Sziget Festival

Fast Facts

Location: On í“budai-sziget or "Old-Buda Island", in Budapest, Hungary.
Attraction Type: Festival.
Significance: Arguably the largest music and cultural festival in central Europe.
Best time to Visit: August.
Visiting Hours: Throughout the day and evening.
How to Reach: Those who are coming down by air, need to come at Budapest Ferihegy International Airport. One can take local train (Hí‰V) to Filatorigí¡t — the nearest station to the festival site.
Nearest Airport: Budapest Ferihegy International Airport (BUD).

It is arguably the largest music and cultural festival in central Europe. Sziget Festival is an annual rock festival that is organized in the month of August every year on í“budai-sziget or "Old-Buda Island", in Budapest, Hungary. Though started only in 1993 as a low-profile student event, Sziget Festival has become one of the important European rock festivals within a very small span of time. Spreading its area from Hungary to many other countries including UK and France to make it a global festival from a mere local one, the week-long Sziget Festival sees half of all its visitors coming outside of Hungary. Due to its increasing popularity, Sziget Festival is currently considered as an European alternative to the Burning Man festival. In this year, the Sziget Festival is slotted to be held from 12 — 15 August, 2009. Inside the Festival

The festival ground has got five different stages to conduct concerts of different genre of music.

Main Stage: Main Stage is the outdoor venue where Hungarian as well as a few international stars perform in front of 50,000 audience every day between 4.30 p.m. and 11 p.m.

World Music Stage: This is also an outdoor venue where some of the world's best musicians perform in front of 15,000 crowds from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m.

HammerWorld Stage: It is a unique tent for the hard rock fans with a capacity of 5,000 people. Everyday 5 bands perform here from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.

Party Arena: It is the largest tent of Sziget Festival with an area of 2,700 sq. m. This arena is known for electric dance music. The seemingly never-ending parties start from 10 p.m. and continue till 5 a.m. next morning.

WAN2 Stage: This venue thematically showcases different musical genres ranging from world music to punk.

Other Programs:

Apart from the above said venues, there are also several other happening-spots in Sziget Festival where one can flock in to enjoy the music. Siemens Stage is for more melodious music, which organize programs from 11 p.m. to dawn daily. The thematic musical tents offer versatile entertainments, ranging from folk through blues to classical concerts. Színhí¡z íés Tí¡ncsí¡tor or the Theatre and Dance Tent is the place where one can see ballets, operas, motion and dance theatre etc.

Tickets:

Daily Ticket: â‚¬40
Camping Ticket: â‚¬150 (until 30th April)
â‚¬180 (1st May onwards)
Non-Camping Ticket: â‚¬120 (until 30th April)
â‚¬150 (1st May onwards)
Caravan Camping Ticket for Vehicles: â‚¬100 (until 30th April)
â‚¬120 (1st May onwards)
VIP Camping Ticket: â‚¬80

The best place to stay while visiting Sziget Festival is the camps. The organizers of Sziget Festival offer camping facilities to the tourists.