No more VOLT Festival and Balaton Sound?

In Hungary, the biggest festivals are probably Sziget, Balaton Sound and VOLT. This year, however, two festivals seemed to have lost their popularity. While Sziget made a profit, Balaton Sound and VOLT were both unprofitable in 2022. Could this mean the end of these events?

VOLT and Balaton Sound in 2022

VOLT was held in Sopron between 21-25 June. Main-stage performers of this year’s festival included MUSE, The Killers, and Sum 41. In addition, the festival also offered grocery and drug stores set up on the festival site, phone-charging points, Wi-Fi spots, and a cash-free payment system. As for Balaton Sound, there were some concerns about the Balaton wildlife. In total, 10 traces of illicit drugs were detected in the water samples, and almost all of them were present in the water only on the days after the festival. The researchers found that most of the drugs “retained their pharmacological effects in water, which could have potentially harmful effects on wildlife”. Moreover, it turned out that the festival has an earth-shaking effect.

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No profit, no festival?

According to Index, only Sziget could make a profit this year. Balaton Sound’s result slightly fell short of expectations, while VOLT seems to have a greater loss. However, the hoped-for profit of the 28th edition of Sziget can compensate Sziget Kft. Therfore, their company can be profitable, compared to the loss of HUF 2.2 billion (EUR 5,441,867) in the last two years, said company manager Tamás Kádár to Népszava. They could already start organizing the 29th Sziget in 2023, and next year’s passes are already available at “super early bird” prices. According to him, the future of  VOLT and Balaton Sound will be decided after the evaluation of the season.

450,000 visitors at Sziget Festival

Although VOLT and Balaton Sound did not produce profit, Sziget did. This year, 450,000 visitors had fun at the festival. However, this appears to be a decline – the peak was reached in 2018 with 565,000 visitors. According to another approach, around 200,000 people visited Sziget at least once this year. Tamás Kádár agreed that this year’s weather was kind to them. Only the dust made life at the festival harder which was caused by the months-long drought. Next year, organizers plan to fight against this inconvenience. Although a report on the nationality of the visitors has not yet been prepared, he estimated the proportion of Hungarians to be between 40 and 50 percent this year.

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Source: Index, Népszava