Just like in its earliest days, Budapest’s world-famous Sziget Festival will span an entire week from Wednesday to Wednesday once again in 2016. The festival will take place during August 10-17, and since all five-day passes are already sold out, and the seven-day passes are also close to being gone, the festival will likely be packed to capacity. We learned all this and much more at this week’s Sziget press conference.
The biggest change this year regards the entrance system. All visitors must “check in” to the festival, similarly to how passengers must check in at airports: staff will identify everyone at the entrance to verify the serial number of the wristband, and then check if the person entering the festival is the same person who bought the ticket. This raised an important question: won’t this slow down the process of getting in? Károly Gerendai, Sziget Festival head honcho, said at Wednesday’s press conference that there’s no reason to fear long lines at the entrance, as the festival organizers have tested the system and found that it operates efficiently.
The festival organizers introduced a new payment system, as well. The Festipay app will allow guests to check the balance of their payment card, track how much and where guests spent their money, and also top up your card without having to stand in line – with your credit card information registered in the app. The virtual festival card will have its world premiere at Sziget; it will provide a fully comprehensive way of paying through smart phones.
About the lineup: the festival kicks off on Day -1 with Marky Ramone’s 40 Years of Punk Rock (celebrating the anniversary of the genre on Main Stage), followed by Skunk Anansie and Die Antwoord. The star of Day 0 is Rihanna (especially if it will rain), but Manu Chao, La Ventura, Muse, and David Guetta will also get on stage during the days to follow, just like Sigur Rós, Noel Gallagher, and the High Flying Birds, Bastille, John Newman, Last Shadow Puppets, Sum 41, Kaiser Chiefs, and Hardwell, who will command the End Show – and these are just the biggest gigs on the Main Stage.
The OTP Bank A38 Stage will host Bloc Party, Roisín Murphy, Bullet for my Valentine, and Crystal Castles, while the top headliner of the World Music Stage is the Grammy-nominee Buika, with Goran Bregovic and his Wedding and Funeral Orchestra returning to Sziget. In the Telekom Arena, DJs like Afrojack, Zedd, and Nicky Romero will change shifts, while on the Petőfi Rádió-Telekom VOLT Festival Stage, Hungarian musicians like Bori Péterfy and Hiperkarma will be in the spotlight.
A giant space shuttle, a luminous dragon made of PET bottles, and giant statues will be among the dozens of dazzling new sights that will be scattered around the island. These are the best of the works that were sent to Art of Freedom from all over the world. The festival will also feature street theater, the Europe Stage, and the Hungarikum Village again; guests can chill at Sziget Beach or see unique productions and shows at Cirque de Sziget, and take part in group discussions at Magic Mirror – among countless other thrills that await all good-time groovers.
