Summer events for students in Hungary

VOLT: opening the festival season

To kick off the festival season, VOLT Festival takes place at the end of June in the town of Sopron in western Hungary, right next to the Austrian border. VOLT is quite popular with Hungarians and visitors alike, and the program usually has a mixture of popular rock and alternative acts and the latest chart-topping artists.

Balaton Sound: beats by the lake

Balaton Sound festival, as its name suggests takes place right next to the lake Balaton, Hungary’s second most popular tourist destination after Budapest, which is worth a separate visit as well. The festival takes place in the town of Zamárdi, with the stages right on the lake’s shores, so participants can jump in for a refreshing swim anytime. Balaton Sound is mostly known for electronic music acts.

Sziget: the biggest and oldest

Finally, the oldest and best known music festival in Hungary is Sziget Festival, organised in August on one of the islands in the river Danube right in the heart of Budapest. Sziget started as a small independent festival, but has grown to be one of the largest in Europe, with visitors from Western Europe now outnumbering Hungarian. It has several musical stages with a wide variety of genres with the World Music Stage being especially popular. Apart from a host of concerts, it also offers poetry readings, circus performances and podium discussions on current issues.

These festivals offer accommodation of all grades and price ranges: of course, you can take your own tent to pitch on the festival grounds if you like, but if you’re looking for more comfort, you can rent a mobile home or even a mobile room for two, with your private bathroom facilities included.