If you are traveling through Europe this summer and have just missed out on attending the much media documented and just concluded Glastonbury music festival in England, you need not worry as there are a host of equally exciting music festivals which are scheduled to be held across various European cities all throughout the European summer over the next two months. These festivals will feature some of the biggest names in the business, along with many new but equally hot smaller acts. These musical extravaganzas which will be conducted over several days and will feature camping, food and much hedonism as the Europeans get ready to celebrate the glorious days of summer.
Roskilde Festival, Denmark
The Roskilde Festival is one of the largest North European cultural and music festivals which has been in existence since 1971. The Festival is run like a non profit organization by the Roskilde Festival Charity Society and all profits from the event go to benefit humanitarian and cultural causes. The festival is to be held from the 3rd to the 6th of July this year and tickets are priced at € 220 Euros and include parking, camping and luggage storage facilities along with admittance to 160 gigs. Those over sixty get free admission to this musically diverse event which features various music styles as well as cinema and art. Attendance at previous events has topped 90,000 people and this year’s event will feature popular acts like The Chemical Brothers, Radiohead and Jay-Z.
Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland
If you have more refined tastes then you perhaps might want to head out to the banks of Lake Geneva from the 4th of July until the 19th of July in order to take in the sublime sounds of the Montreux Jazz Festival. This Festival was first held in 1967 and has featured jazz greats like Miles Davis and Ray Charles along with acts like David Bowie and Massive Attack. The festival over the years has expanded to incorporate other styles of music apart from Jazz and this year’s event will feature several A-Listers of the music industry such as Quincy Jones, Joan Baez, Leonard Cohen, Gnarls Barkley and N.E.R.D. Tickets for the many events vary from free to € 189.
Exit Festival, Serbia
The Exit Festival originated in 2000 in the Serbian city of Novi Sad when it started as a protest against the Milosevic regime. The Festival which is held in the dramatic surroundings of the ancient Petrovaradin Citadel has today grown to be one of Europe’s biggest music festivals. The event annually draws more the 400,000 music lovers and this year will be held over four days from the 10th to the 13th of July. The festival also features theatre, films and workshops which highlight issues like drug trafficking and migration. Tickets for this musical event which will showcase international acts like the Sex Pistols, Paul Weller and the Hives are priced at €72 and include four days of camping as well.
Benicàssim International Festival, Spain
The Benicàssim International festival is held annually in a small town on Spain’s gorgeous Costa de Azahar or the ‘Orange Blossom Coast’. Benicàssim is located between the cities of Valencia and Barcelona and has played host to the week long festival since 1995. This year the festival will feature concerts which will be held over four days from the 17th to the 20th of July. The festival brings together the best of indie rock, pop and electronic music. This year’s line up features acts like Gnarls Barkly, Morrissey, Baby Shambles, Sigur Ros and many more. The festival stages are located just a few steps away from the beach and your nine day festival pass includes camping as well as several festival side attractions like art, theatre, cinema and dance which are to be held at the festival venue, on the streets as well as the simmering sandy beaches of Benicàssim. Tickets for this four day festival and nine days free camping cost € 170
T in the Park, Scotland
Scotland’s biggest party in the park will be held over three days in the verdant environs of Balrado by Kinross from the 11th of July to the 13th of July and will feature several internationally renowned acts like Primal Scream and R.E.M. Tickets for this grand music fest usually sell out as soon as they go on sale in February each year. Tickets for the 2009 event are to be sold immediately after the conclusion of this year’s event.
Oxegen Festival, Ireland
The Oxegen Festival will be held from the weekend of the 11th to the 13th of July at the Punchestown Racecourse in the county of Kildare in Dublin. The line-up for this year’s event features bands like R.E.M, The Verve, The Counting Crows, The Kaiser Chefs, Groove Armada, Amy Winehouse, The Chemical Brothers and Prodigy amongst others. Other highlights at this year’s festival include the ability of concert attendees to take free hot showers and the Pull power salon which will ensure that the approximately 100,000 festival goers will be well groomed for the scintillating music fest.
Pukkelpop, Belgium
Pukkelpop is Belgium’s best outdoor festival which has been known to draw crowds of approximately 135000 people each year. This event will be held from the 14th to the 16th of August at Hasselt-Kiewit . This year’s line up features acts like Metallica and The Killers. Tickets for Pukkelpop are priced at €100 and include camping over three days, admission to the concerts and bus or train transfers anywhere in Belgium.
Sziget Festival , Budapest
This music fest is to be held on Budapest’s Hajógyár Kikötö ,a shipyard located on the Obudai Island in the Danube River for a week from the 12th to the 18th of August. The Festival will have five stages and will feature bands like Iron Maiden, The Killers, and The Kaiser Chiefs etc. The festival has been known to attract more than 50,000 revelers and tickets to the week long event are available online and are priced at €120. The price of the ticket includes camping. Day tickets are also available for €32.
Bestival, U.K.
Bestival is the music festival which is to be held over the weekend of the 5th to the 7th of September on Robin Hill Country Park located on the Isle of Wight in the UK. Bestival is one of the newest festivals on the European Music Festival circuit but it is already gaining in popularity due its many unique features which include boutique camping, a colorful Bollywood inspired cocktail bar, the Restival chill out area and a giant fancy dress parade. This year’s line up is headed by the enfant terrible of British Music, Amy Winehouse. Tickets for the event are priced at £ 130 and include basic camping. This year the festival has an allied event called Camp Bestival which is to be held over the weekend of the 18th to the 20th of July at Lulworth Castle in Dorset.
A veritable musical bonanza awaits you this summer at various locations across Europe.
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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 10th, 2008 at 7:38 am and is filed under Europe. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
July 10th, 2008 at 10:33 am
You are right that Bestival is gaining in status an popularity every year. Visitors to the festival who plan to stay a little longer can find details of hundreds of other things to do and places to go on the Isle of Wight.