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Sziget Festival 2007
Late each summer, the Sziget Music festival takes place on Obudai Island, located in the Danube, North of Budapest. This international festival offers music of all genres, as well as a variety of other cultural events. This year’s Sziget festival drew some 371,000 attendees during the course of the week.
Major headlining
acts from around the world performed on the main stage, and a wide variety of
other performers could be found on stages throughout Sziget. Theatrical
performances, dance, and even children’s activities are also a part of the
festival. There is even bungee jumping and a life size foosball court.
Several types of
tickets are available to the Sziget festival. Some attendees may only wish to
see a day or two of shows, and will buy daily tickets. Weekly tickets are also
available with camping facilities included. Those with a camping ticket may
enter the festival site a day early. You should plan to come to the festival
site via public transportation if at all possible.
Excellent
security keeps the festival surprisingly well organized and under control. Drug
usage and drunkenness is much less prevalent than at some other European music
festivals. First aid, internet access, and even a charging station for phones,
cameras and other electronics are available at Sziget. Qualified child care
services have also been incorporated into the festival grounds.
There are a
number of stages at the Sziget festival. The largest performance arena is an
outdoor stage typically devoted to current pop/rock acts, with a capacity of
40,000 attendees. The world music stage is also outdoors, and can accommodate
15,000 people. The metal stage is
located in a tent, with a capacity of 5000. The Party Arena features dance and
techno music, and is the largest of the Sziget tents. Other tents offer
everything from reggae and jazz to classical music. Theater and dance performances
are found both in the tents and even the streets. Sports also are popular
during the day. Movies are shown in the evenings. The Sziget festival is much
more than just a rock concert, offering activities and performances that will
appeal to people of all ages.
The 2007 Sziget
festival brought in many well known and impressive acts from around the world. While
there’s no way a festival attendee can see everything, a week at Sziget offers
the opportunity to experience a wide variety of modern music, in a number of
genres, as well as enjoy an amazing overall cultural experience.
The main stage of
the 2007 Sziget festival was home to a number of huge acts from Europe and the US. Opening the festival was legendary
Hungarian rock band, Locomotiv GT, founded in 1971. This was the group’s first performance since
2002. Wednesday, August 8th, shows began on the main stage at 4:30 PM and continued into the night.
Performances by Nitzer Ebb, Mando Diao, Quimby and Manu Chao rocked the main
stage. On Thursday, Kaizers Orchestra, Gentleman and the Far East Band, The
Good, The Bad and The Queen, and The Chemical Brothers played the main stage.
Friday and Saturday brought even bigger names to the stage at Sziget. Gogol
Bordello began the Friday night lineup, followed by Laurent Garnier with Pink
and Madness headlining. Saturday brought The Rakes, The Hives, Kisbal es a
Borz, and Nine Inch Nails. Babylon Circus, Razorlight, Sinead O’Connor, and
Faithless played on Sunday. Tool headlined on Monday night, preceded by
Tankcsapda, !!!, and Sportfreunde Stiller. Finishing off the week’s concerts,
the Eagles of Death Metal, Juliette and the Licks, and the Killers played on
Tuesday, the 14th of August. Sziget’s main stage offered the
opportunity to see some of the biggest names in rock music today. Reviewers
have noted that the Killers show was particularly impressive.
The main stage is
not the only draw at Sziget, and big name acts in other musical genres graced
all of the stages at the festival. World music artists headlining the world
music stage (iWiW World Music Main Stage) included Salif Keita, Cesaria Evora,
Rachid Taha, Manu Dibango, Eddie Palmieri, Sergent Garcia, and Varttina. The
HammerWorld metal stage also saw a number of big names in modern metal,
including Within Temptation, Soulfly, Skinny Puppy, Lord, Satyricon, Moby Dick,
and Hammerfall. Electronica and dance music plays well into the night at the
Wan2 stage, featuring acts including Sud Sound System, and Cassius on Friday
night and the Resin Dogs and Hooverphonic on Saturday night. Jazz and blues
acts had their own stages, as did theater and dance. Some stages began concerts
in the afternoon and ended them by late evening, while others began later and
played music through the night. Everything from folk music to DJs spinning
techno offered something for every festival attendee at the Sziget music
festival.
While the weather
can be challenging, and the crowds overwhelming, this well organized festival
offers a well rounded and fascinating cultural experience. With a nice mix of
foreigners and native Hungarians, the Sziget festival retains a distinctly
Hungarian flair. Interspersed with the main stage, dance music, and metal
venues are venues offering local acts and performers. Sziget offers a rare
chance to see up and coming artists from around the world perform, with musical
offerings from nearly every genre. Tickets, particularly if you attend the full
week, remain quite affordable. People of all ages will venture out to the
Sziget festival for years to come. Weekly ticket goers can come and go,
allowing them to venture across the bridge and explore the city of Budapest during the day. Hotels, concessions, and
restaurants are conveniently located near the festival grounds for those not
camping. Regardless of whether you visited for a day to attend a single concert
or spent a week roughing it and experiencing all Sziget has to offer, the Sziget
festival is an amazing cultural and musical experience.
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