Sziget Festival 2012: First Names Unveiled
aaamusic | On 31, Jan 2012
SZIGET FESTIVAL 2012
6th -13th August 2012, Budapest, Hungary
“Sziget Festival is a 21st Century rarity, by way of it’s eclectic bill and beautiful location and a crowd that isn’t cynical about the pleasures of sharing music and art with others……Sziget truly feels like Paradise City.”
Garry Mulholland, THE GUARDIAN, May 2011
NEW NAMES CONFIRMED FOR SZIGET 2012
Following the recent announcement that The Stone Roses will be one of the world class headliners of Sziget Festival in Budapest this year, the organizers are pleased to confirm that PLACEBO, THE HORRORS, HURTS, NOAH & THE WHALE, CRYSTAL FIGHTERS, MANDO DIAO, THE SUBWAYS and FRIENDLY FIRES are all new additions to the festival (which runs from 6th-13th August) as it celebrates its 20th year!
More news that the Sziget organizers are celebrating is that SZIGET FESTIVAL was crowned ‘Major Festival Of The Year’ this month at The European Festival Awards, winning the prestigious award despite being in competition against the very best festivals in Europe including Exit, Roskilde, Oxegen, Hurricane, Lowlands and Pinkpop.
Despite its size and yearly rise in popularity and capacity, Sziget has retained its good, old-fashioned festival values with a laid back atmosphere; a vast range of good quality, cheap food; inexpensive beer (around £1.50 for a premium brand), and no camping restrictions/cattle herding! Campers can pitch up and come and go from the festival site as they please, making the festival an appealing European escape for those who may want to check out Budapest and the surrounding areas (where the shopping opportunities are the most diverse yet cheapest in Europe) as well as immersing themselves in all the amazing sights and sounds that this unique festival has to offer.
The Stone Roses were one of the pioneers of British guitar pop’s ‘Madchester’ era, ruling the scene of the late 80’s and early 90’s. Their comeback was announced in October 2011 and quickly hit headlines across the world. The first triple-gig of the tour is set for Heaton Park in Manchester, with the initial 2 nights (capacity 150,000) selling out in less than 15 minutes.
The great news for UK fans who missed out on Heaton Park tickets… you can now enjoy an amazing trip to SZIGET FESTIVAL, and have a weeks holiday in the beautiful city of Budapest, for less than the cost of Heaton Park and the rail charges on UK trains (and enjoy much cheaper beer and eat better food too). Result!
Long term friend and official biographer for The Stone Roses John Robb, who attended Sziget Festival in 2011, said of the news, “The Stone Roses are playing some European festivals this summer but the very best one to go to is SZIGET in Hungary. A great location on the banks of the Danube in the middle of Budapest with a huge audience of people from all over Europe, it’s really inexpensive and has brilliant weather and with a really varied musical and cultural bill, SZIGET FESTIVAL will be the perfect backdrop to one of the greatest Roses comeback shows of summer 2012. Don’t miss it!!”
The festival, which began life as a student event back in 1993 – and now attracts crowds of over 390,000 daily visitors from all over the World and caters for every musical and cultural genre in over 60 stages – has become the biggest event in Central Europe, and one of the most exciting and colourful events in the European festival calendar. Set on the stunning Obudai Island on the River Danube, Sziget boasts 7 days of incredible, eclectic musical treats from around the globe (around 1000 acts play across the 60 stages), endless amusements, entertainment and revelry to suit every type of festival-goer 24/7. Learn belly dancing, try bungee jumping, camp anywhere you like – next to your favourite stage or on the banks of this beautiful island in the middle of the Danube, a majestic river flowing straight through the heart of the amazing city of Budapest.
We have a limited number of tickets for competitions, in return for preview coverage, please get in touch for details.
PLUS, there will be an opportunity for a small number of journalists to come and experience Sziget Festival. Contact me for further information/details etc.
Notes for your readers:
Sziget organisers are working to put together amazing value packages for UK travellers, including budget camping packages, through to luxury trips, to suit everyone’s budget. The ‘city pass’, a hugely successful introduction in 2011, allows travellers to visit the spa baths, museums and galleries, take buses, metro and trains throughout the city, and will be available in 2012 too.
Just confirmed is news of the ‘party bus’ which travels from the UK (Manchester, Birmingham, London and Dover) and stops in Germany for a halfway point party night! There are also direct buses, or why not travel to Amsterdam and take the legendary ‘party train’ down to Budapest?! News of the famous Budapest ‘spa parties’ will be announced shortly too.
For ticket news and details, check out the official Sziget website for UK and Ireland: www.szigetfest.co.uk
Sziget UK: http://www.facebook.com/SzigetUK
@szigetfest: http://www.twitter.com/szigetfest
