Few major festivals have come from such humble beginnings as Budapest’s Sziget Festival.
What started as a student event in 1993 now, quite literally, takes over an entire island on the Danube river, Hungary. Over the years, they’ve welcomed everyone from R.E.M, Oasis and The Cure to then up-and-coming acts Dua Lipa and Lewis Capaldi. This year’s six day edition sees Charli XCX, Post Malone, Chappell Roan, Shawn Mendes, A$AP Rocky and Anyma as headline acts. It’s a festival line-up that represents changing music tastes for modern, increasingly more demanding music fans.
But while Sziget Festival has been partying for over 30 years, running a major European festival in 2025 comes with quite unique problems. Gone are the days of taking over a field, building it and people come. Of course, every festival needs a competitive line-up, decent food and hotel options for those who don’t want to spend a week sweltering in a tent. But things are becoming more difficult. Prices are rising, booking artists is getting harder and, as we previously reported on, festival like EXIT Festival can leave the place they’ve called home for 25 years due to government pressure.
So, what are ups and downs of running a major European festival? Here, we speak with Sziget Festival’s Chief Brand Officer Tomas Loeffen to discuss how everything from TikTok to travel costs are impacting music festivals.
Festival Insights: what has been the thinking behind this year’s line-up? Especially when it comes to headline acts such as Charli XCX and Post Malone?
“There are so many factors. One of the key things for us is to look at our audience. Our audience is very international – about 50% are from Hungary, so 50% are from all across the world. We have to keep their needs in mind, and not just the needs of local attendees.
We also need a mix of female and male artists, and a mix of pop, hip-hop and electronic music headliners. In the end, we ended up a little on the poppier side with our headliners. That has to do with certain bands preferring to do stadium tours this year, but there’s also simply a greater demand for pop acts this year.”
Festival Insights: as a major European festival yourselves, how do you stay competitive against the likes of Glastonbury, Primavera and many others?
“The key is to keep refreshing the festival.
This year, we’ve added some new venues to the festival. We’re also concentrating more on electronic music, and promoting underground acts. But really, it’s all about relevant booking and trying to stay ahead of the curve.”
“When everything becomes more expensive people have to make choices, and when people have to make choices we have to be the best at what we do.”
Festival Insights: what are some of the challenges of running a major festival today that you wouldn’t have experienced five years ago?
“I think it’s mostly financial, and we’ve seen an increase on all sides. Artist costs increased, and so have production costs. It’s also become more expensive for international audience. For people to travel from the UK, the Netherlands, even from New Zealand and Australia, everything has increased for them to reach the festival and to stay in the city. We still offer affordable camping options, but the younger generation demand a bit more when it comes to comfort.
When everything becomes more expensive people have to make choices, and when people have to make choices we have to be the best at what we do.
In the years before COVID, young people could decide to go to Sziget and to Glastonbury. With the younger age group, it’s harder for them to travel to two or three festivals in the summer. That makes a real difference in how you appeal to people.”
Festival Insights: if someone wanted to create a brand new festival on the size and scale of Sziget in, for example, two years time, would that be possible in the modern day?
“It’s funny that you say in two years time, because in two years time, I think no.
Festivals need to have the patience to slowly grow. Where we are at the moment, where we can book our level of headliner and be a multi-genre festival, it takes time. It might still be possible, but it takes patience.”
Festival Insights: what do you and the team get most excited about when organising Sziget? Is it when you book a dream headliner, is it when the weekend is done and everything has gone well? What is the reason why you do it?
“It differs from team to team. For some, they will be happy when everyone gets home safely after the festival. But for me personally, it’s a mix.
It can be that one headliner that really smashes it at the festival, but also the special, surprising moments. You can see a headline act, but there are certain elements of our programme that I think are so special. 100 people might see a small theatre performance, but that could be the memory that stays with you for many years.”
Festival Insights: when you’re looking at future headliners, are there acts coming through who you think will be on the Sziget main stage in the next few years?
“With the TikTok generation, acts come and go so quickly in how they develop and how they become well-known. Last year, it was Chappell Roan. Before last summer, I wasn’t sure if the public considered her a headliner, but now she’s one of the best selling days. That says everything.
You have to try and see how an artist matures. It can be too quick to host a certain act at a festival, and it can also be too quick for the artist too. Over the summer, there can be a TikTok trend, and suddenly they’re headliner level. It’s our team’s jobs to try and anticipate that, and see if they really are that good.
We book headline acts somewhere between September and January. Sometimes, we’re in luck with TikTok hype, other times we’re not. So that’s why we need to aim for quality.”
Sziget Festival takes place from 6-11 August in Budapest. Tickets for this year’s event can be found here.
