5 Coolest Festivals in Balkans
Balkanize your host of the partying in the coolest and most entertaining area.
The most popular festivals up to date in the Balkan countries will be examined, which have hosted the best parties and organizations of the recent decades. In this region, which is not the center of Europe and is relatively on the edge, the world’s biggest events or events that leave a mark can be seen every year.
Apart from the location, the climate is one of the biggest reasons why it is among the favorite places of DJs as well as music and festival fans. Regardless of summer or winter, the climate in the Balkans is generally mild. The adriatic and the Mediterranean have a large share in this. For those who do not want to be overwhelmed by the extreme heat of summer, there are wonderful organizations accompanied by cool breezes.
Another factor is, of course, the currency and its value. Although these countries are mostly part of the European Union, they all have their own currency and their values are much less than the Euro. This attracts music fans in countries whose income is a major currency such as the dollar, euro or pound etc.
Let’s see those Balkan festivals that catch attention!
LOVEFEST
Vrnjačka Banja, Serbia | August
Lovefest is a unique cultural platform from Vrnjacka Banja, Serbia, aiming to promote music, art and urban culture of youth. The festival started in 2007 as a Love bridge party and already a year after it made its debut as one of the hottest music events in central Serbia. In 2012 Lovefest got its recognition from the Ministry of youth and sports as the biggest youth festival in the country and only a year after it was nominated by UK Festival Awards for the best overseas festival.
Activities of the Lovefest are focused on actions that contribute to the development of equality, solidarity and tolerance among people with an emphasis on projects that are of a humanitarian, social, environmental, educational and entertaining character. Lovefest is involved in and participates in the ‘HIV prevention‘ humanitarian action ‘Food for All‘, voluntary blood donation, as well as one-time help to many individuals in the country.
Lovefest brings the finest in house and techno to Serbia, setting up on the banks of Vrnjačka Banja’s City Park Lake to showcase a top-tier house and techno lineup inside the secluded woodland.
But Lovefest doesn’t stop at the music lineup, with the festival also laying on a programme that spans film screenings, workshops and more.
DIMENSIONS
Tisno, Croatia | September
Heading down the Croatian coast, Dimensions Festival takes place across two stunning locations; the idyllic Garden Resort in Tisno and Barbarellas Discotheque.
A continuation of the festival’s heritage, they bring with them the same commitment to programming, sound quality, spirit, and a continued nurturing of a close-knit community of labels and club partners – adding the signature Dimensions touch to the Garden Resort.
A slice of paradise nestled on the Dalmatian coastline, the Garden is blessed with crystal clear azure Adriatic waters, baking sunshine and star-lit night skies. It’s an intimate setting that has become a sought-after destination for a global crowd of music lovers. By night, music-lovers will be dancing under star lit skies at the world famous Barbarellas Discotheque.
ELECTRIC CASTLE
Cluj, Romania | July
Electric Castle is a one-of-a-kind music festival happening in July at Banffy Castle in Transylvania.
An eclectic line-up mixed with new media installations & performances, breathtaking scenery and historical surroundings create an alternate world where you can lose yourself to find your self.
A 5-day event, the festival established itself as a reference model for high quality production and impressive, internationally acclaimed festival architecture.
The festival generates revenue for the Bonțida community as a large number of locals convert their homes into hostels to provide accommodation for the festival goers. Also, some locals provide parking spaces for the participants’ cars and cheap alternatives for food and drinks.
SEA DANCE FESTIVAL
Buljarica, Montenegro | August
The event, which extends in the summer season, is acknowledged by the audience and performers, but also by the Government of Montenegro, whose Deputy Prime Minister Dritan Abazović visits the opening of the festival and states that he sees the Sea Dance as “the crown of a successful tourist season”. In August, Buljarica beach is visited by more than 22,000 visitors from more than 40 countries around the world, being a part of the extended, four-day edition of Sea Dance.
The summer festival season ends with an unprecedented marathon programme on the last day of the Sea Dance Festival, which lasts 16 hours! A series of challenges that the organisers faces in the recent months is joined by Saturday’s storm, due to which the entire line-up is postponed to Sunday. But that is why one of the longest festival days recorded in this region, carried by the masterful performances of Tale Of Us, Boris Brejcha and Senidah, will remain engraved in history! In the summer during which the world event industry is slowly rising to its feet, the EXIT team manages, after the festival in Novi Sad, to produce Sea Dance, and put Montenegro on the European festival map, with rigorous respect for epidemiological measures at the entrances.
EXIT FESTIVAL
Petrovaradin Fortress, Novi Sad, Serbia | July
EXIT is an award-winning summer music festival that takes place at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia, with more than 1000 artists who play at over 40 stages and festival zones.
Over the past two decades, it hosted the biggest names in the entertainment industry, from David Guetta to Prodigy. One of the biggest attractions on EXIT is the venue itself. While the neighboring Sziget Festival in Hungary is held in the plains, EXIT’s venue is the 18th-century fortress of Petrovaradin, the second in size in Europe.
As festival was formed in the spirit of genuine youth rebellion, as a movement for freedom in Serbia and peace in the Balkans, the festival’s mission statement has been clear from the beginning – to achieve social change with music. Social responsibility is still the key aspect of the festival activities, with the main focus on environmental and humanitarian activities, the creative industries development, as well as regional cooperation.
