7 days, massive international acts, countless stages, 441,000 attendees...
Wooden AT-AT?
Dragon made of plastic bottles?
Wooden and wire-frame hands?
Yeah, Sziget has it all.
I have to mention how massive the island is also. The festival is situated on Óbudai-sziget island on the Danube river, and takes up the majority of its area. The distance from one end of the festival to the other is around 1.5km, a solid 20 minute walk.
The festival encourages szitizens to explore the island via collecting stamps in your Sziget passport (festival guide) from a bunch of the different points of interest.
Camping at the festival for a week was both a great experience and something I would have to reconsider doing again. I paid for upgraded accommodation in the Siesta camping zone which I'm very glad I did - access to wifi, extra showers and toilets and a guarded locker service were all welcomed.
It was great to be able to crash out after a night of partying or catch a quick kip during the day if needed... but the dust. It was probably partly from the festival itself, but I'm sure camping didn't help the situation. After a few days I began coughing from dust inhalation and it's still going on a week later. Clean air is hard to come by at Sziget! Accompanied by the heat every morning in the tent, some days I had wished I was in a hostel outside of the island.
On the days where you just wanted to chill out and not jump around to the sound of ridiculously loud music, there was plenty to do. The Cirque du Sziget stage and circus tent had performances on all afternoon and night.
From dancing and acrobatics...
To fire shows...
Easily my favourite non-music performance at Sziget was Fuerza Bruta, an Argentinian group with its name translating to Brute Force. Set in a large circular stage, the show starts with the beating of drums and singing to amp up the crowd.
Shortly after, a giant plastic cover is shuffled over the top of the crowd... before the fans start blowing. Huge fans are used to fill up the area with air and inflate the cover like a balloon.
Performers on the outside dance around on top of the dome, sinking down to interact with the crowd.
Before another sheet is pulled across the crowd and the projectors turn on...
The show ends with more drumming and a shower from above. The crowd went nuts.
I've never experienced anything remotely like this in my life. I was in total awe the entire time, it was a hell of a show!
There were also street performers that would randomly pop up at different places and times across the island. My favourite of which was the Spanish group Tutatis, who ran around in giant mechanical horse suits intimidating passers-by to the heavy beat of a drum.
I have to mention the food and drink prices at the festival. Around $3aud would get you either a 500ml beer or a giant slice of pizza - great price for a festival! There was a huge variety of food on offer, most of it tasting pretty damn good.
Finally, the music. The main stage at Sziget is a masterpiece. Multiple screens and speakers scattered across the massive field. You can sit at the back and watch a screen and the stage from a distance or get right up close with the action and still hear it all perfectly.
The lasers and light shows by some artists were just out of this world, nothing like I've seen at any festivals or clubs.
The atmosphere was simply incredible. Looking around all you can see is a sea of people in every direction. Endless, it seemed like.
Each day there was a different party on before the second to last act started - confetti, coloured powder, flags, maracas and balloons.
To top it all off, a few of the main stage acts have their full officially filmed sets available for view on YouTube so you can relive the moments of the festival. Here are a few of the big ones.
Limp Bizkit
Martin Garrix
Ellie Goulding
All in all, it was an amazing experience spending a week on the Island of Freedom. I'd love to make it back one year with some of my mates from back home to join in the fun.
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