7-13 of August 2019! Week-long festival on the island of freedom. Sziget is nominated for Best Overseas Festival award at the UK Festival Awards. I can see why!
Our home sweet home for the five days we spent at the festival.
Sziget (meaning "island" in Hungarian) has been going on since 1993 and it's very international. There are masses of people from The States, Australia, New Zealand, obviously Europe and well probably from anywhere else. According to the facts: in 2019, ca 530,000 people from 100+ different countries attended.
Sziget also gives back. Every year, the festival pairs up with a charity. In 2019, it chose Superar, an NGO that brings the power of music to children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Sziget is also trying to be an eco-friendly festival. It has a long way to go, but it is a start.
The festival takes place on "Old Buda Island" in the middle of the Danube River, just outside the heart of Budapest. For seven days it becomes the Island of Freedom!
The theme for 2019 was Love Revolution!
The beach lounge.
And the beach itself. A small portion of the river was secluded and made into swimming area. The water was low but hey it's better than nothing. With the 33-36 degrees each day the chilly water was exactly what was needed.
Here we go!
The lineup was incredible! To drop just a few names: Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Martin Garrix, Macklemore, The National, Post Malone, Florence + The Machine, 21 Pilots and Foo Fighters.
In addition, discovered many new goodies every day.
There was no shade at the main stage, so there were two massive water sprayers that sprinkled soft water drops all around. It felt incredible in the heat, on the other hand probably a lot of water was wasted.
My guilty pleasure - Langos! Thank god they don't sell it in Estonia.
Before I Die consisted of a wall on which people could write one thing they wanted to do before they die. There was also a booth to record yourself saying what you wanted to do before you die and the recordings were displayed next to the wall. The idea was to encourage people to share their fears and dreams in the common space.
While most of the acts at Sziget happened at one fixed area ore stage, there were also a bunch of walkabouts, street artists who made their way around the festival grounds at certain times and energised everybody with their quirky presence. For example: big dodos, the man on his moving piano, some giants, and that huge wooden camel.
People (we included) were literally running after these guys when they were spotted. Perfect refreshment!
There were bands playing tributes to some of the greatest bands every night.
On the boat!
Sziget hosted boat-parties each day with different dj-s and music. A cruise on the Danube river for half a day, enjoying the beautiful sights of Budapest, sipping on refreshing cocktails and dancing on the deck, what a lot of fun!
After the cruise had dinner in the city before returning to the island. Good old Drum cafe!
Drink prices in the festival were more or less ok, not cheap like you'd expect from Budapest, but ok for a festival. Food prices (apart from pizza and langos) were quite expensive.
The amount of stuff to do at this weeklong festival is mind-blowing.. even apart from the amazing lineup of artists. We probably didn't have time to do everything in the 5 days we attended. I mean, all the different stages and areas, dance and yoga classes, lectures, workshops, sports centre, cinema, stand-up comedy, audio-video installations, exhibitions, amusement park, circus, crafts, beach, theatre shows, cabaret, bars, cafes, clubs, even a colosseum for techno music lovers.. I could keep going..
The Fulldome! Only open when it was dark. Line was quite long, but the dome fit quite many and the show was fun! You’d lie down on comfortable beanie bags while watching a 3D installation that kind of inhales you.
If mid-august you suddenly feel like you need to have your this years christmas-postcard photo taken ?!?
A bunch of tunnels filled with sound-light installations to wander around.
Small free ferris wheel anyone?
Or games?
Inspirational talks at main stage every afternoon.
I found a unicorn!
This guy is pure legend! At the very last concert of Sziget - Foo Fighters! He got invited on stage and got to hang with the band for a moment and even smash one of their guitars.
21 Pilots and Foo fighters were the last two acts of the main stage at the festival. We wanted to see them up close, so went in early and actually got real close to the stage.. which is huge with the crowds that attend Sziget. During Foo Fighters people wet mad at front, there were unofficial moshpits everywhere and it was hard to stand upright from time to time, yet Foo Fighters was an amazing end to the festival. I've seen them once before and would go again without a thought! What a highlight!
When on one day we had heat alert as the weather had gotten to 36 degrees and they reminded everyone to drink water and not sit in the sun for too long, on the last day they gave us a strong wind and storm warning. It drizzled a bit on the afternoon and the temperature was much more manageable than on the previous days but the weather truly kept it together until the last chords of Foo Fighters. There was lightning on the background during the concert but the rain made it to the festival area exactly when the festival officially ended. Cheers!
These two photos are from the festival 's page.
Treated ourselves with a lovely brunch on my last day in Budapest and met up with Mario for a walk and a few beers.
Within two years it was my 3rd time in Budapest, won't be the last now that I've found a new favourite festival!
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