The first major party on the main stage this year will be the cool concert of Pink, which is an especially sweet surprise because the American singer-songwriter is planning to perform only a handful of concerts this summer. Furthermore, several other major music ensembles will give memorable gigs here, like Alt-J, Biffy Clyro, Billy Talent, George Ezra, Kasabian, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Major Lazer, PJ Harvey, The Kills, White Lies, and Wiz Khalifa. As always, the last night is concluded by one of the world’s top DJs – this time, it’s Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike.
Another tradition at Sziget is that the OTP Bank A38 stage puts together a mixed and varied lineup of musicians. Some major acts here include Alex Clare, Bad Religion, Breaking Benjamin, Crystal Fighters, Fritz Kalkbrenner, GusGus, Interpol, Kensington, the Naked and Famous, the Pretty Reckless, and the Vaccines.
Furthermore, besides the cool concerts, Szitizens can also enjoy various other activities at the festival, such as intriguing circus performances, theater and dance shows, chess contests, exhibitions, interactive games, and a display of the best photographs of Sziget from the last 24 years, organized by the Capa Center.
Two major novelties are also worth highlighting this year:
this summer, a sightseeing party boat, the Sziget 25 Cruisin, will sail the Danube between August 9 and 13, awaiting rowdy city dwellers who like to dance. This boat will principally be dedicated to dancing, but those who just wish to admire the ever-changing scenery can also relax on a total of 30 deck chairs and 60 bean bags. Another novelty is a mobile app that allows festivalgoers to top up their pay-pass card without having to wait in long lines. “We expanded the services of cashless payment with another comfortable function, a redesigned mobile application. Besides checking balances, and disabling the card, festival guests can also top up their Festipay cards through the app. Furthermore, Szitizens can also apply for the cards through the application, and get it with their tickets at the entrance. This way, there will be no need to queue up in front of the Festipay top-up points,” said Tamás Kádár, Sziget CEO.
And since this weeklong music jamboree celebrates a jubilee this year, let’s review a few interesting details; the first Sziget Festival was organized in 1993 with a total of 43,000 guests, and this number reached 496,000 in 2016. The first festival hosted 200 concerts, 80 films, and 40 theater shows – now these are the normal numbers of events on each day. Over the last 24 years, a total of 7,928,000 people stepped foot on the Island of Freedom, so this summer should welcome visitor number 8,000,000.
Check the official Sziget Festival website for more details and ticket info – passes are available with a discount until May 31st.
