Lots of news for the next edition of the Sziget Festival to be held from 10 to 15 August 2023 at the spectacular location on Budapest’s Óbuda Island, where visual experiences, food and services will also be provided to around 40,000 campers. , What never changes is the unforgettable and unique Sziget-spirit, the wide variety of programming and the internationality of Sziget’s annual gatherings from around the world. Great news for Italy: after 13 years the main stage will once again host an Italian artist – and the appearances from the beautiful country don’t stop there.
With redesigned stages and improved audio-visual systems, Sziget 2023 will be more spectacular. Hugely popular among citizens, and internationally one of a kind: Freedom of Art will return, filling the island with extraordinary works of art and spectacular installations. The now-iconic “K” bridge, which leads to Liberty Island, was slated to be refurbished in 2022, so it will be possible to spruce it up again. An important innovation this year is the abolition of chemical toilets, which will be replaced by real sanitary blocks, providing a new level of comfort for all visitors. It should be remembered that Sziget is one of the few major festivals where basic camping is always included in the ticket price – for both 6 and 3 day passes, but only if you have at least 2 consecutive days Even for the day pass. A stay at the Sziget campsite is a magical experience, capable of making the festival a truly emotional journey that only Freedom Island is capable of providing. And those wanting even more comfort can opt for upgrade campsites (Siesta and Park Camping), or glamping accommodation in Sziget Ville or Podpadopolis.
main boxes
Mainstage artists include major global stars, but also new, exciting emerging talent. Laza will be for the first time in Hungary! After the success in Sanremo with CENERE, which has already collected more than 92MLN total streams and four platinum records, and after setting an absolute record of durability on n. 1 FIMI Records with the album SIRIO (Island Records), Laza will appear before Lorde and Macklemore on August 14.
Headlining will be: Florence + The Machine on August 10, followed by Imagine Dragons, David Guetta, Mumford & Sons. On August 14, two headliners will take the stage: Lorde and Macklemore, followed by one of the biggest stars of our time, Oscar, Golden Globe and Grammy winner Billie Eilish, who will perform for the first time in Hungary.
Still in the main stage event we get Sam Fender, Falls, Yungblood, Niall Horan, Son Mix, Mimi Webb, Arlo Parks, AJR, Caroline Polachek, Lazza, Girl in Red, Carson Coma, Helot Paynz, Easy Life.
This year the center of EDM is again the Party Arena, where a variety of international party brands will be presented each day: Q-Dance, Awakenings, Rampage, Next Level, Higher Ground, B Massive and Born of Music Addiction and the line-up includes EDM Beyer, Reinier Zonneveld, Diplo and Italian techno superstar, Tale of Us.
Bringing together the best of alternative electronic music, Sziget’s TicketSwap Colosseum – an impressive stage reminiscent of ancient amphitheaters – returns with a revamped look and equipped with state-of-the-art sound systems, hosting over 60 artists over 6 Will do -Daytime festivals: Sven Vath, I Hate Models, Jeff Mills, DJ Tennis, Mall Grab and Cobosil, to name a few.
The giant marquee MasterCard Freedom gathers alternative music artists. Among others, English producer, musician and DJ Bonobo, English hip-hop artist Loyal Carner, deep and progressive house musician Ben Böhmer and Jamie XX of English indie pop band The XX will perform here. It also features German electronic music supergroup Moderate, English rock band Nothing But Thieves, French-American electronic music project M83, punk band Emile and the Sniffers.
small boxes
LightStage is back with a significant Italian representation. Among the performers of this year in Belpaz, names such as Extralisio stand out with their “punk dance hall”, I Meganoidi, the historical Italian punk / ska-core band that will present itself with a very rock set; French Saints duet “It’s Not So Bad”, winner of X Factor 2022, Studio Morena who will invade the stage with this style
Unites Rap/HipHop/Jazz, Savannah Funk and their fiery psychedelic live and Los Angeles-formed Dumbo Gates Mad Italian pop/psychedelic duo and Red Room, a young rock and roll band with a fresh and explosive energy thanks to its frontman Searching again. Gianluca Amoruso is also able to duet fearlessly with Billie Joe of Green Day during a live show at the Milan Racecourse in 2022.
The new Dropyard Stage, which debuted last year to much fanfare, features some of the most exciting break, hip-hop and rap artists from nearly every corner of the globe. Like last year, this time too dance and hip-hop will dominate the stage program in the early afternoon.
The Europe Stage will have a new venue, but unchanged excitement and a rich programme. The main purpose of the stage is to showcase not yet established, but very talented bands from Italians such as: Gio Ivan, Mezzosangu and Stan the Canvas.
Once again, the Global Village stage invites the best of world music from the Balkans to South America, Mali to Korea and India to the Middle East. The program includes a variety of unique rhythms, languages and instruments, while musical styles range from traditional folk to electronic music. The program featured Vinicio Capocella, Circus Raj, Koza Mostra, Al-Qasar, Shahzad Santu Khan, Komuna Lux, The Langan Band, Baklava Blues and many more.
Other music venues on the island: Music Box, singer-songwriter stage, Stereo Stage with all-time hits and K-pop workshops, tribute stage for cover bands, Everness Chill Garden on Sziget Beach.
non-musical stage
Cirque du Sziget, one of the venues most loved by Schnitzen, will return to its usual venue, but with an even richer programming. From late afternoon until late at night, the large 1000-seat marquee and adjacent open stage will be filled with exciting performances from major companies from around the world: Circa, Amaucanama Circus, La Puteyca, Cirque Alphonse, Das Arnac, Manoamano, Colokolo’s Chouf Le Ciel, Etcetera.
Magic Mirror has been celebrating love, happiness and acceptance for over two decades. It is a place where visitors can momentarily surrender, discover themselves and learn all they can about the LGBTQ+ community, asking everything they never dared to ask. From engaging film screenings, panel discussions, workshops and stand-up comedy to concerts, the event has everything that makes a community truly colourful.
The theatre-and-dance field offers two outdoor stages and a range of events on the lawn for those interested in contemporary dance and theatre. Every day from noon to evening there will be performances from 12 different countries – including Cuban, Mozambican, Swiss, Hungarian, French and Italian artists.
Traveling Fun Fair – The amusement park created by Teatro Karjat, the custodian of the traditions of the Hungarian fair fun, will surprise Szczecin with magical shows and games.
Other non-musical forums: the spectacular Walking Street Theatre, Living Sculptures, Art Zone, the most visited space during the day that hosts art workshops, then Think for Tomorrow roundtables to discuss social issues of today, Applied Arts Different detox areas created by the museum, Gamelandhub for board game lovers, Before I Die Wall, G Chink Labyrinth, Sport By Jana area, NGO Island, where you can learn about the many organizations that are working in . the non-profit zone, and the fascinating and impressive XS Land (Ability Park), where we can experience firsthand what it’s like to live with different types of disabilities, and Sziget Beach.
Italians in Sziget
In addition to the busy Lightstage programming, several Italian artists are conquering the island: LAZZA is the third Italian artist to perform on the main stage in the Festival’s 30 years, preceded only by Jovanotti (2006) and Subsonica (2010). Tale of Us (Party Arena), Vinicio Capocella (Global Village), Geo Ivan (Europe Stage), Stan the Canvas (Europe Stage), Mezosangu (Europe Stage), 999999999 (Colosseum), DJ Tennis (Colosseum), 43.Nov. (Europe Stage – Winner of the Italian Selection Festival Pass) and Asymptote (Colosseum). The list will be further extended to include artists performing in dance theater and circus arts.