to mention that this year’s Blues and Irish Stage also serves as a place to remember the great Andor Olah, an excellent blues musician and also a dedicated organizer of the Hungarian blues scene, who died recently.

Another of the new venues is the Street of Universities. If you like Hungary and could imagine yourself studying here, that’s the place to check out possibilities. And if you’re an open-minded festival visitor, you will surely visit the Sziget Art Zone as well, which is the artistic center of this year’s Island of Freedom. Visual artforms are more and more important for Sziget and the organizers also announced a tender for artistic installations, including the already known giant sculptures, but also looking for the new liberty statue of the festival. This year’s visitors will see even more artistic lightings on the streets of the event and also introduce flower-installations and a giant sandbox with sand sculptures.

Sziget has a clear mission to help promoting the host city, Budapest. An easily visible way of cooperation between city and festival is the Sziget Eye ferris wheel, which will stand in the heart of Budapest for the whole summer season, all the way till the end of September. During the festival there will also be another Sziget Eye available right on the Island of Freedom. And Budapest will once again move into Sziget, presenting the best ruin pubs, museums and even the opera on location, while Szitizens are once again helped to discover the Hungarian capital with the Citypass season ticket (including free public transport, spa entrance, etc.)

Other already confirmed programs and venues include the Fidelio Culture Zone, Magic Mirror, Cirque du Sziget, WAMP, Street Theatres, Before I Die, Luminarium, Cökxpon Chill Garden, Tarot Labyrinth, NGO Island, Ability Park, Budapest Park Tribute Stage, Rubik Sziget and the Logical Games Tent, Sports Zone. Stay tuned to find out more about some of these venues in the next few weeks.

Discounted tickets for ’Advance round 1’ prices are available till the end of the month. For more information please check www.szigetfestival.com.

As a quick reminder, the already confirmed artists for the Main Stage and the A38 Stage (acts in alphabetical order):

Main Stage:
Anti Flag
Bastille
Bombay Bicycle Club
Die Fantastischen Vier
End Show with Calvin Harris
Imagine Dragons
Jake Bugg
Lily Allen
Macklemore & Ryan Lewis
Manic Street Preachers
Opening Show with Deadmau5
OutKast
Placebo
Prodigy
Queens of the Stone Age
Ska-P
Skrillex
The Kooks

A38 Stage
Bonobo
Borgore
Brody Dalle
Crystal Fighters
Djaikovski ft. Tk Wonder and Mc Wasp
Fink
Girls in Hawaii
Jagwar Ma
Kavinsky
Klaxons
Laidback Luke
London Grammar
Madeon
Michael Kiwanuka
Miles Kane
Mount Kimbie
Palma Violets
R3hab
Starlight Girls
Stromae
The 1975
The Big Pink
Tom Odell
Wild Beasts

Sziget Festival: Outkast, Manic Street Preachers and The 1975 added

The annual Sziget press conference in Budapest took place on 14 April at the well known A38 Ship and provided an overview of current plans on the festival’s program and venue structure. The organizers also revealed some new names for the line-up, so now it’s official that Outkast, Manic Street Preachers and The 1975 will join the already announced acts, including Queens of the Stone Age, The Prodigy, Macklemore, Imagine Dragons, Bastille, Skrillex, Placebo, Lily Allen and The Kooks. The End Show will be presented by Calvin Harris and now it’s also official that there will be an Opening Show with Deadmau5. Sziget takes place between 11-18 August and once again provides the festival-holiday of a lifetime!

’Booking a strong international line-up has been quite a challenge in the last few years, since the early August date meant that many bands were overseas and couldn’t accept our invitations. We came to the solution that the 2014 Sziget is a week later, so we’re not clashing with the dates of US and Japanese festivals and it seems to be the right choice. This year’s line-up is definitely more appealing’ – said Karoly Gerendai, Sziget’s main organizer. ’On the other hand we haven’t given up our aim to make Sziget an extraordinary visual experience as well, we’re also putting lots of efforts into further improving our services, so be prepared for a festival that looks and feels great’ – Gerendai added.

The press conference revealed many changes regarding the venue and program structure. One of the most important ones is the fact that Day 0 will provide a program as strong as the regular days, presenting Anti-Flag, Ska-P and Queens of the Stone Age. And let’s not forget about the fact that Day 0 will also host the Opening Show by Deadmau5, so besides the End Show by Calvin Harris – by now almost traditionally taking place on the last day of the event – there will also be another spectacular party at the main stage to warm up the crowd for the non-stop week of fun.

Sziget Festival: Together

The anthem of this year's Sziget Festival is the new song "Together" by Ivan & The Parazol, an up-and-coming Hungarian rock'n'roll band that incorporates everything a 21st century beat music needs. An important mission of Sziget is to support talented and promising Hungarian bands to get into the international music vibe.

Thanks to Sziget Festival's new initiative, every year a different Hungarian song is chosen to become the anthem of the Island of Freedom. This year one of the songs of Ivan & The Parazol, "Together" was chosen from their newest album, 'Mode Bizarre'.

Károly Gerendai, founder and main organizer of Sziget, said: "Although the songs of international performers are more well-known all around the world, we consciously choose a Hungarian song every year to become the anthem of the festival. By using the song as the basis of our local and international campaign we create an opportunity for bands to reach a wider audience." Gerendai said that the messages of the songs are also important as they should fit the values and message of Sziget. This is why last year the "Freedom Song" from Punnany Massif was chosen, while this year "Together" from Ivan & The Parazol became the anthem.

Promoting Hungarian bands on the international circuit is not an easy task. The reason is surely not the lack of domestic talent, as there are many great acts in the country. On the other hand the Hungarian music market is very small, which makes it hard to set up a firm industrial basis for a rock band and find the right resources to start an international career. Sziget Festival can't really change these circumstances, on the other hand it can help opening some doors thanks to the visibility that surrounds the event.

Singer and frontman of the band, Ivan Vitáris, said: "Being Szitizens for a long time and having so many good memories of this amazing festival with so many great gigs and huge parties, it's really uplifting, that our song is the anthem this year. This event not only spreads the word of Budapest and Hungary, but now our music will also cross borders. We really hope that we can sing this song together with many Szitizens at the festival or later when recalling those great memories of Sziget 2014 at home."

The Sziget organizers will not only spread this song worldwide, but will also do their best to provide opportunity for Ivan & The Parazol to introduce themselves to the international audience. The next step will be a music video for "Together", till then check out the teaser that also gives a taste of Sziget 2014:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxXQttp-_sg


Ivan & The Parazol

Ivan & The Parazol is a five piece rock'n'roll group formed in 2010. Their 21st century beat music incorporates influences from the 60's-70's new wave genres and beat culture. The band's first hit "Take My Hand" of their first LP "Mama Don't You Recognize Ivan & The Parazol?" was a chart success for months on Hungarian radios. Foreign music blogs have caught their name, and the song has been played on radio stations abroad as well.

Their success in Hungary is leading to international interest leading to several shows in the United States (SXSW, CBGB, CMJ showcases) and the UK. The group won an MTV EMA Music Award in 2013 as Best Hungarian Act.

Their second studio album "Mode Bizarre" was released in 25th March, 2014. The album is highly emotional and yet very edgy rock'n'roll record, it opened at no.1 position on the local Deezer and iTunes charts.

For more information on Ivan & The Parazol: http://ivanandtheparazol.com/
For more information on Sziget Festival: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget line-up shaping up
New names were added to the always colorful line-up of Sziget Festival. All genres will be covered this year as well, so Deadmau5, Axwell, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Kooks, Crystal Fighters, Anti-Flag will be great add-ins to the previously announced acts like Queens of the Stone Age, The Prodigy, Placebo, Imagine Dragons and many more. The Island of Freedom is held between 11-18 August in Budapest. Tickets for discounted ‘Advance round 1’ prices are available till 30 April.
Sziget is known for its diverse musical world and 2014 will also be dedicated to this open-minded tradition. To the already announced names, organizers added many exciting new performers, who will definitely keep the audience moving both in front of the stages and also wandering from one venue to the other.
This year Day 0, 12th August, is also very special as not only Queens of the Stone Age will perform, but fans can check out the opening show of Deadmau5 as well. The Canadian EDM superstar, a groundbreaking electronic artist, is an emblematic figure of the biggest festivals. He makes music that changed pop culture as we know it. Up to this point, his career stands earmarked by a series of firsts and shattered records. Also playing on Day 0, Anti-Flag, an ultra provocative punk rock band from Pittsburgh, are known for their tight paced music and sharp lyrics. Their music and message is a call to action for people of all backgrounds and beliefs to focus on making tomorrow a better place for all.
On the regular days of island Szitizens can check out the following acts:

The global dance icon, five-time Grammy nominated Axwell has had little time to rest upon his laurels over the past decade. In a career that has taken him from the Swedish underground to the top of the charts, he has risen as an idol of modern house music. He will also make a frenetic gig at Sziget this year. In addition, The Kooks will also play their characteristic and stylish British post-punk music, reminding us a little bit of the 60s. The band of Luke Pritchard comes all the way from Brighton to Sziget with their new album, so old fans will also have some surprises.

Bombay Bicycle Club will also play their guitar-driven music to the Sziget audience this year. Their newest album is innovative, a beautiful collection of songs that will stand the test of time from a band at the top of its game. The songs are built around ethereal loops that owe more to experimental electronica than to the kind of indie-rock the band was initially known for. The music of Crystal Fighters merges traditional-acoustic Basque music elements with slushy bass and euphoric electronic sounds mixing altogether an atmosphere of loose chillwave and speedy dubstep-electro. The London-based band makes such a complex music and merges so many genres that currently there is no one else in the alternative dance universe like them.
With a successful music career spanning over the course of two decades, Macedonian born Kiril Dzajkovski is without a doubt one of the most respected and critically acclaimed electronic artists from the Balkans. He is regarded as one of the pioneer producers to introduce Balkan sounds to the modern dance production - globally known as the “Balkan Beat phenomenon”. At Sziget we can see Djaikovski ft. TK Wonder & MC Wasp.

Tasteful, stylish, mostly moderate tempo, essentially melancholic, but uplifting music is what Girls in Hawaii do. They create some kind of magical atmosphere with their indie pop. They come to Sziget from Belgium and they will present their unique miracles, showing us their most recent album, Everest. Mount Kimbie has played a central role in forging a new form for electronic music. Their influence stretches far beyond the tiny corner of the dance music underground that birthed them and, with the duo now signed to the legendary Warp label, it looks set to stretch further still in the coming years.

Wild Beasts play a sophisticated and elegant guitar-music in which we can barely hear a little folk rock sound. Their music is lacking any kind of monumental character rather their trade-mark is the beautiful voice of singer-guitarist Hayden Thorpe. They were nominated for the Mercury Prize two years ago for their album ‘Two Dancers’ and now they are arriving to Sziget with their recent album ‘Present Tense’ released this February and navigating us to the maze of synthpop.

Discounted passes for ‘Advance round 1’ prices are available until 30th April at the European ticket retailers and in the central webshop. More information on the program, tickets, accommodation and travel possibilities all available on the website: www.szigetfestival.com More names and program coming up soon!
Teaser for last year’s atmosphere: http://youtu.be/q9aI6PaybRk

Sziget program shaping up

New names were added to the always colorful line-up of Sziget. All genres will be covered this year as well, so Deadmau5, Axwell, Bombay Bicycle Club, The Kooks, Crystal Fighters, Anti-Flag will be great add-ins to the previously announced acts like Queens of the Stone Age, The Prodigy, Placebo, Imagine Dragons and many more. Tickets for discounted ‘Advance round 1’ prices are available till 30 April.

Sziget is known for its diverse musical world and 2014 will also be dedicated to this open-minded tradition. To the already announced names, organizers added many exciting new performers, who will definitely keep the audience moving both in front of the stages and also wandering from one venue to the other.

This year Day 0, 12th August, is also very special as not only Queens of the Stone Age will perform, but fans can check out the opening show of Deadmau5 as well. The Canadian EDM superstar, a groundbreaking electronic artist, is an emblematic figure of the biggest festivals. He makes music that changed pop culture as we know it. Up to this point, his career stands earmarked by a series of firsts and shattered records. Also playing on Day 0, Anti-Flag, an ultra provocative punk rock band from Pittsburgh, are known for their tight paced music and sharp lyrics. Their music and message is a call to action for people of all backgrounds and beliefs to focus on making tomorrow a better place for all.

On the regular days of island Szitizens can check out the following acts:

The Kooks / Girls in Hawaii / Axwell / Wild Beasts / Bombay Bicycle Club / Djaikovski Ft. TK Wonder & MC Wasp / Crystal Fighters / Mount Kimbie

Check all announced acts and programs here: http://szigetfestival.com/programs
Many more to come!

Discounted passes for ‘Advance round 1’ prices are available until 30th April at the European ticket retailers and in the central webshop.

New names in the Sziget Festival 2014 line-up

The organizers of Sziget have announced a new list of names, already confirmed for the 2014 event. At the 'Island of Freedom' The Prodigy, Lily Allen, Ska-P and La Roux will also perform. Sziget Festival is held between 11-18 August.

Sziget is hosted on a beautiful green island in the middle of Budapest and is a perfect merge of a summer holiday and a festival experience. Besides many fun, art and activities, Sziget has already revealed some names from the 2014 line-up, as Queens of the Stone Age, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Skrillex, Placebo, Klaxons, Stromae, Calvin Harris, Imagine Dragons, Bastille and now they have announced a new bunch of names.

The Prodigy is a must-have star for any festival main stage, after 25 million sold albums and an amazing popularity through the years. Probably the most successful British electronic formation is once again performing at Sziget. Young, energetic, extravagant pop singer, Lily Allen, will also perform at Sziget Festival. She released her newest single last year in November, called "Hard Out Here", and while she is still working on her third studio album, we already know the name of it 'Sheezus'.

La Roux and the voice of Elly Jackson is known by all pop music fans. The synth-pop lady and her partner Ben Langmaid, the producer-songwriter-keyboard player, are one of the most popular pop music productions of the 2000s. The popular ska-punk band from Madrid, Ska-P, will also hit the stage of the Island of Freedom. There are few bands that can be so visually stimulating as they are and this year we can check them out with our own eyes at Sziget.

Miles Kane, former frontman of the The Rascals and co-frontman of the Last Shadow of Puppets, is now successfully performing his solo career. He has released two albums so far, the one released last year 'Don't forget Who You Are' was a great success. Simon Green, AKA Bonobo, is an artist very much at the peak of his significant powers. His 2010 album 'Black Sands' was the high watermark of his career to date; a masterful record, marrying Green's inimitable melodic genius to cutting edge electronics, bass and drums.

Palma Violets are one of the most promising post-garage rock bands today. The first single "Best of Friends", a raucous and exhilarating blast of primal rock'n'roll, was voted NME's song of the year for 2012. Electronic musician and producer, Vincent Belergey, known as Kavinsky, is one of the most important and creative star of the French electronic scene. His latest album, "Outrun", is received immediately as a success and he started a world live tour called OUTRUN LIVE TOUR and Sziget is a part of it.

Fink is a British singer-songwriter, who is known for his creative lyrics, sophisticated and romantic songs and his charismatic performances. He has released five albums in the last ten years and last time he visited Sziget with his album 'Perfect Darkness' two year ago. Jagwar Ma will be a real excitement at the Island of Freedom this year. The Australian trio of Gabriel Winterfield, Jona Ma and Jack Freeman make some kind of psychedelic dance music that mesmerizes the audience.

Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names to come for the 2014 Island of Freedom!

Check out the official aftermovie of the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9aI6PaybRk

More information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

Sziget Festival: new names in the 2014 line-up

The organizers of Sziget have announced a new list of all-star names, already confirmed for the 2014 event. In the heart of Budapest Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Skrillex, Jake Bugg and London Grammar will also perform. The Island of Freedom is held between 11-18 August.

Sziget has already revealed some names from the 2014 line-up, as Queens of the Stone Age, Placebo, Klaxons, Stromae, Calvin Harris, Imagine Dragons, Bastille and now they have announced a new bunch of names. Sziget is known for diverse and colorful programs and the newly confirmed acts are also representing all genres, perfect for music lovers in all style. The new names are…

Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are one of the most celebrated and shiniest stars on the hip-hop map of the United States. Their charismatic music is followed by millions of fans and this year their work has been sealed with four Grammy Awards. They received the award for ‘Best New Artist’, ‘Best Rap Performance’, ‘Best Rap Album’ and “Thrift Shop” received the award for ‘Best Rap Song’. Skrillex is one of the most well-known electronic musician today. He will definitely make everyone crazy with his very exciting and massive sounds.

Extraordinary talent British singer-songwriter, Jake Bugg, will also perform at the ‘Island of Freedom’ with his direct, honest and unique folk rock sounds. Die Fantastischen Vier are also coming to Sziget. The German rap and hip-hop quartet will tour with their new album Rekord. Electro-trip-hop trio from Nottingham, London Grammar, has an emotional and melancholic feeling combined with great lyrics and a unique sound.

Tom Odell has a passionate, romantic and irresistible voice merged together with great talent. Arriving from Southern-England, the twenty-three year old singer-songwriter will hit the stage of Sziget this summer. Also coming from the UK, Michael Kiwanuka, will make his performance memorable with his sophisticated, characteristic, sensitive soul music with some folk and jazz tunes. His debut album, Home Again, has been nominated for Mercury Award in 2013.

Two performers with a unique perspective in the world of electronic music, Darkside, will be a real exciting act of this year’s Sziget. They will not only address e-music lovers, but also those fancying jazz. It’s hard to categorize the music of The Big Pink, but it is simultaneously intimate, unsettling and noisy. Check out for yourself!

Borgore is a real EDM-hooligan, DJ and producer from Israel, who is known by everyone in the international dubstep network. True party person, who focuses on massive drum bases and heavy metal sounds what he just calls gorestep. Coming from Australia, Brody Dalle, wanted to do music similar to Nirvana, the Hole or PJ Harvey. Now she is ready to conduct a party anywhere in the world. She will perform at Sziget on August 12th, Day 0, the same day her husband, Josh Homme will play with Queens of the Stone Age.

Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names to come for the 2014 Island of Freedom!

Check out the official aftermovie of the event:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q9aI6PaybRk

More information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

First names for Sziget 2014
The Sziget crew is happy to announce the first names confirmed for the music program of this year’s ’Island of Freedom’ taking place between 11-18 August. Queens of the Stone Age, Calvin Harris, Placebo and many more will definitely be at Óbudai Island in the heart of Budapest this summer.
In 2014 the ’Island of Freedom’ will take place one week later than previously. Károly Gerendai, founder and main organizer of Sziget Festival, said: „It seems like a good decision that we put the date of Sziget one week later, because now we can announce better names compared to this time last year. To put it simple there is a better chance that bands are on a European tour at this part of the month.”
Sziget Festival was once again shortlisted amongst the top ten major European festivals this year at the European Festival Awards. As always, the music line-up will feature acts from various genres, while stars and smaller, but super exciting acts will both be presented at the stages of the event. The first names are…
Queens of the Stone Age, the legendary rock band from Palm Desert, California, is known for its riff-oriented, heavy rock music. The cornerstone and charismatic leader of QOTSA is the singer-guitarist, Grammy Award winner, Josh Homme. Their latest album from 2013...Like Clockwork has an amazing list of contributors like Joey Castillo (former drummer), Mark Lanegan (regular collaborator and former member) and also Trent Reznor (Nine Inch Nails). This year they are going to rock Sziget Festival for sure.

Calvin Harris is one of the biggest names in mainstream electronic music today. We can associate uncountable first class EDM songs to the Scottish singer, songwriter, producer and DJ. These masterpieces are not just well-known to everyone, but are 100% party anthems featuring all stars. Now he is even more popular with his newest third album, 18 Months.

Placebo, enjoys an ever growing level of success around the world with their unique blend of music and outstanding live performances. Their dark and melodic trademark sound featuring singer Brian Molko’s instantly recognizable vocals has become one of the strongest brands in rock over the past decade. Last year they have released their seventh studio album Loud Like Love.
The American alternative rock band, Imagine Dragons, becomes more and more successful. They do not only have a unique sound, but they create an own world with romantic, solid, fascinating atmosphere thanks to the passion and professionalism of its members. This year they won the award for ‘Newcomer of the Year’ at the European Festival Awards.

Formed in London by Dan Smith, Bastille, is a highly popular alternative rock band today. The band was started out as a solo project of the singer/songwriter Smith, but later expanded to a quartet. Their debut album, Bad Blood, was released last year and received a good reception. Their most successful single “Pompeii” and their whole show will be a must-see at Sziget.
Stromae, the Belgian singer-songwriter is a very charismatic personality, who merges electronic, hip-hop, eurodance and traditional African vibes in his music. He is not only popular, but received many important awards from the industry. He has released two albums so far and has made dance millions with his singles as Alors on danse or Papaoutai.

The British indie rock band, Klaxons, will bring the audience something very special and unique. They merge some materials from post-punk and pop with the vibe of psychedelic rock’n’roll. Their last album Surfing the Void was a great success and hopefully this year Szitizens can enjoy some songs from their forthcoming album as well.
Laidback Luke is a real innovator in dance music, who will be powering dance music to the crowd at Sziget this year. The Dutch DJ has works together with Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike or Hardwell, but he is also responsible for EDM’s most sought after remixes as a recent demand on Martin Solveig’s ‘Hey Now’, ‘Thinking About You’ featuring Ayar Marar for Calvin Harris and Robin Thicke featuring Pharrel and T.I on chart busting ‘Blurred Lines’.
As an exciting element at Sziget, Starlight Girls, will make an appearance with their unique and alternative sound. The Brooklyn-based group lives in a swirling fun house of everything you don’t hate about music, drawing their influence from the 20’s, 30’s, 40’s, 50’s, 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s and the future.
Day 0 (August 12) will be a terrific warm-up day, where among many acts Queens of the Stone Age will rock the stage, so those who have a weekly pass with camping can enjoy the gig of the Californian band. The full program of the warm-up days will be revealed shortly.
Check out the official aftermovie from last year to have a better insight of the programs, venues and feeling of Sziget Festival: http://youtu.be/q9aI6PaybRk
More acts to come in the upcoming weeks!
Tickets and more information: www.szigetfestival.com
22nd January, 2014

362 thousand Szitizens

The 2013 Sziget Festival saw a total of 362 thousand visitors present on the island throughout the 7 days of the event. This figure is slightly lower than last year, still it makes sure that the Budapest-based giant is one of the most attended and probably the most international festival of Europe.

In 2013 Sziget Festival officially became the Island of Freedom, emphasizing the concept behind the 20 year-old event. Besides great musical and non-musical programs, the visual experience provided by the festival also got a greater role. New venues and programs were introduced and many of the services were improved to make this truly international festival-holiday an unforgettable experience.

The main goal of the organizing team is to make sure the event stays unique and presents exciting new ideas each year. The current European festival scene is a bit oversized, there are many great events offering similar musical programs, so the Sziget crew truly believes that the key of development is to make sure the festival stays as far away as possible from ‘uniformity’.

‘The feedbacks of fans, artists and music industry professionals present at the festival have all assured us that it was a good decision to develop the visual experience and the colorful programs of the festival’ – said Károly Gerendai, main organizer and founder of the festival.

Sziget also initiated a conference during the event, hosting 25 festival promoters and representatives of many booking agencies. The main aim of the conference was to start a conversation between bookers and festivals, as the artist fees are rapidly increasing and better cooperation is evidently needed. The participants have all agreed that this year’s Sziget was very unique, mainly thanks to the new features and venues, the colorful programs and the quality of services. ‘The visuals of course are not everything, it is important to bring the biggest stars as well. Unfortunately this year we could not bring many of the artists, who we planned, but of course we’re trying our best once again next year’ – added the main organizer of the festival.

In 2013 Sziget presented a total of 54 program venues in an area of 76 hectares. The festival site was built up by a total of 7500 workers in a period of 3 weeks. Sziget has never been so bright, helped by more than 30 kilometers of special street lighting and also 20 hectares of forest equipped with Christmas-style lights. Szitizens haven been served by a medical service of 400 specialists, 1200 security guards and several hundred policemen from Hungary and also other countries. The Sziget crew has also prepared the area for the record heat, so the spaces in front of bigger venues like the Main Stage or the World Music Party Main stage were equipped with special steam cooler systems, while there were also many steam gates all around the festival site. The head of security said that there was no bigger problem during the one week, Sziget was very peaceful, like it is usually.

The biggest building on the island was the A38 tent with an area of 5000 square meters, which is almost double the size of the same venue from last year. The organizing crew was also emphasizing the fact that Szitizens should experience the beautiful buildings, spas, ruin pubs and other touristic attractions of Budapest, so the Citypass season ticket was once again a bellowed tool to explore the surroundings of the festival.

After last year’s success of more than 5 million viewers, many of the Sziget concerts have been once again broadcasted live on the internet, this time with the help of OTP bank and the technology of Ustream.

Sziget Festival 2013 was probably the most international festival of Europe, hosting fans from a total of 69 countries and performers from 52 countries this year. The most far away and exotic places of origin include Australia, Argentina, Aruba, Bahrain, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Kenya, Mali, Pakistan, Singapore, South Africa, Uruguay or Venezuela.

The excellent weather made Sziget Beach, the new venue of Sziget, very popular where thousands of Szitizens chilled every day. Many have enjoyed the performance of Cirque du Sziget, an iconic program of the event and tens of thousands of visitors took part in the special parties organized every day in front of the Main Stage, like the Color Party. Miracles and celebrations have accompanied Sziget from the very first day: on Day 0, Hungarian alternative rock band, Quimby, has turned the event to some kind of a wonderland and on the last day a spectacular End Show with laser effects, fireworks and pyrotechnical attractions marked the end of the main stage program

The Island of Freedom closed its borders on Monday, the cleaning up has already started and will approximately take one week. Afterwards the works continue with gardening and re-habilitating the area to make sure the venue can return to its role as a nice public park for the rest of the year.

For more information: www.szigetfestival.com

This year the Roma Tent is named after the world's number 1 aniseed spirit and also known as the “The Spirit of Istanbul” around the world, the Yeni Raki. This symbolizes the fusion of different and diverse cultures which has always been really typical for the Roma Tent. Yeni Raki will be present with their own bar at the venue, where all Szitizens of the Island of Freedom can exchange their different thoughts and opinions.

A constant fixture on the program will be the Indian Kawa Musical Circus. The circus from Rajasthan follows the legacy of the most ancient Indian street performers with its mystical and enchanted show. Their programme consists of breath-taking circus stunts, dance and theatre performances as well as puppet theatre shows all accompanied by live music. As an appetizer for each night’s show the audience will be carried away into a colourful fable world through the dispute of the grouchy circus director and the happy musicians while discovering the world of gypsy music.

The debut concerts of the pupils of the Snétberger Music Talent Center will be another regular programme at the venue. The talent center is lead by the famous Liszt Award winning guitar player Ferenc Snétberger who is of Roma origin. Since its start in 2011 the center yearly helps 60 talented young Roma musicians between the age of 12-20 to fulfil their musical dreams.
Béla Kása has been exploring the most hidden villages of Transylvania and certain regions of India mainly populated by Romas since 1973. For more than 30 years now he has been photographing the musicians, shepherds and dancers he encounters on his journeys. For years now his photos are exhibited at the tent allowing us to meet up with travelling Roma from Romania and India as well as the late great Transylvanian musicians who are still looking back at us from these pictures.

Opening the programme of the venue on Wednesday will be Amariszi from Holland. The young Dutch band with a unique Balkan sound will be performing at the Roma Tent for the first time. Their original songs combine elements of pop, reggae and folk music in a creative way.
The band of the French manouche guitarist Christophe Lartilleux, Latcho Drom got its name from the movie by Tony Gatlif. Music runs through the entire Lartilleux family, Christophe will arrive to the Roma Tent with his daughter, who is the bass player in the band as well. His main influence and idol is legendary Django Reinhardt and he is constantly trying to get as close to his unmistakeable Django-sound as possible.
Tradinnovazione, or reinvented tradition could be the motto of the music made by Mascarimiri coming from Salerno in South Italy. It will be their first time in Hungary presenting their punk-dub-tarantella project called Gitanistan that is an exciting mixture created from the influences of the past and the present.
Closing the programme of the first day will be Dj No Sikiriki. The DJ of Croatian origin living in Switzerland is a returning guest at the Roma Tent. His music is a melting pot of traditional gypsy music and the sound of the Balkan, a place where electro meets off-beat. No Sikiriki is a real master of mixing.

Opening the second day will be After Phurikane. The group formed in 2007 out of a musical project for Roma and non-Roma people. The founding of the group was preceded by a serious ethnological study. This way their style that shows the traditional melodies and musical shapes in a new way was born.

Following them is the band Kanizsa Csillagai. Formed in 1993 this band is probably the most authentic interpreter of “beás” gypsy music in Hungary. They perform a variety of “lovári”, “beás” and “romungro” gypsy music dressed in traditional clothes.

Fanfara Transilvania is your ultimate brass-band: lots of instruments, a real big family, father and son, cousin, uncle all together on one stage. A band from Cugir, Transylvania will make you want to dance for sure.

And after that comes another round of DJ No Sikiriki for the night.
On the early evening of Friday you can listen to the young and innovative Hungarian 7-piece Harmonia Garden and their special mix of genres. In this unusual “garden” you will find classical hits mixed with authentic czardas, bossa nova, French manouche, swing, tango and jazz.

Currently living in France, the Spanish Juan de Lerida is one of the most important representatives of “Flamenco Nuevo” (new flamenco). His music feeds upon the clearest sources incorporating elements of jazz and classical music. His compositions make you want to dance, they are moving and free. He will be joined on stage for a couple of songs by the Hungarian Romengo band, who play “oláh” gypsy music.

Tsigunz Fanfara Avantura is a 7-piece polish wind section with members that grew up surrounded by jazz. Their music can be described as a mix of Balkan music with Turkish and oriental influences and a touch of modern ethno jazz embedded in a powerful and romantic Slavic musical foundation.

Friday night will be closed by DJ Baxtalo. The DJ of the late Radio C is familiar with this musical world. DJ Baxtalo (“DJ Luck”) is a Roma DJ from Budapest. His style is a mix of Balkan folk music, traditional gypsy folklore and electronic fusion.

Saturday kicks off with the music of Roma Hungaricum. The sound and style of gypsy music mixed with the knowledge of the professional musicians from the big cities that evolved from generation to generation is what describes their music. The goal of the Roma Hungaricum State Ensemble is to represent this genre on the highest level possible. They want to bring the genre of traditional gypsy music closer to the younger generation and make it more exciting for them.

Vojasa means with joy and the music of this band is really joyful. Their urban folk music feeds upon the traditional Hungarian “oláh” gypsy music but contains elements of pop-rock as well. The members of the group were surrounded by music from an early age on and participated in countless musical projects throughout the last couple of years. As the closing act of this year’s programme two Hungarian Roma cultures will meet when Vojasa will perform together with Roma Hungaricum.

Legendary Roma violinist, the 65 year old Venzi Takev meets the best Bulgarian beatboxer and singer, the 23 year old Skiller in this encounter of the generations. Accompanied by two remarkable musicians Nikolai Ivanov and Kolio Ivanov they form Balkan Khans. Their music is unpredictable, explosive, mysterious and vibrant. This original sound is comprised by the exciting harmony between vocals, keyboard, violin, Bulgarian bagpipe and the tupan.

The city of Vilnius has always been a cultural melting pot of nations. You can catch elements of all these nations ranging from Ukrainian and Baltic, through German, Jewish and Tartar to British and Roma in the music of the closing act of Saturday night, Baltic Balkan, so be prepared for their crazy cabaret.

On the final day of the festival the programme will be kicked off by Kálmán Balogh, one of the best dulcimer players to date and his band the Gypsy Dulcimer Band. The dynamic and energetic performance of this group can easily incorporate authentic Hungarian folk music, gypsy music and different types of Balkan folk music. The band will be completed by the singer Guszti Balogh on stage.

They are one of the most well-known bands of the Czech world music scene, their unique style is unmistakeable. The band is formed out of Roma and non-Roma musicians and the basis of their music is traditional gypsy music, but they take inspiration from other musical traditions as well. The musical style of Terne Čhave can only be described as rom’n’roll!

Serbia, Guča and brass section is all we need to say to make anybody eager to listen to the Slobodan Salijevic Orkestar. But the true strength of the band is that they play their traditional repertoire with the same confidence and virtuosity as they play the covers. They are real uncut diamonds: talented, innovative and not yet a part of the melting pot of Balkan music.

Finally closing the last day is Baltic Balkan again.
Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names and productions to come for the 2013 Sziget!

Check out the teaser video on the following link:
27th June, 2013
Further information and tickets available at www.szigetfestival.com

The Island of Freedom – Yeni Raki Roma Tent
One of the most vibrant venues at Europe’s most exciting and colourful festival is the home of the international Roma music culture, the Yeni Raki Roma Tent. And this year the venue will be even more attractive! The magnificent line-up includes an Indian circus, Dutch pop-reggae-folk, French guitar music, Italian punk-dub-tarantella and classical hits mixed with authentic czardas, bossa nova, French manouche swing, tango and jazz. It is for sure worth to check out the venue every day.

The Island of Freedom – Yeni Raki Roma Tent
One of the most vibrant venues at Europe’s most exciting and colourful festival is the home of the international Roma music culture, the Yeni Raki Roma Tent. And this year the venue will be even more attractive! The magnificent line-up includes an Indian circus, Dutch pop-reggae-folk, French guitar music, Italian punk-dub-tarantella and classical hits mixed with authentic czardas, bossa nova, French manouche swing, tango and jazz. It is for sure worth to check out the venue every day.

Nick Cave and Franz Ferdinand confirmed for Sziget
Recently several bands and artists have accepted visas to the Island of Freedom. Arriving straight to the Main Stage with their latest release are the legendary Nick Cave and his Bad Seeds, as well as the most popular alternative rock band of the 2000’s, Franz Ferdinand.
Poet, writer, provocateur, rockstar. Nick Cave is all of these though not necessarily in this order. Whatever he does is simply important. He makes era-defining records, he creates and dismisses bands, whatever he touches turns not just into gold, but into a timeless monolith. He is still harmonic even if he is off-key: with the Bad Seeds he approaches the irregular consciously, just to make sure that all other notes wind up exactly where they are supposed to be. When Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds hit the stage the outside world stops to exist. And so it will at this year’s Sziget where they will present their latest and long awaited studio album Push The Sky Away, which was released after a five year break this February. With this modern, energetic but still typically Nick Cave-like album, that fascinates both critics and fans, they have booked a guaranteed headliner spot for this year’s festival season.
Furious and unstoppable indie rock’n’roll, really gritty and crazy dirty pop anthems that make any pit explode. This is the trademark of the always stylish Franz Ferdinand from Glasgow that made them one of the most popular British bands of the 2000’s and got them countless musical awards. Ever since their first album this band just can’t miss with their irresistible, dynamic and unique rock that keeps critics and fans satisfied each time. They will be mixing up their usual setlist with songs from their brand new, soon to be released fourth album Right Thoughts, Right Words, Right Action at this year’s Sziget Festival!
New to Sziget is !!! (pronounced: Chk, chk, chk). Every pop dictionary starts with the name of this Californian band. The Sacramento based group formed in the late 90’s is famous for its intelligent dance punk that will make you want to move your feet. Their music evokes the golden age of new wave, it’s noisy and unpolished with a little bit of funk to it. They will present their fifth album THR!!!ER on Sziget’s Main Stage.
Landing straight at A38’s party program is the ultramodern, roaring and unique electronic project of Nik Roos, Martijn Sonderen and Thijs de Vlieger, Noisia. Their music can be heard in countless PC games, Hollywood blockbusters and of course at the biggest festivals around the globe. They collaborate regularly with the biggest names in electronic music such as Skrillex, Pendulum and Prodigy. They are three-time winners of the Beatport Music Awards for Best Drum’n’Bass Act, however their music cannot be labelled as DnB only as it is open to breakbeat, house, dubstep and neurofunk just to name a few genres.
Jason Diakité, a.k.a. Timbuktu is one of the biggest Swedish hip-hop artists and reggae singers. He writes vivid, catchy but eclectic hip-hop anthems with a unique style. During his 15 year career he released 8 albums and won 7 awards at the Swedish Grammys. For ten years now he has been touring the world with a nine-piece funk band called Damn!, who will be backing him up on his show at Sziget Festival as well.
Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names and productions to come for the 2013 Sziget!
Check out the teaser video on the following link:

May 23rd, 2013
Further information and tickets available at www.szigetfestival.com

Biffy Clyro, Mika and many others visit the Island of Freedom
About two dozen new acts received their “concert visa” to Sziget, the ‘Island of Freedom’. Among the names we can find one of the best British live bands, Biffy Clyro, and one of the most talented and fun performer of today’s pop scene, Mika. In addition the suggestive, dynamic electronic production of Nero and many more will perform as well. The non-stop week of fun is once again guaranteed, this year between 5-12 August in Budapest.
Playing at the Main Stage, we will see Biffy Clyro, the best British live band today. They fill stadiums and they are always at the most-visited festivals of the UK. Their live gigs are considered massive and in the last few years they have been acknowledged by some of the most influential media. After their last three successful albums, they have released their newest one in January, ‘Opposites’, which lead the British charts for quite a while. They received a lot of awards recently: they were considered the best live band in 2011 at the NME Awards and at the Q Awards. This year they have also received the NME Award for the being the best British band.
Michael Holbrook Penniman, world-known as Mika, is one of the most talented and colorful pop artists today. He knows everything what a pop star does. Besides his almost classic songs, he will perform his newest ones from his latest album ‘The Origin of Love’ and will surely conquer the audience at the Main Stage of Sziget.
Futuristic, ultra-suggestive and massively dynamic is Nero live. The two British electronic musicians and producers, Daniel Stephens and Joe Ray, together with singer Alana Watson are touring Europe since 2010 with their dubstep, drum’n’bass and electro house craziness. This time they are visiting the Arena Stage of Sziget.
In a late-afternoon slot of the Main Stage we can see Regina Spektor, an anti-folk singer from New York. She has a unique style, influenced by folk, punk, rock, hip hop, jazz and classical music. She relies on her seemingly endless imagination when it comes to her songs, as if she was playing different roles each and every time, that’s what makes her so unique today.
One of the most active techno-pop productions, Booka Shade from Germany, is coming to the Arena Stage with a massive live show. The supplier of quality and hyper-intelligent electronic music have been in the business for 25 years now and they will definitely bring the right tunes for an unforgettable party!
There are even more names confirmed for the giant Arena tent, including the mystical, monumental, passionate alternative rock combo, The Joy Formidable. Their guitar music is at the same time very dynamic, but chilled as well. Abstract music will also be present at the mega-tent, played by Erol Alkan, a London-based electro DJ, whose fantasy is without borders and has no ties to any genres. Even though Felix Cartal is pretty young, he is already an internationally well-known Canadian musician, DJ and producer. He is open to styles from solid pop to massive electro house and this is a good set of reasons to check him out at Sziget Arena.
One of the most popular folk-rock singers from the Netherlands, Blaudzun, is also among the line-up of the festival. He received the “Dutch Grammy”, the Edison prize this February, for being the best male artist in the Netherlands. A Benelux focus is also strengthened by Monophona, the trio from Luxemburg who are preparing for their first Sziget gig. They will be a special surprise for those who love elegant, minimalist and melancholic electro-acoustic live sets. Splendid, the reggae collective from The Hague spices up their music with some rocksteady and soul. They are not only popular in the Netherlands, but spread their message to anyone who loves reggae music in Europe. This time they will do it at Sziget.
The A38 Stage has some strong new names as well, e.g. Natasha Khan aka Bat for Lashes. The singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist from London has a mysterious voice and became popular especially in the UK with her pop music. She released three studio albums out of which ‘Fur and Gold’ from 2006 and ‘Two Suns’ from 2009 have been nominated for the Mercury Prize. Flogging Molly, the number one Celtic punk band in the world, is also coming back to Sziget! Their gigs are always very popular, from the smallest events to the biggest festivals. This time they play at the A38 stage!
The music of The Cribs is just as self-confident as the members themselves. They have navigated the British indie community out of the dark after the breakup of The Smiths in the 2000s. They receive good critics and no big British festival could miss them from their line-up.
British electro-pop diva, Little Boots, is a true female icon of her generation. Her enchanting melodies remind us of the electronic synthpop dance music of the 80s. Her next big hit will be her second album, ‘Nocturnes’, which will be released this May. Dark and massive techno and electro visions are the good words for French electronic musician, DJ and producer, Gesaffelstein. He visits Sziget with a live act, which is usually built up with engineering punctuality. These diverse and quality sets have a great atmosphere and free up the available energies on the dance floor. Dub FX has been rather popular on the video sharing portals and the blog-sphere, while he has also toured all five continents with his loops, revolutionizing the world of street performances. The name dOP represents three creative, sexy and irresistible men from Paris. The trio of Damien Vandesande, Clément Aichelbaum and Jonathan Illel knows exactly how to combine organic electronic music with live instruments and how to add funk, jazz, classical and minimal house and lounge taste to the music. German punk-rock band, Donots, are unstoppably popular. With their new album, released last summer, ‘Wake the Dogs’ they will visit Sziget as well. Hoffmaestro plays a witty ska music, which is merged together with reggae, techno, New Orleans funk and classical country music as well. Rangleklods live is a Danish performer strongly believing in improvisation and revolutionizing sounds. He mixes the main parts of his music on his laptop, but the act comes together on the stage with his small tricks, spontaneous attitude and ad hoc effects.
The talented and characteristic Dutch band, Daily Bread, will also play their overpowering garage rock music at the event. The four members of the group are also open to new wave and chill wave sounds!
Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names and productions to come for the 2013 Sziget!
Check out the teaser video on the following link: http://youtu.be/Ibs8HuFPPOg

Sziget 2013 – The Island of Freedom
The Sziget press conference, held 27th March, has revealed many new information about the concept and programs of this year’s festival. Sziget, the Island of Freedom, was born, emphasizing the concept behind the 21 year old event. As an increasing focus of the organizers, the on-site visuals of the festival will have a greater role, therefore a huge End Show with David Guetta will crown the last evening of the non-stop week of fun. Some more venues and programs will enrich the festival as well. While the event is known for its premium qualities, many of the services will be improved to make the festival holiday a more comfortable experience. Sziget takes place between 5-12 August in the heart of Budapest.

The Island of Freedom is born!

Almost the same day, twenty years ago, an enthusiastic group of youngsters have declared some slogans for an event that was about to happen. The following were born: “We need a non-stop week of fun together”,“ A meeting point for students of the universe-city” and “A place where anything is possible and nothing is compulsory”. They summarized the event with these three sentences, the concepts that everyone of this friend circle was dreaming about. This is how Károly Gerendai, main organizer of Sziget Festival remembers these early days: “Freedom was always a key expression for us, and we might not even had a clue what a ‘real’ festival was all about, but we thought and felt that it could only be a place where people are without constraints and they can leave behind the problems of the weekdays to spend a week in happiness and peace”.

Basically the new concept of Sziget 2013 is a re-definition of the already existing one: this time the ‘Island of Freedom’ is officially born, that is a temporary republic for a week, with own rules, own money, a physically separated location of an island, in the heart of a metropolis, with an own hatchment and flag.
The Island of Freedom is a democratic republic without a leader, where every member of the society, either aboriginal or immigrant, has the same rights and commitments.

Cirque du Sziget: a new venue at Sziget Festival

Ladies and Gentleman! A marvelous and brand new venue is enriching the colorful programs of Sziget Festival this year. The Cirque du Sziget will host breath-taking “new-circus” productions and also some impressive shows of young Hungarian acrobats, put together exclusively for the event. Because Sziget is so much more than just a music festival!

Please find more info in the attached press release!
And check out the video: http://youtu.be/ccNFxsd467E

From gypsy beats to ‘spaghetti Balkan’: 120% world music at Sziget


The OTP Bank World Music Party Stage has celebrated the 20th Sziget with 120% of world music and the feedbacks were so positive that the organizers aim to crank up this year’s show! So not only the big names of the genre, but also the most important Central and Eastern European acts will be on stage, mainly representing the Balkan and ska-based craziness.

Let’s start with the best-known names. With their unique style, the American Calexico is mixing alterock and Mexican mariachi music, arriving to Sziget Festival this year with touring their new album ‘Algiers’. Also with a fresh material comes Rachid Taha, who revolutionized Algerian raï music, now playing his album ‘Zoom’, that had such contributors as Brian Eno and Mick Jones. We know what to expect from the Balkan punk’n’roll star Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, as they have conquered the audience at last year’s Sziget. Similarly, Leningrad will rock with their brutal Russian ska dance music this year.

For sure the Latin rhythms cannot be missed either. Those who liked Che Sudaka last year can start their dance training as Catalan rumba kings La Pegatina will be performing some excellent and danceable tunes. For those who want to discover something unique of nowadays world music we recommend Moana and the Tribe, a band coming from New Zealand. The crowd of Sziget every year expects the most popular African bands to introduce themselves at the event. This year Mokoomba from Zimbabwe will be the coolest of all: in their Pan-African music you can find everything that is important to make African music irresistible.

We should also look around in the Balkan part of the line-up! Fanfara Tirana meets Transglobal Underground is the meeting point between an Albanian brass-band and British ethno-techno, this time coming together in Kabatronics, their new album. Representing the region with psychedelic gypsy beats, Tako Lako, is a band coming from Copenhagen with Serbian and Danish musicians, making something new out of the well-known Balkan characteristics.

Shutka Roma Rap is also a very exciting collaboration of a Macedonian brass-band and rappers from Shutka, near Skopje. Last year’s big success “spaghetti Balkan” band the Figli Di Madre Ignota plays from the rich menu of ska and rock. From the history of the stage one of the most memorable performers, the Bosnian Dubioza Kolektiv is beloved for their fusion music of dub, ska, rock and Balkan sounds.

The previous years saw many Central and Eastern European bands breaking through in the international world music scene, which makes them inevitable for the line-up of Sziget’s thematic stage. The number one choice has to be Ukraine’s DakhaBrakha, knowing everything about Slavic music, while combining their sounds with electronic tunes and instruments from all over the world. They toured the world from Western-Europe to Australia with more than 300 stops and now they come to Sziget. The Polish R.U.T.A. is also very fascinating. Their members coming from folk and punk background are not seeking compromises: they are a true revolutionary band singing lyrics from the medieval ages when peasants were uprising against the land owners.

Also coming from Poland, the Warsaw Village Band, is well-known now for last year’s album ‘Nord’ focusing on the Slavic, Scandinavian and Sami traditions. Representing the Czech Republic, Cankisou, plays wild rhythms with a spice of Pakistan in their songs.

Within the Central and Eastern European focus, we cannot forget the biggest Hungarian bands either. The world-known tambur music of Söndörgő and the massive beats of Besh o droM and guests will also play in the Balkan program. One of the most known Roma bands, Parno Graszt in collaboration with the French Latcho Drom is also a must-see show for those into the wilder side of world music. Hungary became visible on the ska map thanks to Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra, also promising us a strong and entertaining gig on the OTP Bank World Music Party Stage in 2013. The Csík Band and friends is competing with the popularity of Hungarian celebrities, while bringing back the love of Hungarian folk music into the heart of everyone. They will present songs from their twenty-five year repertoire and also a block remembering Hungarian singer-songwriter Tamás Cseh.

These are twenty-one names, all together, looking nice in the line-up! And another piece of news to add from the magic world of world music: Songlines – the best-known world music magazine – has once again chosen Sziget Festival among the best international festivals!

Stay tuned in the upcoming weeks as there are more names and productions to come for the 2013 Sziget!

Check out the teaser video on the following link:
http://youtu.be/xPq7rCF0jMw

24 new names confirmed for various stages at Sziget Festival

The colorful and diverse line-up of Sziget Festival is building up in the coming weeks. This time 24 new acts are announced for various stages: many are new-comers at Sziget, but there are also many acts that have been very popular in the previous editions of the event. The non-stop week of fun is once again guaranteed, this year between 5-12 August.

Check out the new names and details in the attached press release and the teaser video!

http://youtu.be/UozAG4-x1Qg

Sziget reveals new names, mainly for Arena and A38

Four of the five mainstage headliners are still to be announced, but the Sziget crew is happy to give an insight on how the line-ups of the giant tent venues and the earlier slots are shaping up.

Sziget is the festival where all fans can open their minds and also discover or rediscover acts that might not feature in the headlines of the posters. As previous years’ experience shows, not only the open-air stages but also the huge, eight to ten thousand capacity concert and party tents offer a very exciting program. Among the newly confirmed performers there are some popular acts revisiting Sziget and also some great newcomers. Let’s just check who they are:

The newly confirmed names are mainly related to the line-up of the A38 and Arena venues. Among the acts of the huge Arena tent we can find Boys Noize, who plays fresh and energetic electro with a touch of techno. He is not only an internationally well-known producer and boss of his own label but also considered to be amongst the top 10 DJs by Rolling Stone Magazine.

Nicky Romero is known for his bombastic tracks and outlandish remixes. Even though he has a short but busy carrier, he has performed at the world’s leading concert venues and most visited electronic festivals. Now he is preparing for Sziget.

German electronic hip-hop combo Deichkind also accepted the invitation of the organizers. Beloved for crazy and wild live shows including rubbish bag-outfits, trampolines, vodka, and pillow fights among other things, their Sziget gig will surely be an unforgettable one.

Austria’s finest Parov Stelar Band - founders of the electro swing genre and one of the most beloved party bands at big festivals – will return to Hungary after their gig at VOLT Festival in the beginning of July. And adding to the party atmosphere of Sziget, Spanish techno icon Oscar Mulero will perform as well. Still considered as the biggest DJ of Spain he always follows current trends with a sense of tradition and innovation.

With its sweeping craziness, the success grimcore band among the youngest electronic music fans, Hadouken, will play at the A38 stage debuting with their new album ‘Every Weekend’, set to be released this February. The huge A38 tent will also host Belgian rockers Triggerfinger, known for both their traditional rock music of dynamism and tense pace combined with an emotional side. Another A38 stage performer, The Bots, will provide a pure and fresh sound without any artificial substances but an amazing rough background energy coming from their true guitar rock.

Of course the line-up of the Main Stage is also developing. Performing in a late-afternoon slot, Sziget welcomes German giants Die Arzte again. Their music is on the edge of punk and rock with matching satirical lyrics, so surely a great basis to start up a night of fun. Another late afternoon German addition to the line-up of the big venue will be Seeed, the reggae-dancehall formation which is undoubtedly the most well-known representative of their genre in the region.

Last but not least, the organizing team is happy to announce the Sziget debut of Azealia Banks, a young talent from Harlem, performing a daytime gig at the Main Stage. Some of the most important facts about her: at the “BBC Sound of 2012” contest she got the third place and also received the Philip Hall Radar Award at the NME Awards, together with the New Style Icon prize at the Billboards Awards.

Check out this video for a better insight on all of the newly announced acts:
http://youtu.be/9zzu5BVDLFM

And check this one to relive the Sziget vibe once again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGc-rEscomk

For tickets and more information please check: www.szigetfestival.com

Budapest, January 23, 2013

Sziget reveals new names, mainly for Arena and A38

Four of the five mainstage headliners are still to be announced, but the Sziget crew is happy to give an insight on how the line-ups of the giant tent venues and the earlier slots are shaping up.

Sziget is the festival where all fans can open their minds and also discover or rediscover acts that might not feature in the headlines of the posters. As previous years’ experience shows, not only the open-air stages but also the huge, eight to ten thousand capacity concert and party tents offer a very exciting program. Among the newly confirmed performers there are some popular acts revisiting Sziget and also some great newcomers. Let’s just check who they are:

The newly confirmed names are mainly related to the line-up of the A38 and Arena venues. Among the acts of the huge Arena tent we can find Boys Noize, who plays fresh and energetic electro with a touch of techno. He is not only an internationally well-known producer and boss of his own label but also considered to be amongst the top 10 DJs by Rolling Stone Magazine.

Nicky Romero is known for his bombastic tracks and outlandish remixes. Even though he has a short but busy carrier, he has performed at the world’s leading concert venues and most visited electronic festivals. Now he is preparing for Sziget.

German electronic hip-hop combo Deichkind also accepted the invitation of the organizers. Beloved for crazy and wild live shows including rubbish bag-outfits, trampolines, vodka, and pillow fights among other things, their Sziget gig will surely be an unforgettable one.

Austria’s finest Parov Stelar Band - founders of the electro swing genre and one of the most beloved party bands at big festivals – will return to Hungary after their gig at VOLT Festival in the beginning of July. And adding to the party atmosphere of Sziget, Spanish techno icon Oscar Mulero will perform as well. Still considered as the biggest DJ of Spain he always follows current trends with a sense of tradition and innovation.

With its sweeping craziness, the success grimcore band among the youngest electronic music fans, Hadouken, will play at the A38 stage debuting with their new album ‘Every Weekend’, set to be released this February. The huge A38 tent will also host Belgian rockers Triggerfinger, known for both their traditional rock music of dynamism and tense pace combined with an emotional side. Another A38 stage performer, The Bots, will provide a pure and fresh sound without any artificial substances but an amazing rough background energy coming from their true guitar rock.

Of course the line-up of the Main Stage is also developing. Performing in a late-afternoon slot, Sziget welcomes German giants Die Arzte again. Their music is on the edge of punk and rock with matching satirical lyrics, so surely a great basis to start up a night of fun. Another late afternoon German addition to the line-up of the big venue will be Seeed, the reggae-dancehall formation which is undoubtedly the most well-known representative of their genre in the region.

Last but not least, the organizing team is happy to announce the Sziget debut of Azealia Banks, a young talent from Harlem, performing a daytime gig at the Main Stage. Some of the most important facts about her: at the “BBC Sound of 2012” contest she got the third place and also received the Philip Hall Radar Award at the NME Awards, together with the New Style Icon prize at the Billboards Awards.

Check out this video for a better insight on all of the newly announced acts:
http://youtu.be/9zzu5BVDLFM

And check this one to relive the Sziget vibe once again:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGc-rEscomk

For tickets and more information please check: www.szigetfestival.com

Budapest, January 23, 2013

Sziget 2013: Blur comes to Sziget!

The legendary British band and the winner of the Best European Major Festival award finally joined forces: Blur is a confirmed headliner of Sziget!
The organizing team happily announces the long-awaited Sziget debut of Blur, the iconic rock band that earlier this year also received a Brit Award for lifetime achievements. Speaking about playing live in 2013 the band said:“Every show next summer will be very special – we can’t wait to get out and play for all our lovely fans who we haven’t seen for a while.”
Blur became world famous in the 90s with records including Parklife and The Great Escape and hits such as"Girls & Boys", "Country House", "Song 2”, “End Of A Century”, “To The End" and “Beetlebum” making them one of the bands of the decade. In 2009 the band came together to play a series of UK shows including two sold out dates at Hyde Park in London and a historic Sunday night appearance at Glastonbury Festival. A film about Blur,No Distance Left To Run, was released in 2010. Earlier this year, Blur wrote two new songs ahead of their massive sold out show in London's Hyde Park to mark the closing of the Olympic Games. The songs “The Puritan“ and “Under The Westway“ were debuted live on Twitter via a worldwide video stream from a London rooftop. And twenty one years after the release of their debut album, 2012 also saw Blur 21: The Box, the band's body of work compiled and gathered together into one box.

2013 will see Blur’s first appearance at Sziget Festival, rocking the main stage in front of the world’s probably most international audience.

Meduza Nights on the A38 Stage
Looking for progressive e-music on Sziget? Don’t look any further: the
Meduza Nights program on the A38 Stage will include a whole host of great
DJs, evoking and further developing the well-known “meduza party feeling”,
every day from 23.30 till dawn. Party, night time, progress, Meduza!
Meduza has been the right place to find experimental and progressive electronic acts
since 2006 and became an iconic Sziget party venue in the last few years. The symbolic
octagonal building is gone, but the spirit stays the same and grows bigger during the
night slots of the A38 Stage.
Meduza nights will include an international line-up, featuring DJ Fresh, a true
ambassador of contemporary drum’n’bass and Tiga, Canada’s nr. 1. electro musician
and founder of the legendary Turbo Recordings label. Tiga’s label will also proudly
present Azari & III, playing an intelligent mixture of house-electro-pop. Besides them
you can also meet Italian electro and fidget grand master Crookers, while Ed Banger
Records will present their current star, SebastiAn. The international line-up will also
include Lincoln Barrett, a.k.a. High Contrast… and so much more.
If you are also interested in the Hungarian line-up of Meduza Nights, you will be happy
to discover Yonderboi’s name in the program, returning to the Hungarian festival
scene this summer, presenting his electronic live act. Other exciting local acts include
Chris.Su, Coyote, Jade and Secret Factory.
This is just a first taste of what is waiting for you, so be sure you’re heading towards the
A38 Stage every night after 23.30… and explore all new territories of the e-music
universe.
You can find the full Meduza Nights program here:
http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english/programs#l1962

All eyes on Sziget…
… and one eye definitely, that’s the 42 meters high Sziget Eye, a ferris (giant)
wheel with room enough for 180 people, right in front of the Sziget Main
Stage. If you’re the observer type, you’ve already noticed some new bands
appearing on the detailed program of the event, now available at
szigetfestival.com.
Sziget Eye will be a great symbol of a renewed festival, celebrating its 20th edition this
year. It will run with a capacity of 1000 persons/hour and at night it will host film
projections on a canvas with an area of several hundred square meters. Sziget Eye is
also a good reflection to the fact that London is not the only place to see giant wheels
and a truly international crowd in mid-August.
And surely not the only place to meet sports friends, as German indie band
Sportfreunde Stiller will rock the Sziget main stage on Friday afternoon. The trio was
formed back in 1996, named after their former football manager and received several
MTV Music Awards nominations in the category Best German Act. Sportfreunde Stiller
announced they will be trying out new songs live at festivals this summer, suggesting
there may be a new studio album in the works.
Other new additions to the line-up include Brighton-based hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, who
released their debut LP Stereo Typical less than a year ago and already sold 1 million
singles and 300 000 albums in the UK. Check them out at the A38 stage on Friday.
But stereo typical is not necessarily hip-hop, as you will find French metal combo
Stereotypical Working Class in the line-up of the YourOpen International Talent Festival,
held on Days -1 and 0. The program will introduce a total of 18 bands from 15
countries, all winners of local talent contests, or coming through the Central and Eastern
European Talent Exchange Program (CEETEP). You will find the full YourOpen line-up at
http://www.sziget.hu/festival_english/programs.

All eyes on Sziget…

… and one eye definitely, that’s the 42 meters high Sziget Eye, a ferris (giant) wheel with room enough for 180 people, right in front of the Sziget Main Stage. If you’re the observer type, you’ve already noticed some new bands appearing on the detailed program of the event, now available on the website.

Sziget Eye will be a great symbol of a renewed festival, celebrating its 20th edition this year. It will run with a capacity of 1000 persons/hour and at night it will host film projections on a canvas with an area of several hundred square meters. Sziget Eye is also a good reflection to the fact that London is not the only place to see giant wheels and a truly international crowd in mid-August.

And surely not the only place to meet sports friends, as German indie band Sportfreunde Stiller will rock the Sziget main stage on Friday afternoon. The trio was formed back in 1996, named after their former football manager and received several MTV Music Awards nominations in the category Best German Act. Sportfreunde Stiller announced they will be trying out new songs live at festivals this summer, suggesting there may be a new studio album in the works.

Other new additions to the line-up include Brighton-based hip-hop duo Rizzle Kicks, who released their debut LP Stereo Typical less than a year ago and already sold 1 million singles and 300 000 albums in the UK. Check them out at the A38 stage on Friday.

But stereo typical is not necessarily hip-hop, as you will find French metal combo Stereotypical Working Classin the line-up of the YourOpen International Talent Festival, held on Days -1 and 0. The program will introduce a total of 18 bands from 15 countries, all winners of local talent contests, or coming through the Central and Eastern European Talent Exchange Program (CEETEP). You will find the full YourOpen line-up here.

An open attitude is clearly behind the program of Sziget’s new national stages, designed to showcase the culture of visiting countries. In 2012 The Netherlands will be strongly represented at the Holland meets Hungary stage, mainly focusing on the cooperation between Dutch and Hungarian star musicians during the Jam de la Créme sessions, but also presenting dance performances by ILL Skill Squad, short stories by Jaap Scholten and great Dutch and Hungarian DJs to end each night.

Sziget also wouldn’t be Sziget without Italians, so make sure you visit the Puglia Sounds Mambo Stage, mainly showcasing some great bands from southern Italy with semi-acoustic gigs. Good music, good food, what else do you need to have the perfect afternoon? And Friday takes along the big hitters with the concert of Bud Spencer Blues Explosion and I Ministri.

Hard to choose, but time to do it! If you need a little help, feel free to use the personal online program guide, or simply download the free Sziget app, soon available at App store and Android Market (Google Play).

Metal Day at Sziget!

Metalheads can start up this year’s Sziget Festival with a day in paradise, as Dimmu Borgir, Lacuna Coil, Hammerfall, Moonspell, Ignite and Superbutt will all appear on the dedicated Metal Day of the event on August 7th in Budapest, Hungary.

Day 0 of Europe’s Best Major Festival will provide a dedicated metal event, hosted by the Hungarian Main stage at the northern part of the island and presenting a quality international line-up, reaching out to many styles of the hardest and heaviest genre. All this from 2PM all the way until 11PM.

Superbutt

The Metal Day line-up starts with Hungarian rock-metal heroes Superbutt, a Budapest based five-piece combo that has already released five full length albums and toured all across Europe.

Ignite

The next act on stage will be Californian hardcore-punk group Ignite, playing their hard, but still melodic tunes with an unstoppable intensity.

Moonspell

Then it’s time for Portuguese heavy metal stars Moonspell, well known throughout the continent, having released their newest double LP - Alpha Noir / Omega White - this April, which is already the ninth full length album of the band.

Hammerfall

After them the stage will be ready for Oscar Dronjak’s legendary Scandinavian power metal act, Hammerfall. Last time they played at Sziget was in 2007 and since then released 2 studio albums. And if you know what they are up to, you know they will prevail!

Lacuna Coil

Producing great gothic metal is evidently not just a privilege of northern countries. This theory is clearly proven by Italy’s Lacuna Coil, who are also amongst the Sziget Metal Day bands. The last 17 years already saw them selling more than 2 million albums world-wide, also achieving huge successes in the United States.

Dimmu Borgir

And the night will be closed by Norway’s nr. 1 black metal act, the unbelievably strong and monumental Dimmu Borgir. After spending the last 20 years on stage, they belong to the elite of the Scandinavian scene, releasing dominant albums and playing on the biggest metal events all over the world.

Snoop Dogg, Sum 41 at Sziget

The program of the 20th Sziget Festival is almost complete now and the newest announcement includes various styles, featuring Snoop Dogg, Sum 41, Leftfield and SebastiAn.

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus a.k.a. Snoop Dogg can easily be considered as “king of gangsta rap”, a real icon of the scene who already sold almost 20 million albums world-wide. The West Coast rapper is one of the most successful artists of the USA and plans to release his newest LP with the title Reincarnated in the second part of 2012.

Sum 41

Deryck Whibley’s Sum 41 is a clear and undisputed choice for the younger generation of punk fans. Deryck (also ex-husband of pop-punk princess Avril Lavigne) formed the band together with drummer Steve Jocz in 1996 in Ajax, Canada and grew to become a leader of the genre by now.

SebastiAN

SebastiAn is a French musician, DJ and producer, mainly active in the contemporary electro house scene. Besides becoming a regular at e-music festivals and renown for his special remixes, SebastiAn’s music also appears in several movies and video games. His debut album, Total was released last May, gathering great critics ever since.

Leftfield

Leftfield is probably the most popular act of the British party culture from the 90s. After producing some of the most important e-music pieces of the scene, they stopped working together in 2002, only to celebrate a successful comeback recently. As of December 2011, Neil Barnes continues to tour with the band while Paul Daley is focusing upon his solo career. The gig will surely provide a cool presentation for both the experienced and new fans of electronic music.

Important to note: SebastiAn is one of the many quality acts performing at the Meduza Nights program section of the A38 Stage. If you were a fan of the old Meduza venue, you will surely love to spend your nights at A38.

And some more good news for e-music fans is provided by the confirmation of the Egyptian trance duo Aly & Fila, and the British DJ and producer Lange featuring Betsie Larkin for the mighty Arena venue.

Sziget Festival happily announces another group of confirmed acts for the 20th edition. Main Stage will host UK indie rockers Maxïmo Park and legendary East Coast crew, The Roots. Holland’s famous Kraak & Smaak will give a great live show at the Arena and there are four new additions to the line-up of the A38 stage, including Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel, beatbox phenomenon Beardyman, London’s finest Citizens! and Berlin-based punk crew, Bonaparte.

Meet them together with fans from over 60 countries this summer in Budapest, between 6 and 13 August.

20th Sziget: new bands confirmed: Maxïmo Park l The Roots l Kraak & Smaak live l Agnes Obel l Beardyman l Citizens! l Bonaparte

Sziget Festival happily announces another group of confirmed acts for the 20th edition. Main Stage will host UK indie rockers Maxïmo Park and legendary East Coast crew, The Roots. Holland’s famous Kraak & Smaak will give a great live show at the Arena and there are four new additions to the line-up of the A38 stage, including Danish singer-songwriter Agnes Obel, beatbox phenomenon Beardyman, London’s finest Citizens! and Berlin-based punk crew, Bonaparte. Meet them together with fans from over 60 countries this summer in Budapest, between 6 and 13 August.

Till alla er vikingar där ute! Det är dags att börja tagga och planera plundringståget till Sziget Festival. In med er på http://www.facebook.com/sziget.sweden och hitta resekompisar and galna festivalkompisar

Sziget 20 – a comprehensive intro

Sziget is the place to be in the middle of August. Europe’s Best Major Festival is celebrating its
20th edition, promising not just great programs, but also a new visual concept. The renewed
festival is happy to welcome all the fans who enjoyed it in the past, but also tries to set the targets
for the next decades. And now it’s official: the 2012 edition of the Budapest-based event will be a
day longer, introducing Day -2. The countdown is running…

The program of Sziget nr. 20 is clearly taking shape, already around 95% ready. The organizing team had to
face severe problems, mainly an economic downturn that has been a tough opponent throughout the campaign,
but the vast experience of the last decades is always helpful. „This is a jubilee edition and we also expect the
older generations to come back and celebrate with us, but the majority of our music programs focus on fresh
new acts that also show the way for younger fans. I believe the 20th Sziget will prove to all visitors that it will
make sense to return for the 21st edition as well”. – said Karoly Gerendai, the event’s main organizer.

Innovations, changes
One thing is sure, this year even the well accomplished Sziget fans will have to relearn the map, as many
venues will move to new places and generally there will be a lot of changes. Some venues will completely
change, some will disappear and new venues will show up. But the main message is always the same: Sziget is
the most colorful and open-minded festival in Europe.

Changing locations…
… the world music stage moves to the former place of the Giant Street Theater (also the location where the
main stage was standing during the first edition) and gets the name OTP World Music Party Stage. The Giant
Street Theatre moves to the place of last year’s metal stage. The Roma Stage will find its new venue next to
theatre hill, opposite to the European Meeting Point, while the Logical Games Tent will take the former location
of Octopus. The multi arts venue goes to the former place of the MR2 Hungarian Main Stage, while that one will
move to the ex-venue of the world music stage. The World Village will move to the former place of the blues
stage, while A38 goes right to the center, behind the main stage and offers 7 slots per day. The sports venue
moves to the former place of A38 and Magic Mirror returns to its original location. Got it? Just don’t lose your
direction.

Growing bigger…
… Arena, with 2 extra slots to go beyond electronic tunes and host Europe stage bands as well

Returning…
… Luminarium, right at last year’s Meduza location.

New stages…
… Holland meets Hungary Stage and Puglia Sounds Mambo Stage

Exciting visuals…
… a whole bunch of them, showing the new face of Sziget, including decorations, lights and great-looking
program venues.

The Day of the Hungarian Song…
… the already mentioned -2 Day will be all about Hungarian bands, paying tribute to some great domestic

songs. If you think about moving in early, setting your tent and then warming up for the week of partying, well,
you will have a great time with a total of 70 performers that day. Your weekly ticket won’t include this day, but
you can get a special daily for 17 EUR (not a huge investment compared to the 15 EUR moving-in ticket)

Day -1
… the main focus will stay on Hungarian acts, but not just on them. Csík Ensamble is playing a mega concert
on main stage, presenting the finest crossovers between Hungarian folk and pop music and hosting a huge
nr. of domestic stars. At the same time (both on Day -1 and 0) the Open Civil stage will host the YOUROPEN
talent show, presenting some exciting fresh bands from all over Europe, as part of Sziget’s cooperation with the
biggest talent contests of the continent. Check the new stuff and find your new favorites right at Sziget.

Day 0
… Metal Daaaaay!!! Hell yes, metal stage is sadly gone, but the regular program still includes some of the hard
and heavy acts, while Day 0 will be all about them on the MR2 stage. The international line up of this special
day is still taking shape, so more news on this soon. Not into metal? Check out Hungary’s biggest pop icon,
Akos, playing his huge show at the same day on main stage.

MAIN STAGE PROGRAMS ON SZIGET

Pop-rock Main Stage
The biggest stage of the event will surely host the following acts:
Gocoo, Anti Flag, Viza, Noah and the Whale, The Subways, Glasvegas, Caro Emerald, The Vaccines, The
Horrors, Paolo Nutini, Beatstakes, Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, Mando Diao, Hurts, The xx, LMFAO,
Placebo, Korn, The Stone Roses and The Killers.

OTP World Music Party Stage
One of Sziget’s most exciting venues, moving to a new place this year and presenting 5 instead of 4 bands per
day. Who are these bands?
The Pogues, La Selva Sur, Che Sudaka, Los De Abajo, Figli Di Madre Ignota, Sergent Garcia, Dubioza Kolektiv,
Roy Paci & Aretuska, Leningrad, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking
Orchestra, Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Besh o droM, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra,
Rotfront, Quimby, LaBrassBanda, Orchestre National De Barbés, Imam Baildi, HK & Les Saltimbanks, Amsterdam
Klezmer Band, Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Molotov and Narasirato.

A38 Stage
Again a venue that changes place, A38’s huge tent is getting right at the center behind main stage, keeping its
well known values during the days and the nights, but also offering a very strong electro program between 1AM
and 5AM, designed to make up for the loss of the Meduza venue. A38 will surely host the following acts:
Tiga, Dirthyphonics, DJ Fresh, High Contrast presents "The agony & the ecstasy featuring Selah Corbin &
Dynamite MC, Shaka Ponk, Yonderboi, Flying Lotus, The Black Seeds, Jungle by Night, Heideroosjes, Anna Calvi,
Wild Beats, Kakkmaddafakka, Katzenjammer, dEUS, Fink, Lamb, Ministry, Bebel Gilberto, The Ting Tings, Dope
D.O.D, Crookers, Modeselektor and Azari & III.

Arena
… the other megatent of the festival, spreading its program in 4 slots daily in a bigger than ever venue. Arena is
starting already at 4PM each day and as a startup hosts bands that would have probably played on the Europe
Stage last year. These are the so-called “Europe slots”, presenting acts that are well known back home, but
still waiting for their big international breakthrough, including I Cani (ITA), Frittenbude (GER), 1995 (FRA),
In Golden Tears (GER), Grimus (ROM), Elektro Guzzi (AUT), Chef’s Special (NED), Teatro Degli Orrori (ITA),
Danakil (FRA) and Amon Amarth (FIN).

The 7.30PM slot names for Arena have already been announced, including Saint Etienne, Crystal Fighters,
Magnetic Man. And then at 10PM you can meet some great DJs, like Steve Aoki, Axwell, Adam Beyer, The
Advent vs Industrialyzer live, Flux Pavilon and Borgore.

3

Hungarian Main Stage
As alway, a full ine-up of Hungarian stars, this time on a venue moving to the old place of the world music
stage. Not compulsory, but being the open-minded Sziget fan who you are, just make sure you dedicate some
time to this stage and get a taste of Hungary.

SMALLER VENUES – A.K.A THE SOUL OF SZIGET

Roma Tent
Part of the festival for 11 years, making Sziget the only big festival dedicating an independent venue for the
Roma culture. Open your mind and you will actually find yourself in the middle of a great party. The highlight is
on music, but also presenting other art forms, like exhibitions. The program includes:
Ferenc Snétberger’s students, Romengo, Fishtank Ensemble, O’Djila, Besh o droM, Etnorom, Nadara, The Barons
of Tang, DJ Click, Caci Vorba, Vojasa, Gypsy Hill, Vodku, Söndörgő, Naat Veliov & The Original Kocani Orkestar,
Dj Gaetano Fabri & Balkanhotsteppers, Robert Lakatos & a Rév, Parno Graszt, and Fanfara Shavale.

Renwed multi-art venue: Culture Zone
Sziget’s emblematic feature under a new name and in a new venue, hosting theater, fine arts, exhibitions,
design, classical music, jazz, literature, slam poetry, stand-up comedy, circus, street theatre, artistes, acrobats,
jugglers, environmental thinking, recycling, workshops, flashmobs, yoga, tai chi and so much more. Show your
face! is the motto of this year’s multi-art activities.

Venues included in the Culture Zone:
Eastern-European Funfair, Museum Circle, Reader’s Park, Tarot Labyrinth, Octopoly – Upcycling Installation,
Creative Workshop Zone, Medence RE+Concept Bag workshop, +Stencilworkshop, Medence Concept Store,
Hello Wood, Agora

Holland meets Hungary Stage
The idea of a Dutch venue is based on the success of last years’ Dutch Meeting Point and the general popularity
of Sziget in The Netherlands. However this wants to be a lot more than just a Dutch cultural showcase, rather
concentrating on an open-minded cooperation between Dutch and Hungarian artists, including jam sessions of
famous musicians and also presenting afternoon chats and presentations with prominent guests.
Puglia Sounds - Mambo Stage
Semi-acoustic concerts and DJ sets during the day, interviews, live radio programs and presentations at night,
hosting bands and guests from all over the world. And very importantly: presenting all the musical talents the
South Italian region of Puglia has to offer.

Giant Street Theatre
Another emblematic Sziget venue, presenting the French actors of Compagnie Pipotal and their performance
with the title Basculoscopia.

Street theatres
Actors, artistes, musicians, arriving at any possible time from any possible direction. You will surely meet Cia
La Tal from Spain, Blaas of Glory from The Netherlands, Teatro Correquetepillo, Buchty A Loutky and so much
more.

Hungaricum Village
The very best of Hungarian folk culture, including dance, games, exhibitions, music, fire-jumping and some
great traditional wines and bakeries of the host country. On Sunday morning you can even join an ecumenical
mass at the same venue.

Wine & Fröccs Garden
The best place to taste Hungarian wines, right next to Hungaricum village.

WAMP

4

Sunday arts market, right next to Hungaricum Village

Magic Mirror
The queer venue of Sziget, celebrating its 12th anniversary and presenting award winning movies from the
Berlinale, roundtable discussions, concerts, vaudevilles and parties all night long. Magic Mirror also presents its
very own talent contest in the categories artiste, queer and dancer.

Afro-Latin Stage and World Village
Sunny productions on stage, presenting the best of Jamaica and the African continent. Programs include bands,
dancers, handicraft, workshops, massage, etc.

European Meeting Point
Informal discussions and games about EU topics and the chance to meet EU institutions in a relaxed way. EU4U
consulate is also here to help out citizens in trouble.

Civil Sziget and Open-Civil Stage
The name says it all: presentations, performances, games, movies and a lot of music – dealing with everything
in connection with an open civil attitude.

Ability Park
An interactive adventure park where you can try to understand the life of disabled people. Also a disabled
service center, including special toilets, attendants, etc.

Cöypon Ambient Tent Garden
A non-stop chill music venue with DJs, live acts, visuals, massage, belly dance, capoeira, yoga and anything you
might need to relax a bit. Entrance only with bare feet!

VOLT Festival Terrace
The biggest parties with DJs and retro concerts of Hungarian stars from the 80s and 90s.

Logical Games Tent
Chess, Rubik cube, puzzle, domino and any games you might think about… respect the rules.

Olympic and Sports venue
Daytime activities, games and a number of sports possibilities for Sziget fans who search an active recreation. A
special focus will be on the Olympics, so you can watch the games live on giant screens and also try yourself in
competitions.

More to come in the next few months.
Further information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

20th Sziget: The Killers l Borgore l Crookers l Dirtyphonics live l DJ Fresh l Dope D.O.D l High Contrast presents "The agony & the ecstasy featuring Jessy Allen& Dynamite MC l Amon Amarth l Kakkamaddafakka l Lamb l Anti Flag...

Breaking: The Killers will be the final act on the Main Stage

According to the latest news an agreement was reached with The Killers: America's most exciting contemporary rock band will perform the final act at the last day of Sziget Festival. Recently a solid electro-package also arrived at the A38 stage with among others Borgore, Crookers and DJ Fresh, High Contrast & Dynamite Mc and Tiga included, but the best news is that we need only 100 nights of sleep before the start of the 20th Sziget.

Sziget 2012 World Music Party Stage

How to get the whole world dancing?
Easy answer: just make sure everyone spends time at the World Music Party Stage of Sziget Festival, between 6-13 August in Budapest.
The program of the stage is complete and means 120% of dance and fun – even the name has changed to indicate this. You can meet the orginal line-up of The Pogues, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar and also great Hungarian acts like Quimby, PASO, or Besh o droM. No wonder Songlines once again voted Sziget as one of the top festivals of the world music genre.

The world music stage has some great traditions at Sziget, also known for the
fact that it presents exciting new acts and also the biggest names of this musical
sphere. The Pogues are surely amongst the legends, they basically created the
Irish folk-punk style. It’s been 20 years since singer Shane MacGowan quit the
band and started his own project, The Popes, but neither that, nor the remaining
version of The Pogues came close to the success of the original band, active
between 1982 and 1991 and recording great LP’s like Rum, Sodomy And The
Lash, or If I Should Fall Grave With God. We are happy to report that they are
back together and promise a superb show at Sziget.

Of course it’s not just about Irish music at the world stage, as you will also find a
great number of bands playing latin, or ska. And some of them mix the pleasures,
like La Selva Sur and Che Sudaka from Spain, or Mexican ska stars Los De
Abajo. And we surely shouldn’t forget about Figli Di Madre Ignota, playing
their special „Spaghetti Balkan”, or Sergent Garcia, combining raggamuffin
with salsa, thus creating the universe of „salsamuffin”. And also don’t miss the
powerful gig of Russian ska combo Leningrad, Bosnian Dubioza Kolektiv and
Sicilian Roy Paci & Aretuska.

Besides Irish, ska and latin, of course you will get a whole bunch of Balkan bands
this year. Yes, by now it’s quite impossible to imagine Sziget without them. Acts
like Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Emir Kusturica & The
No Smoking Orchestra, Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar and Fanfare
Ciocarlia will surely make you understand why the new stage name includes the
word „Party”.

Hungarian bands will also present some Balkan and ska tunes, amongst them.

Besh o droM, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra and the Hungarian-Ukrainian-
German cooperation of Rotfront. While probably the most anticipated Hungarian
gig on the world stage will belong to Quimby, who are huge stars of the domestic
scene.

Breaking all style barriers is the clear mission of this venue, so make sure you
check out LaBrassBanda – reinventing Bavarian brass tunes, while you also
shouldn’t miss Maroccan gnawa-rock act Orchestre National De Barbés, or
Athens-based Imam Baildi.

And there are so much more! Great bands, like French-Algerian HK & Les
Saltimbanks, Dutch klezmer icons Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Spanish
Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Mexican Molotov and Narasirato from the
Solomon Islands complete the line-up.

To sum it up: 25 bands on 1 stage to represent 1 world. Any better ideas to
spend that week?

More information and tickets: www.szigetfestival.com

Budapest, 29 March 2012.

Spring arrives with fresh new acts for Sziget

Sziget festival happily announces a new bunch of confirmed acts, amongst them LMFAO, aka the biggest party faces of the planet, London's highly rates The xx, multi-platinum titan Paolo Nutini, the emotional and heroic Glasvegas, indie revelations Ting Tings, Norway's coolest and sexiest Katzenjammert, LA underground hip-hop Flying Lotus, the soulful and inspiring Fink and the one and only Anna Calvi. All this and a lot more awaits fans from all over the world this summer, between 6-13 August in Budapest.

11 new acts announced for Sziget

And great acts indeed: Korn – metal icons, presenting their newest album; The Vaccines – maybe
the coolest indie invention of last year; Magnetic Man – legendary rulers of dubstep; Two Door
Cinema Club; Steve Aoki; Axwell; Beatsteaks; dEUS; Ministry; Bebel Gilberto; Caro Emerald…
you name it.

It’s been 20 years since Korn rocketed on top of the metal world and the guys from California stayed
there ever since. They already sold tens of millions of albums, won two Grammy awards and are
generally considered as universal points of reference in the contemporary culture of rock/metal music.
During their Sziget gig they plan to present the new LP, also considered as a dupstep-based metal craze,
with the title ‘The Path of Totality’.

The Vaccines were reviewed by BBC as one of the biggest prospects of 2011 and the band lived up to
expectations with their first album, ‘What Did You Expect From The Vaccines?’ The London-based indie
rock guitar combo was already nominated for some of the biggest music awards of the continent and plan
to start working on their new LP this March.

Dupstep heroes Artwork, Benga and Skream joined forces to create the legendary Magnetic Man
formation and released their self-titled studio album in 2010, reaching instant success. 3 in 1 is always a
good offer, so be prepared for another gigantic gig on Sziget.

Steve Aoki has Japanese roots, lives in California and by now he is regarded as a grand master of the
electro house scene. ‘Wonderland’, his debut album was released this January, but he also made remixes
for bands like Justice or Franz Ferdinand. The DJ and producer is the founder of the world famous Dim
Mak Records.

For long years now it’s impossible to imagine DJ Magazine’s top DJ listings without finding Axwell’s
name on them. He’s a member of the world famous Swedish House Mafia and counts as one of the most
active contributors to the Scandinavian e-music scene.

Two Door Cinema Club is maybe the most lovable UK indie band these days. Easy going and guitar-
centric, although not reluctant to some electronic sounds either. They’ve already played the biggest
festivals and are currently working on their second studio album.

When it comes to combining fun and punk-rock, short but out-of-control kind of songs, you might wanna
turn your heads towards Germany. Really! Beatsteaks has been existing for over 15 years, recorded 7
LPs and the ‘House of Fire’ track from their new album was even selected for the soundtrack of the third
Transformers movie.

Antwerp-based immortal cult-rock act, dEUS is an all-time favorite for big festivals. One of the few bands
who can perfectly evoke the anger and melancholy that is flooding from their studio recordings, also while
playing live.

Synthesizers and machine-like guitar riffs, unbelievable pace and an industrial metal show that will simply
blow your mind. That’s what you need to know about Ministry, announcing that after 3 years of silence
they have recorded a new album and are ready to blitz the world once again.

Caro Emerald is the favorite singer and nr. 1. music export item of The Netherlands. The nu-jazz
sensation has already won several big awards, combining groovin’ jazz with swing and tango, but doing
so in a way that you will love her music even if you’re far from being a jazz fan.

Great voice, wonderful charisma and already a Grammy nomination to her name, these are the obvious
words to describe Bebel Gilberto, also regarded as the ambassador of modern bossa nova. The
Brazilian singer is mixing the Bahia region music with electronic patterns, while her latest LP, ‘All in One’

was nominated in ‘the best contemporary world music album’ category during the 2009 Grammys.

More information about Sziget Festival and ticket sales: www.szigetfestival.com

20th SZIGET: new bands confirmed: Placebo l Hurts l The Horrors l Mando Diao l Noah And The Whale l The Subways l Crystal Fighters

Nostalgia stays home, cool bands come instead

Sziget Festival welcomes visitors for the 20th time this summer and as the freshly crowned Best Major Festival of the continent, of course it aims to be a whole lot more than just a jubilee get-together. 2012 will once again see some of the hottest new bands in the festival’s line-up, including synthpop phenomenon, Hurts and UK rock scene’s finest ambassadors, The Horrors. And just to keep the right mixture of new and iconic, Placebo will also present their new album in front of a dedicated Sziget crowd, often quoted as the most international group of fans ever seen on such events.

Sziget - the best of the biggest

Sziget Festival won the Best European Major Festival title at the European
Festival Awards.
A joint effort of the festival's organizing team and the votes of a devoted
fan base in over 60 countries resulted in the best possible news to start up
the year.

Breaking news with breaking the silence:
The Stone Roses play at Sziget!

After a long period of gossips now it’s a fact that Manchester’s legendary The
Stone Roses is reunited, following 15 years of silence. How to make this sound
even better? Yes, they are also playing at Sziget Festival nr. 20!

The Stone Roses were one of the pioneers of British guitar pop’s ‘Madchester’ era,
ruling the scene of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Their comeback was announced
in October 2011 and quickly hit major music media headlines with the plan of
their forthcoming world tour. The first triple-gig of the tour is set for Heaton Park in
Manchester, with the initial 2 nights selling out in less than 15 minutes. Not a bad sign,
considering the capacity of 150.000. Another revealing piece of data: The Stone Roses
record sales grew with an unbelievable 1000% after announcing the reunion.

Rumor has it that the band is already thinking about recording a new album, so you
better prepare for a total conquest of The Stone Roses, peaking at the 20th Sziget
Festival.

Check them here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1755g_the-stone-roses-fools-gold_music

Sziget global town

The big one has just finished and we already miss it. With a total audience of
385 000 (meaning 77 000 fans daily on the main festival days), representing
61 countries, Sziget has a strong reason to claim the title ‘global village’… or
even ‘global town’, judging by the massive size of the venue and the number of
inhabitants. The open-minded and colorful Sziget society was also supported by
this year’s program structure, a total of 59 venues and artists coming from 43
countries.

The 19th edition of Sziget started last Monday with Day -1 and lasted exactly one
week… or even longer, as for some of the fans the party already started on the way
here. We had 3 Sziget party trains arriving from The Netherlands, the first 2 of them
came already on Saturday, turning the venue into a Dutch island on river Danube for that
day. But internationality was soon restored, as a huge number of buses from France,
Italy and Belgium arrived the next day. The scene was set for the official gate opening
on Monday and we were so happy with the fact that the weather supported the party…
as it normally does.

Sziget is improving each year and this was clearly visible on the infrastructure, the
technology innovations, the new venues, the bigger and better sounding stages and also
the program. As you know by now, this is very much about music, but not just about that.
Many Sziget venues are hosting other artforms (like circus, theater, painting, etc.), doing
so in a very friendly, human and direct way, so we like to think this makes the difference
compared to other events of this size. Sziget's budget has increased significantly this
year and was not fully covered by ticket sales, nevertheless it’s clear that next year's
20th anniversary event is not in danger and should be a great event once again.

Coming back to this year: we were happy to welcome some international celebrities
amongst the crowd. Jeremy Irons was there to watch the Prince show on Day 0 and by
now we all know that he made the prefect choice: that concert was just amazing and
lasted more than 2 and a half hours. Prince also returned the next day to check out the
newly introduced Europe Stage and the concert of Ana Moura. The Sziget atmosphere
worked magic also on Kate Nash, who was not really into the idea of giving interviews
before her gig, only to change her mind after experiencing the love of the Sziget
audience. But the most extreme interviews were surely given by Austrian rockers 3 Feet
Smaller, answering questions while standing under the shower in the backstage.

Deborah 'Skin’ Dyer, frontlady of Skunk Anansie showed us stuff at this year's Sziget
we have never seen before. In the heat of the gig, she jumped „on top of the audience”,

sang while walking on the hands of the fans, and then let the crowd make her swim back
to the stage. The performance of Skin was not just appreciated by the audience, but
also all the musicians playing that day greeted the singer with a standing ovation in the
backstage. Not even the experienced backstage crew has every seen anything even
remotely similar before.

And talking about new stuff: this year we had the Metapay Festivalcard as the exclusive
way of payment at Sziget and we all think this was a success. Faster and safer payment,
no big queues and no bad surprises. You could also try the Budapest-related services of
the newly introduced Sziget-Budapest Citypass, including free public transport, spa and
beach entrance, boat services and a lot more.

A great way to examine the Sziget society is always provided by the lost and found
objects on the venue. To give some examples: the lost and found containers received
several bicycle wheels (surely a sign of growing environmental consciousness among
visitors) and many purses full of money were also returned, showing that Sziget fans are
kind and honest. Somebody even came across a proper set of suit: its owner probably
changed from office clothing to festival outfit at Sziget, in order to party all night. A Dutch
group of friends found a doctoral dissertation, underlining the fact that several Sziget
people have a degree or are on the way to get one.

On the last day of Sziget, shortly after the White Lies gig, the deconstruction of the Main
Stage began. A sad sight, because this global town became our home for the last week,
but we better remember that the best things are always given in small quantities. In the
next few weeks the island will be cleaned, refreshed and reconstructed to become a
public park for the next 51 weeks… and then it’s Sziget nr. 20! Countdown begins.

More information: www.szigetfestival.com, www.facebook.com/szigetfestival

Prince is the headliner of
Sziget Day 0!

Maybe the most exciting and unique performer of them all, a 7-time Grammy winner and a true American pop-icon is about to visit Hungary. Indeed, Prince will rule the main stage of Sziget Festival on Day 0 (9 August) and play the biggest hits of his long and unstoppable career

Sziget 2011: Vodafone Supertower, Greetings from Mars, Success for ETEP 2.0, Trentemøller interview, VIP camping sold out!

Vodafone Supertower

This year Sziget fans will be welcomed by the sight of a 10 floors high tower-complex at the center of the festival venue. The Vodafone supertower will host DJ programs, mobile games and provide several services, including free internet.

"Welcome to the insanity"

Surprise! Tomo from Thirty Seconds To Mars is welcoming all Hungarian fans in this video. The band plays on the 4th day of Sziget on the Main Stage. They are looking forward to meeting you again. We hope you do, too!

Success for ETEP 2.0

More festivals joining and a special program for Central Eastern Europe! ETEP 2.0. is the new version of ETEP (European Talent Exchange Program) with eight new festivals from Central Eastern Europe (CEE) joining ETEP in 2012.

VIP camping sold out!

Besides the standard, but already quite impressive camping facilities of Sziget Festival, we also offer a VIP camping possibility for fans interested in a little more, but for now the VIP camping facility is officially sold out.

Anders Trentemøller – Don't expect a techno set!

Anders Trentemøller gained popularity as a member of the house-formation Trigbag in the mid-nineties, and recently he has released two of his own projects: The Last Resort and Into the Great Wide Yonder. Anders admitted he is coming to Hungary with a proper band this time in order to gift Sziget-visitors with an outstanding electro-rock show.

Sziget Festival, one of the most popular fixtures on the international festival circuit, will this year be offering an even greater experience to visitors through a new service.

The event takes place on the idyllic green island in the middle of the river that divides Budapest in two, and now visitors will be able to visit both the island and the city around it.

Festival-goers will be able to buy a CityPass for only €25, granting free entry to the magical Turkish baths, spas and lidos of the city and use of all public transport for twelve days.

Sziget Festival's line-up is soon complete

A number of great acts have said yes to the invitation of Budapest's Sziget Festival: Kaiser Chiefs, Empire of the Sun, Kate Nash and Prodigy are definitely coming this year. Fifty more nights and your favourite festival is here!

The Prodigy (UK)

One of the most successful and coolest electronic music acts of the past twenty years, Prodigy is playing on the Main Stage of Sziget Festival again. No need to tell you anything else, a great show is guaranteed, so just make sure you arrive in time to get your place in the crowd.

Kate Nash (UK)

Another new feature of the Main Stage line-up is Kate Nash, a charismatic and already well-known singer from Great Britain. Kate is proud owner of a BRIT music award, which says a lot of her wonderful skills.

Kaiser Chiefs (UK)

Kaiser Chiefs are coming to play the new songs of their freshly released album on the Main Stage of Sziget Festival. The Chiefs are growing to become an emblematic band of present times, and without doubt they are one of the most authentic and well-received indie rock bands of the United Kingdom.

Empire of the Sun (AUS)

The most colourful music act of Australia, Empire of the Sun is playing at Sziget Party Arena, presenting their spectacular show, inspired by science-fiction and sometimes similar to a fashion-gala. Make sure you sing along with them while listening to hits like Walking on a Dream, or We're the People.

SZIGET: 18+

This year will see the 19th edition of Sziget Festival. Since its birth in 1993 the event hosted a total of 17 950 programs - including 7291 live concerts - with performers from 62 countries and 5 448 372 fans from all corners of the universe. Between 8-15 August 2011 Sziget will open its gates again on the well-know location and welcomes visitors for last year's ticket prices. Keen to present new venues, up-to-date acts, powerful legends, aspiring stars, but even more importantly the unmistakable Sziget-atmosphere that we have all been missing since last August.

Tickets for last year's prices

You can enjoy the festival for last year's prices, and until 30 April tickets are available with a 15-18 percent discount (depending on the type of the ticket). Moreover, you can get in for half price after 11pm, and minute-based Sziget tickets – operated by mobil phones - are also making a comeback, enabling visitors to only pay for as much time as they are actually spending on the venue. >>>

Electronic payment options and mobile net

A fast and convinient payment service will be upgraded this year, with the general aim of leaving the hassle and risk of cash-payments. Last year's experimental program will be extended to the entire territory of the event and the launch of the new and exclusive Metapay system means that visitors will pay for food, drinks and all other services with their Sziget cards or smartphones.

Sziget focus in 2011

In 2011 Sziget will focus on the introduction of the Central and Eastern European region. The CEE focus has 3 main attractions on this year’s Sziget: the well known Roma Tent, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, and new venues like the Europe Stage and the Central Eastern European Travelling Funfair. >>>

Pop-Rock Main Stage

Already announced names for the Pop-Rock Main Stage include many great acts, but the newest list of confirmations is also a strong selection. New additions to the line-up include White Lies, La Roux, Manic Street Preachers, Mariachi El Bronx, Batucada Sound Machine and Ben l'Oncle Soul.

World Music Main Stage

The upgraded line-up of the World Music Main Stage will include Sly & Robbie feat. Jr. Reid and Slovenian Magnifico and Shtetl Superstars. Besides them Cowboy Junkies, LaBrassBanda and Ska Cubano will present their unique shows in front of a passionate world music fanbase. >>>

A38-Wan2 Stage

Among the new names Bomb The Bass, Kode9, Digital Mystikz and Gaslamp Killer will give their best for Sziget fans. The Stage will be happy to host, Xiu Xiu, Suicidal Tendencies, De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig, Mitch & Mitch,, Selah Sue, Terry Poison, DeWolff, Buraka Som Systema Live and Kees van Hondt, too. >>>

Rock-Metal Main Stage

A great new open-air venue will be, among many others, a home to legends like Judas Priest and Motörhead, but also Within Temptation, Deftones, Lostprophets and Sonata Arctica will make those heads bang in the moshpit.

Party Arena

New additions include Trentemoller and Zombie Nation and finally there are also news on the late evening acts. 2manydjs, Above & Beyond, Cristian Varela, Dubfire, Carlo Lio, Richie Hawtin, Marc Houle, Ambivalent and Technasia are planning to give all fans a spectacular and crazy night at Party Arena.

Europe Stage

Europe Stage i s fresh and open-air, a venue where bands from several European countries present their skills. With Ismo Alanko & Teho, For a Minor Reflection, Elvis Jackson, Puding Pani Elvisovej, Skyline, Gravity Co., Francis International Airport and The Mono Jacks the current line-up has become stronger.

Ticket information

Sziget Festival early bird weekly tickets (including camping) are available for 170 Euros till 30 April and if you are not the camper type, you can buy a non-camping weekly for 140 Euros. The prices will go up 30 Euros each after the early bird period is over, so it does make sense to think ahead. Daily tickets will be available from May for 45 Euros.