Szigetfestival 2009, Budapest
The 17th edition of the Szigetfestival will take place from August 10th ’till the 17th. With a camping ticket you can stay on the grounds from 12.00 ’o clock of the 10th of August ’till 08.00 ’o clock of the 17th. The 10th of August is the so called Hungarian Day. The majority of the cafe’s and party tents are open and on the Mainstage a popular Hungarian will be performing. On the 11th of August some stages will host several acts. The actual festivities will commence as from August the 12th with complete programming on all stages. This year the division of the festival grounds will be a little bit different. Especially the smaller stages used to be kind of hard to find. This year they will be more clustered and therefore easier to be found. On top of that this years focus will be, (even more so than in previous years), on ’Meeting point Europe’. The days are far gone that Sziget used to be an exclusive Hungarian affair. Of course the Hungarians constitute the majority of the visitors, but also thousands of French, Dutch, German, Italian, Rumanian, British and hundreds of Belgium, Finnish, Austrian, Polish, Skandinavian, Spanish, Slovak and other Eastern European visitors have found their way to Budapest. Therefore the line-up will be more international than in previous years. The grass root visitors shouldn’t be worried though. The party element and price policy will stay the same! Changes will only amount to improvements.
Schedule Sziget 2009:
8th of August: No festival activities yet, but for 10 euro per day you can camp on a camping on the festival site. These additional camping tickets can be purchased at the camping gate on Obudai Island.
10th of August: Party's all over the place.
11th of August: Day Zero: Rock Against Racism.
12th of August: Festival day 1
13th of August: Festival day 2
14th of August: Festival day 3
15th of August: Festival day 4
16th of August: Festival day 5
17th of August: Final day. Visitors are supposed to have left the grounds at 08.00 a.m.
Up-to-date information can be found at Szigetfestival Facebook!
On May 1st a free Sziget camping card will be raffled on Facebook amongs the entrants of the personal Wish list. You already have purchased a ticket and turn out to be the lucky winner? No worries; your ticket will be refunded...
Public Transport
Sziget (Hungarian for Island) is held at a big island in the river Danube north from the city centre. From the city centre the festival is easily to be reached with the HEV-metro. This train will run every 10 minutes. The metro also runs during the night, may it be less frequent. In the city night-buses run throughout the whole night; on the major routes even every 15 minutes. At metro stations you can purchase public transport tickets. These cards are valid day and night for an entire week on all buses, metro trains and streetcars and will only set you back 12 euros. The island is to be accessed over a bridge, which is open at all times. An other option on how to get from the city centre to the Sziget festival is to take the ferry. Every 30 minutes a ferry leaves from the backside of the island to Margit bridge (Pest side) en Batthyány Tér (Buda side).
Camping
The festival grounds open on August 10th at 10 ’o clock in the morning. On August the 8th and 9th you will be able to camp out at the Romai camping just a little more than one mile up the road. As for now it is not entirely certain, but you might be also able, just like last year, to stay at a campingsite on the Sziget island outside of the festival grounds for 10 euros a day. As from August 10th camping out is permitted on the all the festival grounds. The toilets, showers and washing basins are cleaned several times a day. So are the festival grounds. However, after four days everything ain’t as spotless as they were on the first day. Luckily lots of bathing-houses are to be found in the city centre. The ancient warm water springs not only provide you with hygenical relieve. They also serve as the perfect anti-hangover antidote. At the backside of the festival island all is more tranquille. Here you can find teniscourts, volleyballfields, ping-pong tables and a swimming-pool. Very fortunate is the fact that lots of lush trees grow on the island offering you the shade you will be searching for once temperatures sore up to 30 degrees Centigrade. In case you come with a camper or caravan you can stay at the right-hand side of the entrance. You’re allowed to leave the grounds with your camper or caravan once over the duration of the entire festival. Together with the regular camping ticket you will be needing an additional special camper/caravan ticket.
The grounds
The days are far gone that Sziget was an exclusive Hungarian event. Nowadays tens of thousands European youngest come to the Hungarian capital to see and perform over one thousand bands. Rock, dance, worldmusic, punk, electro, funk, blues and classical; there’s something to be found for anyone liking on of the more than 40 stages. But Sziget offers more than just music: Film, fairground, art, spirituality, sports, the most diverse restaurant, shops, little bars and tea-houses....all of this in the midst of the beautifully lit camping sites. The majority of the international acts with wide acclaim perform on the main stage before a 40.000 strong audience. The Worldmusic Stage is one of the best programmed stages in its own right drawing over 15.000 visitors for every performance. At night there are several parties on different locations serving the likes of all party goers. This year over 400.000 thousand (one third Hungarian) visitors in total are to be expected over the span of one week. The prices for commodities have hardly risen and a beer will cost you just about one euro. A meal goes for 2 to 4 euro (including a wide offering of vegetarian meals!). All tough the grounds are huge and the number of camping sites is enormous, the Sziget tickets including camping might sell out before August.
Facilities
Lots of facilities are to be found on the island: a swimming-pool, a non-stop doctor and pharmacy, cash-machines, cellular phone loading docks, shops, free internet (100 computers), telephone and a non-stop information-and complaint desk. Sziget is a festival with a laidback vibe, but this does not mean you do not have to watch your personal belongings. You better do not leave valuable belongings in your tent and it is also recommended to meet and greet your neighbors in order to promote a social network. There will be gates at all entries/exists and you can get badges which you can hide in your luggage and will be set of once they have passed the gates. You can also lockers rent on the island, but you have to be quick. Be smart and rent one as soon as you have set up your tent.
The city
Budapest is one of the most beautiful and most exciting capitals of Europe. You’d better pay the city a visit – it only takes fifteen minutes to get there. Apart from the touristic parts like the centre of Pest and the castle of Buda, there also are lots of special underground bars and clubs to be found in the city. The hills are perfectly fit for mountain biking and they have great parks, warm water springs, museums, shops, swimming-pools, etc...
Labels: 2009, Budapest, Budapest - Sziget Festival
