10,000 festival-goers already on Sziget grounds ahead of Budapest event

Some 10,000 people have already arrived at the Sziget Festival grounds, on an island in the north of Budapest, ahead of the week-long international event to start on Wednesday, the head of the organising company said.

Tamás Kádár said last year’s record of 496,000 visitors is not expected to be broken but several days will likely attract a full house. US singer Pink will be the headline act on the main stage on Wednesday and 90 percent of pass-holders are likely to be present at that time already, he added.

The Sziget Festival will once again attract most foreign visitors from the Netherlands, from where around 12,000 people are expected to arrive. The runner-up will be Italy, to be followed by Germany, the UK and France. Even around 1,000 Australians will attend the festival running between 9 and 16 of August, Kádár said.

The list of international music acts will also include PJ Harvey, Wiz Khalifa, Kasabian, The Chainsmokers, Jamie Cullum, Kensington, DJ Shadow, Bad Religion, GusGus, Interpol, Goran Bregovic, The Klezmatics, Tamikrest, Alex Clare, alt-J, Biffy Clyro, Crystal Fighters, George Ezra, Glass Animals, Hurts, Rudimental, The Kills, The Vaccines, Tom Odell, Two Door Cinema Club and White Lies.

Sziget festival, photo: MTI

In addition to music events, the festival will also offer street theatre, contemporary circus, cinema screenings and numerous art installations built from plans submitted through an international tender.

More than fifty NGOs will be represented at a section called Civil Sziget.

The festival grounds occupying an area of 76 hectares include 50 large and some 200 smaller stages. The area in front of the main stage has a capacity for 60,000 people, Kádár said.

More than 1,000 security staff and 700 health workers will look after the festival-goers, he added.

Photo: MTI

Source: MTI