The fifth biggest festival in the world, Sziget, welcomed over 530,000 people from over 100 different countries for seven days, to watch more than 1000 artists, performers, and activists from Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters and Post Malone to Dr.Jane Goodall and Emtithal Mahmoud. Its most sustainable year to date, Sziget prevented the of  1.5million disposable plastic cups and 600,000 straws. 

The 2019 edition of Sziget Festival kicked off on 7th August with a storming performance from Ed Sheeran on the main stage, and ended with a powerful set from the legendary Foo Fighters on Tuesday 13th August with performances from Martin Garrix, Post Malone, The 1975, Florence & The Machine, Twenty One Pilots, The National, Years and Years in-between on the mainstage. The Foo Fighters show closed with a special moment when the crowd raised a fan in a wheelchair up in the air, who Dave Grohl then called on stage, and gave him his guitar to smash.

During the festival’s seven day duration, set on the Island of Freedom, 530,000 festival-goers internationally united from all over the world from New Zealand to Brazil experienced music, theatre, comedy and workshops from performers, artists and speakers from over 62 different countries.

A Love Revolution, Sziget uses its power of our community, guided by love, to support causes that could help the planet become a better place. Each day on the mainstage, appearances from the likes of Dr Jane Goodall (UN peace envoy and environmentalist) Emtithal Mahmoud (poet, activist and UNHCR goodwill ambassador) and Al Gore, (former US Vice President, founder of the Climate Reality Project and NGO) whose thoughts were shared through a video message.

With artists appearing across the week including Ed Sheeran, The 1975, Martin Garrix, Richard Ashcroft, 6LACK, Macklemore, James Blake, The National, Mura Masa, Post Malone, Years & Years, Jungle, Florence & The Machine, Catfish & The Bottlemen and the Foo Fighters (to name but a few).

On Instagram after his mainstage set, Macklemore wrote: “75,000 tonight in Budapest at Sziget. THIS IS LIFE & I LOVE YALL. Thank you for giving me this platform to be on stage & do what I’ve always loved. Grateful beyond words.” On Twitter, Martin Garrix said: “One of the craziest shows of my life.. thank you @szigetofficial that was magical!”

The Mastercard Stage by A38 brought an eclectic array of fresh artists to its tent with a diverse line-up spreading across rock, pop and electronic genres with A-grade musicians such as Pale Wales, Grace Carter, IAMDDB, Superorganism, Idles, Alma, and a very special spellbinding late-night performance from James Blake.

The Bacardi Arena supplied the creme de la creme of electronic music offerings throughout the week’s festivities, with EDM, Techno, Electro and Trance sound courtesy of the likes of Tini Gessler, Julian Jordan, Blasterjaxx, Kayzo, Sigala and Jax Jones (live).

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A programme of learning experiences at Sziget featured predominantly with daily talks held on the mainstage by Dr Jane Goodall (UN peace envoy and environmentalist) Emtithal Mahmoud (poet, activist and UNHCR goodwill ambassador) and Al Gore, (former US Vice President, founder of the Climate Reality Project and NGO) whose thoughts were shared through a video message. There were over 30 talks at the TEDxBudapest Salon, presentations and discussions on human rights, bullying, interculturality at Tent Without Borders.

Sziget’s programme is a celebration of all art forms. All over the site, villages, stages and workshops featured performance art, cabaret, comedy, acrobatics and dancing. Hungarian culture was celebrated in the Hungarikum Village with folk bands and Hungarian folk dance companies. The Cirque Du Sziget featured Mallakhambindia, five of India’s best mallakhamb artists and the very first Ethiopian circus created by Ethiopian artists Bibi and Bichu of Circus Abyssinia. The Magic Mirror Spiegeltent programme dedicated to celebrating queer culture was once again one of the most hotly anticipated and attended programmes on the schedule. Late each night, it featured all-male, self-proclaimed manufacturers and distributors of evocative, irreverent, political punk performance, The Briefs: The Second Coming for an hour of boylesque, tricks, valiant aerial acrobatics, irreverent interludes and ferocious fanfares.

Known for being one of the most picturesque festivals in Europe, more than 100 different works of art were displayed, including unique sculptures and functional space installations such as the Luminarium, designed by the Architects of Air from England and Before I Die, street art by US artist Candy Chang.

In-keeping with their Love Revolution programme, this year’s Sziget Festival continued to pay special attention to sustainability and the environment, ensuring visitors can gain insight into the world of climate start-ups at the Green Sziget Center programme. With a goal of maintaining and increasing the 50% recycling rate of 2018 in place, last year’s reusable-cup system continued this year, replacing around 1.5 million disposable plastic cups are replaced by “multi-way” glasses. Continuing last year’s “Don’t Suck” campaign (which encourages festival attendees to avoid drinking with straws), prevented the use of 600,000 straws. Sziget also puts a special emphasis on reducing non-recyclable waste in catering establishments. Further to this, Sziget distributed 50,000 pocket ashtrays at the entrance of the festival. The Festival also launched a new dining block this year, focusing on sustainable nutrition wherein festival attendees can find places to buy low-carbon foods.

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Get ready for Sziget Festival 2020, for more details: http://bit.ly/2ZWlstz

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