Sziget 2025

[CCester]

Sziget published it’s annual financial report. After the record loss of 1.8 billion HUF (~4.5 million €) in 2023 they realized 3.8 billion HUF (9.4 million €) of loss in 2024. They had a bit less than a million € of profit in 2022. 
 

Ticket sales went from 9.3 billion HUF (~23 million €) in 2023 to 7.4 billion HUF (18.3 million €) in 2024.

The decrease of ticket sale was obvious if you wandered around the site.

They also had much less of income from food stalls and drinks. And the unredeemed money left on the card went from 33.5 million HUF to 26.6 million.

 

They say that the owner guaranteed the fund for them to be able to operate.

 

They are hopeful though, because the last time they sold as many daily tickets as now was in 2019.

 

 

Edited June 3, 2025 by CCester

[kristofm]

32 minutes ago, CCester said:

Sziget published it’s annual financial report. After the record loss of 1.8 billion HUF (~4.5 million €) in 2023 they realized 3.8 billion HUF (9.4 million €) of loss in 2024. They had a bit less than a million € of profit in 2022. 
 

Ticket sales went from 9.3 billion HUF (~23 million €) in 2023 to 7.4 billion HUF (18.3 million €) in 2024.

The decrease of ticket sale was obvious if you wandered around the site.

They also had much less of income from food stalls and drinks. And the unredeemed money left on the card went from 33.5 million HUF to 26.6 million.

 

They say that the owner guaranteed the fund for them to be able to operate.

 

They are hopeful though, because the last time they sold as many daily tickets as now was in 2019.

 

 

 

Thanks for the summary! 2x previous record loss... it's crazy. I guess this is why it's good to have a major company backing you, having faith in the project. 

 

A small addition is that the aim to make the 2026 edition profitable, not even this current one, which is mad.

 

Do other festivals, the whole industry struggling so much?

 

[billybigballs]

47 minutes ago, CCester said:

Sziget published it’s annual financial report. After the record loss of 1.8 billion HUF (~4.5 million €) in 2023 they realized 3.8 billion HUF (9.4 million €) of loss in 2024. They had a bit less than a million € of profit in 2022. 
 

Ticket sales went from 9.3 billion HUF (~23 million €) in 2023 to 7.4 billion HUF (18.3 million €) in 2024.

The decrease of ticket sale was obvious if you wandered around the site.

They also had much less of income from food stalls and drinks. And the unredeemed money left on the card went from 33.5 million HUF to 26.6 million.

 

They say that the owner guaranteed the fund for them to be able to operate.

 

They are hopeful though, because the last time they sold as many daily tickets as now was in 2019.

 

 

It felt last year that headliners were being plucked from trees a little bit - Kylie and Halsey especially (even though I enjoyed them both). Fred Again.. was their main booking but compare that, size-wise, to Ed Sheeran and Foo Fighters in 2019.

 

They say everything involved in putting on a festival has become more expensive, and yet they've started offering discounted tickets to those under the age of 21.

 

This might be part of their strategy to get younger people into the festival, who will keep coming even when they're turned 21 but, at some point, and as painful as it is, ticket prices need to increase. 

 

[CS2110]

The full schedule arrived in early June last year and with magic mirror announcing, hopefully it’s on the way soon! Are there any areas yet to announce still?
 

 

Also, they have mentioned a number of stages moving, so it would be great to have some more clarity on that

[thetime]

41 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

It felt last year that headliners were being plucked from trees a little bit - Kylie and Halsey especially (even though I enjoyed them both). Fred Again.. was their main booking but compare that, size-wise, to Ed Sheeran and Foo Fighters in 2019.

 

They say everything involved in putting on a festival has become more expensive, and yet they've started offering discounted tickets to those under the age of 21.

 

This might be part of their strategy to get younger people into the festival, who will keep coming even when they're turned 21 but, at some point, and as painful as it is, ticket prices need to increase. 

 

 

A few festivals have started the u21 ticket. The slower intake from 18-20 was coming though, the over pricing off festivals + the overpriced food and drinks in there as well. 

 

Would put the 18 year old me off festivals as well. 

[sandorbeni]

18 minutes ago, CS2110 said:

Are there any areas yet to announce still?

They haven't announced the names for the jukebox stage and for the beach.

[thetime]

1 hour ago, CCester said:

Sziget published it’s annual financial report. After the record loss of 1.8 billion HUF (~4.5 million €) in 2023 they realized 3.8 billion HUF (9.4 million €) of loss in 2024. They had a bit less than a million € of profit in 2022. 
 

Ticket sales went from 9.3 billion HUF (~23 million €) in 2023 to 7.4 billion HUF (18.3 million €) in 2024.

The decrease of ticket sale was obvious if you wandered around the site.

They also had much less of income from food stalls and drinks. And the unredeemed money left on the card went from 33.5 million HUF to 26.6 million.

 

They say that the owner guaranteed the fund for them to be able to operate.

 

They are hopeful though, because the last time they sold as many daily tickets as now was in 2019.

 

 

 

You can understand there change of direction, as it isn't sustainable making a loss long term.

 

Any ideas on the loss from Balaton? 

[CCester]

1 hour ago, thetime said:

Any ideas on the loss from Balaton? 

I think this contains the loss from Balaton Sound as well, at least from 2023 definitely, as it was cancelled for 2024. But they always said that Volt and Balaton Sound operated with huge loss and only the profit from Sziget could keep their heads above water.

[Matt86]

I don't know if it's 100% relevant, but I think that focusing your strategy on the very young (under 21) is a mistake these days: obviously, you have to think about the future, but when I see for example that Hellfest, during a recent interview with its N°2, declares that the average age is 39, and that their sources of income are mainly merch + food and drink stands (the figures given are HALLUCINATING), it makes me think of all those young people I saw last year at Sziget with their own food and drinks, that they sneaked in: they have no money! at least not as much as the older group. I notice that they are perhaps focusing too much on the very young, especially with a line-up hyper oriented towards electronic music. I would really like to know the average age of their visitors over the years, I am CONVINCED that there is a big rejuvenation, which coincides with a loss of income.

[thetime]

17 minutes ago, Matt86 said:

I don't know if it's 100% relevant, but I think that focusing your strategy on the very young (under 21) is a mistake these days: obviously, you have to think about the future, but when I see for example that Hellfest, during a recent interview with its N°2, declares that the average age is 39, and that their sources of income are mainly merch + food and drink stands (the figures given are HALLUCINATING), it makes me think of all those young people I saw last year at Sziget with their own food and drinks, that they sneaked in: they have no money! at least not as much as the older group. I notice that they are perhaps focusing too much on the very young, especially with a line-up hyper oriented towards electronic music. I would really like to know the average age of their visitors over the years, I am CONVINCED that there is a big rejuvenation, which coincides with a loss of income.

 

I personally think organisers need to think about pricing, rather than anything else. The younger generation just are not drinking so much, but also pricing is extortionate accross the board. 

 

For example I took my daughter to see Mitski at All Points East festival, young audience and which had a non existent bar queue. 

 

Then again I went to live at leeds last weekend, generally older audience but also non existence bar queues. At £7.70 for a pint, people were like nah mate. 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 3, 2025 by thetime

[Matt86]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I personally think organisers need to think about pricing, rather than anything else. The younger generation just are not drinking so much, but also pricing is extortionate accross the board. 

 

For example I took my daughter to see Mitski at All Points East festival, young audience and which had a non existent bar queue. 

 

Then again I went to live at leeds last weekend, generally older audience but also non existence bar queues. At £7.70 for a pint, people were like nah mate. 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, there's definitely some truth in what you're saying.

And when you say that young people drink less than us at the same age, that's definitely true, lol It's for this reason (among others) that if I had to "bet" on an age group for the next 4-5 years in order to sustain my festival, I definitely wouldn't focus on 18-20 year olds, but rather on 26-34 year olds (by the way, in the 2026 wishlist for Sziget, they clearly separated these categories ^^).

 

Does anyone know how the average age at Sziget has changed over the last 10 years, by the way? I'd really be interested to know

[billybigballs]

3 hours ago, thetime said:

 

I personally think organisers need to think about pricing, rather than anything else. The younger generation just are not drinking so much, but also pricing is extortionate accross the board. 

 

For example I took my daughter to see Mitski at All Points East festival, young audience and which had a non existent bar queue. 

 

Then again I went to live at leeds last weekend, generally older audience but also non existence bar queues. At £7.70 for a pint, people were like nah mate. 

I suspect I am a similar age to you (i.e old enough to remember the Hacienda being a club and not a block of flats).

 

I went to Nottingham Arena earlier this year and it was £8.50 a pint. In Nottingham!! So, I bought a £3 bottle of water instead.

 

No wonder the younger generation are giving it 'nah mate', nothing doing at those prices.

 

My first pint cost less than a quid! Lol.

 

 

[krisz1456]

2 hours ago, billybigballs said:

I suspect I am a similar age to you (i.e old enough to remember the Hacienda being a club and not a block of flats).

 

I went to Nottingham Arena earlier this year and it was £8.50 a pint. In Nottingham!! So, I bought a £3 bottle of water instead.

 

No wonder the younger generation are giving it 'nah mate', nothing doing at those prices.

 

My first pint cost less than a quid! Lol.

 

 

 

Yes, guys. 

Prices are insane. In Hungary, there were no raises in salary, but inflation hit really hard. Instead of buying anything expensive there, you can still bring 2 litres of any fizzy drink inside. Many of the Hungarians drink before entering the festival or buy only alcohol and mix it with their drink they can bring into the festival area.

 

What's more,music industry is so expensive that many big names decide on arenas, stadiums instead of festival spots. We can clearly state that the festivals are struggling.

 

And we can see that 2022-2023 brought the worst inflation to Hungary, prices doubled and skyrocketed. Consequently, contract with Dreher is a problem as they have risen prices and tbh, most of the food and drinking orders became more expensive, but they (SZIGET) cannot double their prices and ask for 10 euros when it comes to a can of beer. So again, this is a loss. 

[thetime]

2 hours ago, billybigballs said:

I suspect I am a similar age to you (i.e old enough to remember the Hacienda being a club and not a block of flats).

 

I went to Nottingham Arena earlier this year and it was £8.50 a pint. In Nottingham!! So, I bought a £3 bottle of water instead.

 

No wonder the younger generation are giving it 'nah mate', nothing doing at those prices.

 

My first pint cost less than a quid! Lol.

 

 

 

If you got the festival bug, you go with it. Its the newbies that will make festivals suffer imo. For example reading is £325 + fees. Then you add in travel and spends at a festival. You are probably looking at £600 plus at the minimum. 

 

For your 16-20 year old that is a big wedge. That is where the festival organisers need to grab the punters. 

 

Festivals need a reset on pricing, even lineups accross the board are weaker now and punters are paying a premium. 

 

For me that isn't sustainable. Even the medium festivals are over priced. 

 

First Glastonbury ticket was £67. 😄

Edited June 3, 2025 by thetime

[CS2110]

Jukebox and beach acts now on the app/website

[Visitor]

I really hope the Global Village Stage will be back again at some point when they are making profit again. I get that it's expensive but it adds so much flavor. A few acts play on other stages now but it's not the same, the variety in genres is a lot less this year.

[RookieJur]

7 hours ago, Visitor said:

I really hope the Global Village Stage will be back again at some point when they are making profit again. I get that it's expensive but it adds so much flavor. A few acts play on other stages now but it's not the same, the variety in genres is a lot less this year.

What kind of acts were on that stage?

 

[sandorbeni]

58 minutes ago, RookieJur said:

What kind of acts were on that stage?

 

It was all kinds of 'world music'

[ReljaGajić]

1 hour ago, sandorbeni said:

It was all kinds of 'world music'

But there was also an indian circus, hungarian folk dance workshop, and so much more, I'm really gonna miss that stage

[thetime]

15 minutes ago, ReljaGajić said:

But there was also an indian circus, hungarian folk dance workshop, and so much more, I'm really gonna miss that stage

 

2 hours ago, sandorbeni said:

It was all kinds of 'world music'

 

One of my fave nights at Sziget was 2019 Post malone day,  spent in the global area. Likewise last day of 2022. 

[billybigballs]

Did anyone catch Amazon Prime's coverage of Primavera in recent days? I missed Charli but Chappell on Saturday night was pretty special. It'll be interesting if that boosts ticket sale for her day.

 

When does the passport normally start circulating on line?

[So Sad Simon]

1 hour ago, billybigballs said:

Did anyone catch Amazon Prime's coverage of Primavera in recent days? I missed Charli but Chappell on Saturday night was pretty special. It'll be interesting if that boosts ticket sale for her day.

 

When does the passport normally start circulating on line?

I caught Chappel and enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I tend to intensely dislike 'staging' as it all feels a bit Meat Loaf to me, but I thought she delivered and oozed confidence.

 

The one I really enjoyed (and its worth catching on YouTube) is Zaho De Sagazan. Hoping she doesn't clash with Postey at Sziget but, if she does, I'll be in the tent.

[thetime]

13 minutes ago, So Sad Simon said:

 

 

The one I really enjoyed (and its worth catching on YouTube) is Zaho De Sagazan. Hoping she doesn't clash with Postey at Sziget but, if she does, I'll be in the tent.

 

Hopefully we get the schedule soon. 

 

There's not to many clashes, but a few must sees that I dont want to miss that could clash. 

 

Monday im hoping for Luvcat, Kingfishr, Last Dinner Party and Chappel Roan not to clash. Although out of anything I dont want Luvcat and Kingfishr to clash. 

 

First day I got no chance. I would be quite happy to camp in Revolut, but want to check out little simz and charli. 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 9, 2025 by thetime

[kristofm]

56 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Hopefully we get the schedule soon. 

 

There's not to many clashes, but a few must sees that I dont want to miss that could clash. 

 

Monday im hoping for Luvcat, Kingfishr, Last Dinner Party and Chappel Roan not to clash. Although out of anything I dont want Luvcat and Kingfishr to clash. 

 

First day I got no chance. I would be quite happy to camp in Revolut, but want to check out little simz and charli. 

 

 

 

 

If that helps, I was told Luvcat, Last Dinner Party, Chappell Roan will all be in different time slots, these won't clash. Kingfishr and Luvcat won't clash based on the same source. Don't know about the rest.
(I asked a person who 100% has knowledge on the schedule and line up about a month ago, so if things didn't change since, then it will be fine.)

Edited June 9, 2025 by kristofm

[thetime]

21 minutes ago, kristofm said:

If that helps, I was told Luvcat, Last Dinner Party, Chappell Roan will all be in different time slots, these won't clash. Kingfishr and Luvcat won't clash based on the same source. Don't know about the rest.
(I asked a person who 100% has knowledge on the schedule and line up about a month ago, so if things didn't change since, then it will be fine.)

 

Great help, that would be perfect indeed.