Sziget Festival '12

Sziget has loads of other things on offer to festival goers, as well as the music, there is; theatre, dance, classical music, cabaret, performances, films, fine art, crafts, literary presentations, programmes for kids, sports and other free time activities.

Sziget Festival, (pronounced see'-get) takes place on Óbudai-sziget ("Old-Buda Island"), an island in the Danube, Budapest, Hungary. Taking place in August, the festival started as a local event in 1993 playing host to various Hungarian artists and has grown into a large European festival, showcasing over a thousand international artists over 60 stages, from many genres, to 400,000 daily visitors, half of which come from outside Hungary.

2012 will see the 20th edition of Sziget, from Wednesday 8th to Monday 13th August, with camping available from Monday 6th August.

Line-up

The Day of the Hungarian Song
-2 Day will be all about Hungarian bands with a total of 70 performers that day.

Day -1
Main focus on Hungarian acts, plus Csík Ensamble is playing a mega concert on main stage, and the Open Civil stage will host the Youropeen talent show.

Day 0
Metal Day! A program of the hard and heavy acts, or alternatively Hungary's biggest pop icon, Akos, playing on the same day on main stage.

Main Stages

Pop-rock Main Stage
Maxïmo Park, The Roots, Gocoo, Anti Flag, Viza, Noah and the Whale, The Subways, Glasvegas, Caro Emerald, The Vaccines, The Horrors, Paolo Nutini, Beatstakes, Friendly Fires, Two Door Cinema Club, Mando Diao, Hurts, The xx, LMFAO, Placebo, Korn, The Stone Roses and The Killers.

OTP World Music Party Stage
The Pogues, La Selva Sur, Che Sudaka, Los De Abajo, Figli Di Madre Ignota, Sergent Garcia, Dubioza Kolektiv, Roy Paci & Aretuska, Leningrad, Goran Bregovic Wedding And Funeral Band, Emir Kusturica & The No Smoking Orchestra, Shantel & Bucovina Club Orkestar, Fanfare Ciocarlia, Besh o droM, Pannonia Allstars Ska Orchestra, Rotfront, Quimby, LaBrassBanda, Orchestre National De Barbés, Imam Baildi, HK & Les Saltimbanks, Amsterdam Klezmer Band, Muchachito Bombo Infierno, Molotov and Narasirato.

A38 Stage
Agnes Obel, Beardyman, Citizens!, Bonaparte, Tiga, Dirthyphonics, DJ Fresh, High Contrast presents "The agony & the ecstasy featuring Selah Corbin & Dynamite MC, Shaka Ponk, Yonderboi, Flying Lotus, The Black Seeds, Jungle by Night, Heideroosjes, Anna Calvi, Wild Beats, Kakkmaddafakka, Katzenjammer, dEUS, Fink, Lamb, Ministry, Bebel Gilberto, The Ting Tings, Dope D.O.D, Crookers, Modeselektor and Azari & III.

Arena
Kraak & Smaak, Saint Etienne, Crystal Fighters, Magnetic Man. And then at 10PM you can meet some great DJs, like Steve Aoki, Axwell, Adam Beyer, The Advent vs Industrialyzer live, Flux Pavilon and Borgore. Before them are: I Cani (ITA), Frittenbude (GER), 1995 (FRA), In Golden Tears (GER), Grimus (ROM), Elektro Guzzi (AUT), Chef's Special (NED), Teatro Degli Orrori (ITA), Danakil (FRA) and Amon Amarth (FIN).

Hungarian Main Stage
As always, a full ine-up of Hungarian stars, this time on a venue moving to the old place of the world music stage.

Smaller Venues

Roma Tent
Ferenc Snétberger’s students, Romengo, Fishtank Ensemble, O’Djila, Besh o droM, Etnorom, Nadara, The Barons of Tang, DJ Click, Caci Vorba, Vojasa, Gypsy Hill, Vodku, Söndörgő, Naat Veliov & The Original Kocani Orkestar, Dj Gaetano Fabri & Balkanhotsteppers, Robert Lakatos & a Rév, Parno Graszt, and Fanfara Shavale.

Renwed multi-art venue: Culture Zone
Sziget's emblematic feature under a new name and in a new venue, hosting theatre, fine arts, exhibitions, design, classical music, jazz, literature, slam poetry, stand-up comedy, circus, street theatre, artistes, acrobats, jugglers, environmental thinking, recycling, workshops, flashmobs, yoga, tai chi and so much more.

Venues included in the Culture Zone
Eastern-European Funfair, Museum Circle, Reader's Park, Tarot Labyrinth, Octopoly – Upcycling Installation, Creative Workshop Zone, Medence RE+Concept Bag workshop, +Stencilworkshop, Medence Concept Store, Hello Wood, Agora.

Holland meets Hungary Stage
More than just a Dutch cultural showcase, rather concentrating on an open-minded cooperation between Dutch and Hungarian artists, including jam sessions of famous musicians and also presenting afternoon chats and presentations with prominent guests.

Puglia Sounds - Mambo Stage
Semi-acoustic concerts and DJ sets during the day, interviews, live radio programs and presentations at night, hosting bands and guests from all over the world. And very importantly: presenting all the musical talents the South Italian region of Puglia has to offer.

Giant Street Theatre
Presenting the French actors of Compagnie Pipotal and their performance with the title Basculoscopia.

Street theatres
Actors, artistes, musicians, arriving at any possible time from any possible direction. You will surely meet Cia La Tal from Spain, Blaas of Glory from The Netherlands, Teatro Correquetepillo, Buchty A Loutky and so much more.

Hungaricum Village
The very best of Hungarian folk culture, including dance, games, exhibitions, music, fire-jumping and some great traditional wines and bakeries of the host country. On Sunday morning you can even join an ecumenical mass at the same venue.

Wine & Fröccs Garden
The best place to taste Hungarian wines, right next to Hungaricum village.

WAMP
Sunday arts market, right next to Hungaricum Village.

Wine & Fröccs Garden
The queer venue of Sziget, celebrating its 12th anniversary and presenting movies from the Berlinale, roundtable discussions, concerts, vaudevilles and parties all night long. Magic Mirror also presents its very own talent contest in the categories artiste, queer and dancer.

Wine & Fröccs Garden
Afro-Latin Stage and World Village Sunny productions on stage, presenting the best of Jamaica and the African continent. Programs include bands, dancers, handicraft, workshops, massage, etc.

European Meeting Point
Informal discussions and games about EU topics and the chance to meet EU institutions in a relaxed way. EU4U consulate is also here to help out citizens in trouble.

Civil Sziget and Open-Civil Stage
The name says it all: presentations, performances, games, movies and a lot of music – dealing with everything in connection with an open civil attitude.

Ability Park
An interactive adventure park where you can try to understand the life of disabled people. Also a disabled service center, including special toilets, attendants, etc.

Cöypon Ambient Tent Garden
A non-stop chill music venue with DJs, live acts, visuals, massage, belly dance, capoeira, yoga and anything you might need to relax a bit. Entrance only with bare feet.

VOLT Festival Terrace
The biggest parties with DJs and retro concerts of Hungarian stars from the 80s and 90s.

Logical Games Tent
Chess, Rubik cube, puzzle, domino and any games you might think about… respect the rules.

Olympic and Sports venue
Daytime activities, games and a number of sports possibilities for Sziget fans who search an active recreation. A special focus will be on the Olympics, so you can watch the games live on giant screens and also try yourself in competitions.

There are actually two days of events before the festival proper, 'Day One' which features only Hungarian acts, and 'Day Zero'.

Tickets

Limited special offer tickets offering transport have sold out. An early bird week ticket with camping is priced at £165, Early Bird 5 Day Pass without camping £140, and a campervan pass is priced at £110. Beware of false tickets. Buy your ticket only from authorised vendors.

Children aged 10 and under have free entry if accompanied by an adult. Children under 14 must be accompanied by an adult.

To buy tickets, click here.

get there by coach

Big Green Coach is running coaches to Sziget picking up from Birmingham, Dover, London & Manchester.
To book, click here.

Camping information

Camping Tickets are valid from 6th August 10:00am, Non-Camping Tickets are valid from 8th August 06:00am. Both types are valid to 13th August 08:00am. Daily ticket holders can enter the festival site from 02:00am to midnight on the day indicated on the ticket, and can stay until 08:00am the following day.

For those wishing to extend their stay on at the festival once the validity of their ticket has ceased, a new wristband can be purchased. Those who don’t buy a new one will be obliged to leave the festival site.

Sziget attracts 60,000-70,000 visitors per day. There are many reasons to explain the international success of Sziget Festival. Apart from the line-up and wide variety of activities like swimming, karaoke, lessons in Hungarian or bellydancing, the location is one of them.

The festival is held in a park on the Sziget Island in the heart of Budapest. The diversity, quality and price of food and beverage at Sziget are incomparable with other festivals. A pint of premium beer will set you back around £1.50, and for £3 you can make your choice between Indian, Chinese, Arabic, Italian, Hungarian, vegetarian or fast food.

CityPass

Festival-goers will be able to buy a CityPass for only €25, granting free entry to the Turkish baths, spas and lidos of the city and use of all public transport for twelve days.