What is going to happen to Sziget Festival? Who could be able to save it?

Within just a few days, the fate of the Sziget Festival turned into a political drama. On Wednesday, Budapest’s General Assembly failed to pass Mayor Gergely Karácsony’s proposal to help rescue the event, as both Fidesz and the Tisza Party abstained from voting, writes Telex.

Sziget Festival is in big danger, or is it?

For a moment, it seemed that the more than 30-year-old festival had reached its end. Then, on Thursday, a surprising turnaround came: Péter Magyar and Károly Gerendai announced that the Sziget will indeed return next year.

The uncertainty revolved around the festival’s land-use agreement. The current foreign owner – who decided to withdraw from Hungary after several years of financial losses – had requested to terminate its contract with the city.

However, this move prevented the festival’s new, Hungarian-owned management from signing a fresh agreement, which is essential to prepare for the 2026 event.

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Karácsony wants to save Hungary’s biggest music festival

Under Karácsony’s earlier proposal, the festival would have received a 90 percent discount on its rental fees for the first three years, repaying the full amount later once its finances stabilised, reports 444.hu.

Fidesz and the Tisza Party, however, refused to support the plan, arguing that it offered insufficient guarantees for the city’s financial interests and did not ensure that the festival would actually take place next year.