We’ve already given you a little background on the Sziget Festival, including the city of Budapest and some information on the festival, so now let’s talk about it in more detail.
This year, THE Sziget Festival concert not to be missed was Rihanna’s, who opened the main stage on the first night. Naturally, the concert was ultra-sold-out, and we can tell you that leaving the main stage was no mean feat at that point at the end of the show. If in theory this was the most important concert, in practice the performance clearly didn’t live up to our expectations. Not a word to the audience, not a hint of interaction – the lady came to do her show, period. What’s more, it was only a concert, whereas we’d hoped to be treated to a real show, but nope. According to the information we gathered at the press conference, her fee was in the region of 1 million euros.
Another artist had a fee of around one million euros, although we can’t be sure it was Muse. But we didn’t attend the whole concert, as we’re not really fans of the band.
Among the artists who opened the festivities was Die Antwoord. The two South Africans put on a show completely in keeping with their image, and we were extremely lucky to see the rain disappear just as their concert began. The author of these lines confesses that this was probably the concert he was most looking forward to at the festival. Lots of color, sensuality and WTF, resulting in an explosive, sparkling mix. It’s a shame they had an early slot, as it would have been really nice to see them perform a little later.
In the end, we saw very few concerts in their entirety, for a number of reasons. Sometimes there were really no extras, so we’d go back to the VIP area to watch them in peace and quiet, sitting on a chair and watching them on a screen: in this case, we can clearly cite Sia. The author of these lines didn’t know the artist, and he’s not about to appreciate her because her performance wasn’t one. She was prostrate at the back of the stage in a dark corner, not moving an eyelash, clinging to her microphone. On stage, choreographers did the animation for her. The replay screens showed not the live performance, but her clips. A huge disappointment for the woman who was once again one of the festival’s headliners.
Among the headliners who set the festival alight was Frenchman Manu Chao, who set the dancefloor alight with the smell of products typically sold in the Netherlands (if you know what we mean). He made us laugh when he asked if there were any Bretons in the pit (in French), so we deduce that this is where the man comes from, as he often sings in Spanish in his songs. His back drop was very strange, with very childish drawings, but fitted perfectly with the character who’s beginning to have quite a bit of bottle in him.
The organizers of the Sziget Festival (which lost one of its staff members: Dan Panaitescu, international booking manager who worked on the biggest contracts, died shortly before the festival) reminded us that the Sziget is not just another music festival. It’s a festival with many moods and an atmosphere all its own, and that’s what keeps the number of visitors rising every year (around 450,000 in 2015, 500,000 in 2016) and the 7-day passes selling out earlier and earlier. In fact, the main stage has been renamed the Dan Panaitescu stage in tribute to the man who supplied it with exceptional artists every year, and who died in a car accident in July 2016.
One performance that stood out for us was that of artist Jain. The Toulousan singer, who has already made quite a name for herself, wanted to show her pride in belonging to the French people, and at one point produced a tribute song for the Paris attacks. The backdrop was the infamous Eiffel Tower logo – Peace and Love, which was much in evidence after the Bataclan attacks. It was a very moving moment, and it was clear that many French people were in the room, with flags flying everywhere. At the end of Jain’s performance, a Marseillaise was sung, a sign that the French are proud of who they are and will continue to defend their values even abroad.
As mentioned above, the Sziget Festival is more than just a music festival. Among the many activities, there was a whole sports zone and a promotional zone for Budapest 2024, the city being a candidate for the Olympic Games, and we were in the middle of the Rio Olympics at the time (even the thermal baths were equipped with screens). There’s also the Art Zone, with its various stands and creative and artistic workshops. Or the district of associations (mostly Hungarian) and NGOs representing the worlds of ecology, religion, LGBT, sexual prevention… And of course, in the middle of it all were hundreds of bars and restaurants of all kinds, some with their own music venue. One example was Jack Daniels, with a rocking atmosphere and a cool little virtual reality booth that took us to Tennessee to discover the whisky-making site and its history. The Asus brand also had its own stage, to name but two. The VIP area also had its own DJ and Mercedes Benz decorations, as the venue was sponsored by the German carmaker.
For our part, we stayed at Apero Camping – not a campsite that worships the apéro, though. L’Apéro Camping is the “French campsite”, or at least it’s home to a number of French speakers who can answer any questions festival-goers may have in French. In addition to this little perk, there’s wi-fi, secure lockers (paying option), a free 24-hour locker room (we recommend you leave your suitcase there, by the way), single-sex showers and toilets. And yes, the showers have hot water (very hot, in fact, at times). What’s more, access is filtered and requires a special wristband, so you don’t have to worry about the hazards of wilderness camping.
What’s a typical day at the Sziget Festival like? Wake up between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., depending on the day before and the heat in the tent. Then breakfast (or beer, depending on the time of day), a massage (this was a special feature of the French camp, with physiotherapists and physiotherapy students offering massages in exchange for free donations (beer, orange juice, sandwich…)) and if on the first day you’re generally in good shape, on the following days your body will thank you for the attention lavished on it by our physiotherapist friends. Then it’s off to lunch and a stroll around the site to the artzone, sports zone or alternative stages. In mid-afternoon, the main stage opens its doors until 11pm, and at the end of the afternoon, the A38 (the second stage) opens its tent until late into the night. You’ll navigate from site to site and stage to stage in search (or just out of curiosity) of the artist you’ve been dreaming of. You’ll regularly stop for a drink and a bite to eat (which you’ll often do, especially the giant slice of pizza at 2.2€).
We’ve only mentioned two stages, but there are many more than that. Another must-see is the Europe Stage, where the winners of the various European springboards and other artists perform, and which contains some artistic nuggets (special mention to Perturbator). The Telekom Arena is also very electro, and goes on until the end of the night.
The Sziget being an open-air festival, there are certain weather risks. Last year we had an exceptional heatwave, this year it was moderate weather overall. With the exception of the first day, when we took a nice shower on the head, and the last post-festival wake-up call, when the tent folding was VERY wet. While these were bad moments at the time, afterwards they became fun memories to tell. We can’t thank the Decathlon rain cape enough, clearly one of the best investments for this festival. By the way, don’t hesitate to protect your ears by going to the chemist’s to pick up some special concert plugs or earplugs.
Among the memorable concerts, we must mention David Guetta. Our world-famous Frenchman set the pit alight, but his set list was very average indeed. Few of his own productions and a lot of external ones played. A real shame. :/
This year, Hardwell was in charge of the Sziget Festival’s ending show. Like every year, the team pulled out all the stops to make this final evening a truly memorable one: fireworks, pyrotechnics, confetti, lasers – everything was on display, and the pit was obviously packed to the rafters by this point. The artist’s performance was truly excellent.
Want more? We recommend the vlog by Lucie, our fellow journalist at Madmoizelle.com, who has produced an excellent video with the point of view of a first-time visitor to the Sziget Festival. And for an even more complete overview of the festival, check out the 2015 articles by Guillaume Ghrenassia , who went to this year’s Sziget Festival 2016 for Luxsure.
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