Sziget Festival, one of Europe’s largest festivals just celebrated its 26th edition. Located in the heart of Budapest, surrounded by the Danube, the beautiful views could only be surpassed by the long list of over 1000 shows, 60 venues and phenomenal headliners like Kendrick Lamar, Gorillaz, Lana Del Rey, Mumford & Sons, Dua Lipa, Arctic Monkeys and Kygo.

With over 1000 artists and performers like Stormzy, Shame, Shawn Mendes, Goo Goo Dolls, Slaves and many more from all over the world taking over Óbuda Island you’d think that that’s all there is. Well, more than that, Sziget brought together a programme of world music, theatre, cabaret, installations, performances, art and people flocking from over 100 nations to experience the “Island of Freedom”.

Tamás Kádár (CEO) stated:

“Sziget is a truly unique global festival. We are so proud to have seen 565,000 people from all over the world join us here in the heart of Budapest. An international celebration of the arts, artists from over 63 different countries came to perform over 1000 programmes in seven days. The DNA of the festival, openness, love and respect, could be found in every stage, performance and Szitizen, and we will continue to lead the way with our love revolution.”

The first night brought the King, Kendrick Lamar and Stormzy on the main stage and made the crowd go wild. The other scenes didn’t lack either. Big names for the rap-metal genre like Limp Bizkit and Rage Against the Machine went in head-first to set The Tribute Stage on fire.

Thursday Gorillaz came in to take the party to a whole new level. Damon Albarn brought with him a full choir that backed him up, adding that sweet “epicness” to his music. The fans got a wonderful treatment that included the DIY blues style of Seasick Steve and Cigarettes After Sex. That’s not all, some distance away from the mainstage Cirque du Sziget and Magic Mirror stage also rocked with FAMEfatale putting on an amazing performance and the daily film screenings and comedy shows.

Friday came with names like Shame, The Kooks, JP Cooper and Lana Del Rey who all stirred up the crowd, bringing joy, energy and making the fans dance like there was no tomorrow. The Kooks were seeemingly speechless after their performance: “Sziget was a wild time. Thank you for making it so!”

Saturday’s highlight was a monumental headline set from Mumford & Sons, a passionate performance of their biggest records and three brand new songs for the crowd. You know that feeling when the performers enjoy their show as much as their fans? It’s beautiful. They actually posted this on their Instagram: “Waking up from last night – it was like a dream. Thank you @szigetofficial Thank you to all who came to share that moment with us. We love what we do and are so grateful.”

Sunday was the British bands’ day. They rocked out with names like Slaves and Wolf Alice drawing huge crowds to the A38 stage showing off with their punk tunes. King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard had the fans tripping with their psychedelic rock music, while Dua Lipa came in to make the fans lose their voice singing to her songs. She said: “My first ever major festival headline show. What an absolute dream. I don’t know how we got here so fast but I never wanna leave. Love you all so much for last night… life is pretty crazy”.

Shawn Mendes made his appearance on the main stage on Monday afternoon to please the huge crowds. “My heart exploded tonight! Thank you Sziget” – he wrote on his Instagram.Goo Goo Dolls came to ensure that the fans could still continue after so many amazing performances. Little Dragon and Nick Murphy both introduced the crowds to their trip-hop vibes, and then Kygo surprised everyone with the lights show and great dancing lighting up the sky and the hearts of the fans. The “Love Revolution” theme could be seen all around the festival, including the art projects, light installations and unique sculptures.

Arctic Monkeys, Blossoms, Nothing but Thieves and Lewis Capaldi took the scenes over to end the festival in a phenomenal way, making the crowds scream their lungs out, dance their legs off and what not. The festival didn’t end there though, it went out with a banging elrow party that showed off mind-blowing designs and wonderful music selections.

Sziget Festival is scheduled for 7-13 August 2019, Tickets to go on sale from 1st October 2018.

For more details:  https://szigetfestival.com/en/newsletter

Photos  credits: Rockstar Photographers at Sziget Festival Official.

 

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