festnoise | Music & Festivals

I don't really know how to start this article. Nor do I really know what I want to say because I have mixed feelings. What I do know is that when the long-awaited 28th Sziget ended, instead of sadness, tiredness and a lot of nostalgia as it happened on other occasions, this time I felt relief. I was finally going home. The reality is that as a friend well said, this Sziget will not be remembered as the one with Arctic Monkeys, Dua Lipa or Justin Bieber, but as the one where the headliner was the dust.

I am an asthmatic person, and for me this edition has certainly been a hell that has made me visit the hospital in Budapest and the doctor in Berlin. However, I understand that I may not represent the majority and yet it was illuminating that when I was waiting for the plane in the boarding hall at Budapest airport, you could hear people coughing almost constantly, and when you looked around, whoever was coughing was wearing a festival wristband on his or her wrist.

Dust in the air over the island. Photo by Sziget press

Ever since I went to Sziget for the first time years ago, I have never stopped going. I always thought that year after year I would return to the island no matter how old I was, and no matter what the festival line-up was. And like me, many others along the way have been convincing so many friends and strangers to come to the festival at least once in their lives. There is no better marketing than that, which also happen to come free of charge for the festival. Well, after this edition, I just can say that a lot has to change for me to repeat next year.

When asked about the dusty conditions of the festival during the press conference of Saturday, the organization of the festival blamed climate change alone. However, when you organize a festival it is your responsibility to ensure the health of the festival goers and although we certainly can't control the weather, there are things that can and should be done. Like watering the island before and during the festival. Like covering the ground as much as possible. The festival organizers did both of these things, but judging by the results I’m afraid they did them poorly and/or at the wrong time. Firstly, it is my impression that they watered much less than they should have done during the festival and more important, before the festival. And secondly, they did not sufficiently cover the areas they should have covered, limiting themselves to doing exactly what they had done in previous editions.

But leaving aside the dust, this edition brought many changes as compared to previous editions that I would like to comment on. The first is that instead of the usual 7 days of festival, this year (and the next) it was 6. And if the duration of the festival decreased, the price of the tickets (and of the drinks and food on the island), increased significantly. Beyond this, and probably to avoid the collapse suffered last year before the Ed Sheeran concert, the organization modified the access to the island removing with it the iconic flags from the access bridge. A minor detail (the flags) which nevertheless deprived many of the photos we have seen so often on social media.

With part of the island now protected (west side), the surface area was reduced and many of the camping areas were now fenced off as they had to be paid for. And speaking of camping, those who paid for the VIP experience to be able to use the famous swimming pool, found on arrival that they could not use it. In this edition the number of stages was reduced by almost half, and the famous Sziget art that has also been forming the identity of the festival was simply not there this year. Tree decorations were almost non-existent, there was no trace of lights, and to find the iconic Hello Wood furniture you had to resort to photos from previous editions. A pity. However, the VIP areas did improve for this edition, at least that's what you could see from the outside because when I tried to enter, a security guard very kindly explained to me that in this edition the press were excluded from that area. Perhaps in order to be able to welcome more people, a not insignificant detail because this edition also brought as a novelty the sale of VIP passes. And I could go on, but I'm certainly feeling bad talking like this about a festival I'm so fond of.

And precisely regarding these changes, the festival organizers blamed Covid. As a consequence of the pandemic, many people previously employed full-time had to be fired or simply changed sector. Likewise, the reduction of subsidies, the inflation and the terrible devaluation of the Hungarian currency in the last two years have certainly not helped the festival's infrastructure or the artists on the line-up to live up to previous editions.

Andréa Durand performing with Kid Francescoli. Photo by Sziget press

But what about the music? I was saying before that you go to Sziget because it's a special festival, not so much because of the line-up. What you experience there, the energy, the good vibes, the fun, it's hard to experience with such intensity at another festival. But it is still a music festival. And in this year's edition, it must be said, Sziget presented a somewhat limited line-up, which was also affected by the last minute cancellations of Giant Rooks and Sam Fender. Also, I personally find the performances of EDM artists like Calvin Harris to be overrated, especially if they are headlining a festival.

One of the good things about a festival like Sziget is that you can see artists who don't necessarily match your tastes and for whom you wouldn't necessarily pay the high ticket prices for their tours. This is the case with artists like Justin Bieber. However, his concert was honestly disappointing. Recorded vocals, messages without much substance and an attitude of wanting to go back to the hotel to smoke weed are more than questionable for an artist who charges what he does. The exact opposite happens with Dua Lipa, who the festival would do well to book every single year. And as for her, I would give a ten for the return of the Arctic Monkeys, for the always solvent Kings Of Leon, for the amazing Jungle, for fine Stromae, for consistent Milky Chance, for mesmerizing Kid Francescoli and for so many other artists who for moments made us forget the terrible dust that I sincerely hope will never happen again because I always want to come back to Sziget.

Absence of characteristic flags in the K bridge. Photo by Sziget press

Sziget festival will celebrate the 29th edition between the 9th and 14th of August, 2023. For info and tickets please visit the festival official website

Cover photograph by Sziget press