As the dust settles on another year of Serbia’s EXIT Festival, the festival said it welcomed “more than 200,000 visitors from around the world” amongst what the festival has previously said could be the final time it is held in the country.
The festival shared in a statement that “music festivals can still be bastions of freedom and drivers of positive social change.”
The festival’s 25th edition, which took place from 10-13 July, welcomed Tiësto, The Prodigy, Sex Pistols feat. Frank Carter, Solomun and many more across the four day event.
“This year, we didn’t just defend EXIT’s freedom – we defended the right of the entire global music and cultural scene to speak freely,” said Dušan Kovačević, EXIT Festival Group founder, after its 2025 event.
“That’s why this year’s EXIT is of such importance. What happened over these four days at Petrovaradin Fortress proved the social impact that music and togetherness can have. Together with our fans, students, and both local and international performers, we held firm against state oppression. We showed that love still triumphs over fear and the power of solidarity.”
In June, we reported that Serbia’s EXIT Festival its 2025 edition could be its last in Serbia.
The decision, the festival said at the time, came after EXIT publicly aligned with the country’s student-led anti-corruption protests, which occurred after the Novi Sad station collapse in November 2024 which claimed 15 lives.
At the time, the festival stated that since publicly showing support for the protests it had “been subjected to immense financial and political pressures aimed at stripping us of our fundamental rights to freedom of thought and expression.”
