Between August 6 and 11, the Sziget Festival celebrated its 31st edition in its iconic Budapest location. With around 50 venues scattered across Óbuda Island, the festival hosted over 1,000 shows, featuring some of the hottest international artists such as Anyma, Armin Van Buuren, Amelie Lens, as well as Post Malone, Charli XCX, Shawn Mendes, Kid Cudi, Chappell Roan, Empire of the Sun, and performances from Steve Angello, Adriatique, Brutalismus 3000.
Over the past three decades, Sziget Festival (here’s our 2024 media coverage) and its audience have created an international community known worldwide as the Island of Freedom. Year after year, the festival transforms into a small paradise of love, tolerance, and liberty. Sziget citizens, coming from over 100 countries, take part in a cultural exploration through a broad program that, beyond music, offers a variety of multi-genre experiences: theater, comedy, art, round tables, artistic workshops, and much more.
The first Sziget Festival took place in 1993, attracting a total of 43,000 attendees. Over the years, the festival has grown significantly. Adding up all visitors over the past thirty years, there have been a total of 11 million Sziget Festival attendees — equivalent to the entire population of Hungary. The Island of Freedom spans 76 hectares, is built in just three weeks, and can host around 90,000 people per day, including staff and festival-goers. This makes Sziget Festival the tenth largest “city” in Hungary for those six days. The island offers over 100 food outlets serving a wide selection of international cuisines as well as Hungarian specialties.
This year’s edition saw staggering numbers: 416,000 attendees and the arrival of the 11 millionth visitor to the event. There were new immersive and inclusive experiences such as the Szitizen Care — spaces dedicated to safety and medical and psychological support, accessible to families, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities (the dedicated area was a major addition). Also introduced was Sziget Ville Premium — an upscale camping area with fully equipped tents, accompanied by a wellness center offering massages, yoga, aromatherapy, and saunas.
One of the most notable events of this edition was the Hungarian government’s ban on the Irish band Kneecap, accused of antisemitic expressions and support for terrorist organizations, which led to the cancellation of their performance at Sziget. The organizers immediately voiced their disagreement with this decision, reaffirming their commitment to artistic freedom and even arranging for a video message from the band to be shown on one of the stages during the final day, despite government pressure. Another powerful statement was the Drag Queen show on the Main Stage, also during the last day.
Compared to last year’s edition, the new features were numerous and well received. Starting with the creation of themed districts to better structure the experience, and the introduction of the new stage “The Club by Don Julio” — placed in the area formerly dedicated to art installations — which enriched the electronic music offering. “We had never started a Sziget Festival with such a mix of tension and excitement,” said Tamás Kádár, the man steering the festival.
“I’m happy to say the verdict is unanimous: this change has been good for Sziget Festival.” Kádár describes this renewal as the first step of a long-term project: themed districts have been introduced, such as Szoho — a multicultural hub for music and street culture — and Paradox, dedicated to performing arts and visual art. But the true nighttime revolution is called Delta District — the new electronic music zone — which boosted nighttime ticket sales by 40–50% compared to 2024.
DAY 1
As mentioned earlier, the first hours of day one were spent exploring the festival’s new features and massive new production. After checking out all the stages and activities (standouts included Old Spice, Tanqueray, Vaseline, Pilsner Urquell), it was time to head to the main act of the day: Charli XCX. Fresh from winning three Grammys in 2025 — Best Dance/Electronic Album for Brat, Best Dance Pop Recording for Von Dutch, and Best Recording Package for Brat — she was one of the festival’s biggest draws. Musically, no complaints — the songs are all hits — but the overall performance was somewhat underwhelming, even though she commands the stage well.
The “Night” segment unfolded between the Yettel Colosseum, the Bolt Night Stage in the Delta District, and the Revolut Stage. The Empire of the Sun live set was stunning, riding a wave of renewed hype this summer (thanks in part to social media rediscovering their decade-long discography). The final acts of the day were Steve Angello, who delivered a great set mixing his hits with classics like Allein at the Bolt Night Stage, and Oguz’s hard techno at the Yettel Colosseum.
DAY 2
The second day started with UK Garage dominating the Yettel Colosseum: standout sets from In Parallel, Benwal, and Partiboi69 — fun, fresh, and with a huge draw. Sziget is the kind of festival that lets you discover artists you’ve only heard about but never seen. That was the case for us with Shawn Mendes — a massive star we’d only ever caught on the radio. His live show was heartfelt and drew huge crowds, especially among younger female fans.
After the stunning acrobatic show by the Zenit Aerial Ballet at the Giant Street Theatre, it was time for one of the most impressive performances of the whole festival: Justice live. With their unique production and style, they drew an enormous crowd. It was a one-of-a-kind journey from older tracks like We Are Your Friends to newer hits like Neverender. The night wrapped up with DJ sets from Massano, Horsegiirl (less impressive), and Boris Brejcha in the Delta District.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/sjytdYnpfqo
DAY 3
Day three saw The Kooks and Kid Cudi on the Main Stage. We enjoyed The Kooks a lot, but Kid Cudi was disappointing — despite his deep, high-quality discography, he seemed detached from the audience. Even his five timeless hits couldn’t save the set.
The night was spent between the DropYard’s drum & bass with NCT & Friends, Caribou’s excellent live set, and techno from Josh Baker, Blawan, and a beautiful sunrise finale from Amelie Lens at the Bolt Night Stage.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/rz3B4uRgzAI
DAY 4
Day four kicked off with one of Sziget’s best shows: FKA Twigs. An incredible performance, both from her and her dancers, captivating thousands of curious onlookers and keeping them hooked for all three parts of her Main Stage set. After her came Anyma — performing solo on the Sziget Main Stage for the first time. His set was a big step up from his recent appearances at Tomorrowland and Kappa Futur Festival, and the crowd turnout was huge.
That night, we explored other stages such as the Magic Mirror with its Drag Queen show, and the Secret Stage — accessible through a bathroom door. The evening continued with melodic techno at the Bolt Stage from Mathame, Adriatique, and Miss Monique (the best of the three). Over at the Yettel Stage, Kölsch delivered a fantastic set before Der Alte closed things out.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/eC_en683slg
DAY 5
After Post Malone’s performance, one of the festival’s best shows came from Ela Minus, who exclusively used analog instruments (synths, drum machines, sequencers) and avoided computers in production, except for recording. The night unfolded at the Bolt Night Stage with A State of Trance and its big names. Armin Van Buuren packed the tent like never before, making it almost impossible to get inside. His set also featured a guest appearance by singer Sacha. He was followed by Vini Vici and Maddix to close the night.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/LmjaTxT8k9U
DAY 6
The final day was all about discoveries. As mentioned earlier, Sziget allows you to see main acts you’ve heard about but never really listened to — such was the case with Chappell Roan and Joey Valance & Brae. Chappell, now a major star thanks to her last two albums, delivered a visually and musically captivating performance. Joey Valance & Brae turned out to be the festival’s big surprise — fun, energetic, and masters at engaging the crowd.
Also worth noting were Brutalismus 3000’s live set, Subtronics — currently the top dubstep artist around — and Young Marco’s beautiful closing set at the Yettel Colosseum.
While we await the 2026 Sziget Festival dates, pre-registration is officially open. Those who sign up at www.szigetfestival.com will have access to the early bird Full Festival Pass at a discounted price. The offer is limited.
