Sziget 2026

[billybigballs]

I mean, it reads like the script of a TV series. 

 

Fingers crossed.

[Sziget2025_Leaks]

49 3131 686F7065 3135 796F75 38 6D697373 3236 6D65

[kristofm]

And when you'd think it can't get any more interesting, she's back.

Welcome!

ps.: YES WE DID MISS YOU. Please tell us something positive. 😃

Edited October 14, 2025 by kristofm

[CCester]

Yes, we missed you. So 8.11-15 are the dates? It’s going to be five days then?

[kristofm]

22 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

I mean, it reads like the script of a TV series. 

 

Fingers crossed.

it's a bit like when there's a football club about to go bankrupt and there are deadlines and everything, the season's about to start, and there's a wealthy investor who happens to be a fan and it's pretty much an all or nothing situation

[thetime]

Although I.moaned, 5 days of sziget is better than no sziget. 😍

[bunnyv]

23 minutes ago, thetime said:

Although I.moaned, 5 days of sziget is better than no sziget. 😍

Same! Let’s hope they will completely build themselves up again and get back to 7 days in 2027. 😛

[mathuska]

If it would really happen, it would be the weakest lineup for long while

[CCester]

14 minutes ago, mathuska said:

If it would really happen, it would be the weakest lineup for long while

Let’s wait and see. Week lineup is better than no lineup.

 

looking forward to all of the original nullszaldo(zero balance) jokes.  

[nathanh]

3 hours ago, Sziget2025_Leaks said:

49 3131 686F7065 3135 796F75 38 6D697373 3236 6D65

The GASP i let out when i scrolled and saw this. Been busy all day so I'm just catching up now. 

 

Not sure I can personally make it to the island again this year but after a great first year this year I'm yearning to be back at this beautiful festival and im so glad it could be possible for it to carry on in whatever form necessary. I have never felt this way about a festival, especially not on first visit, so I'm glad this isnt goodbye. Maybe I need to start planning for 2027... 

[kristofm]

45 minutes ago, mathuska said:

If it would really happen, it would be the weakest lineup for long while

I'm not sure about that. Especially if it's one less day for the same price. I'm gladly taking shrinkflation here if that means they're not going out of business and we get some kind of quality.

[billybigballs]

1 hour ago, mathuska said:

If it would really happen, it would be the weakest lineup for long while

Great bit of positivity there.....

 

I wonder whether, based on what Kadar said recently, they will try to call in some favours and we will get some acts who are 'friends' of the festival.

[Matt86]

14 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

Great bit of positivity there.....

 

I wonder whether, based on what Kadar said recently, they will try to call in some favours and we will get some acts who are 'friends' of the festival.

 

Dua Lipa hello 👋

[FestivalJamie]

52 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

Great bit of positivity there.....

 

I wonder whether, based on what Kadar said recently, they will try to call in some favours and we will get some acts who are 'friends' of the festival.

Macklemore for headliner then.

[kristofm]

 

1 hour ago, billybigballs said:

Great bit of positivity there.....

 

I wonder whether, based on what Kadar said recently, they will try to call in some favours and we will get some acts who are 'friends' of the festival.

The Prodigy had 4 gigs at Sziget in 9 years, they were also one of the first big international acts to ever play at Sziget. They're the original Macklemore 😃 Would be funny if they returned the same year as Gerendai.

[kristofm]

Tamás Kádár, Radio 1 this morning:

 

With this owner there is no festival next year, we have a process now to “bring Sziget home”. It’s a complicated and tough process but I really hope we’re seeing the end of it very soon and will have positive updates.

 

On what went wrong:

They’ve got a strategy (the American company) and it’s very much and almost only about who’s playing at a festival. They are focusing their spendings and budget on getting the best possible line up, that either works or don’t, for Sziget it’s not a good strategy. We’ve been arguing with our owners about this for years. A French kid is not going to fly over to Budapest to see these acts because they can see these names in France as well in their own environment. You can spend a lot on the line up you’ll end up with the same names ad a French or Dutch festival. We should be special in the atmosphere and the vibes, in all these things that we were the best at until 2018 in Europe. These things are not as relevant for them (for these current foreign owners). (…) Instead of this, all the resources and money from the owner went on, let’s say, getting Ed Sheeran. It’s a very great show, but since covid, you’ll get this at a stadium gig anywhere. If you do follow this trend and you end up organizing gigs instead of festivals, then you’ll lose your audience. And our problem is not that we don’t have any day ticket buyers who want to see shows, it’s the international, full pass buyers that we don’t get as much as we used to. I’m not saying this can’t be helped at all, but if we want to get out of this hole, this is the only direction to go through. Show off the special values of Sziget and bring back that number of foreign visitors we had before covid.

 

This spring, the owner of the company that owns us changed. That is an important factor that is causing these changes, and what we tell them is we don’t want a year without Sziget, not a single one, it’s a major festival in Europe for 30+ years. The owners don’t have any more festivals in this region.

 

On the future:

I can’t talk about the details of the deal until they’re closed, but with Károly Gerendai we try to create a team that has an interest and also passion to keep Sziget alive.

 

‘Is there a chance it’s not organized next year but will be in the future?’

We really don’t want that, due to many reasons, it would be tough to get back our international crowd that way. If it’s not sure and certain that there is Sziget every year it’s very hard to get back from there. For Glastonbury it’s okay, but they’ve been doing that for ages, but we can’t tell people that we skip a year but buy your pass for 2027 because we swear we’ll organize it, it doesn’t work like that.

 

On booking artists:

We do negotiate with artists as we speak. We’ve got promising discussions with them. But we can only make things official when this process is closed - I hope that’s done in a week or two.

 

On the city council:

Ages ago we had a conflict with the council about how much we should pay them. We made a study with KPMG, it turns out Sziget generates a strong and visible part of the Hungarian GDP. So it has a lot of added value to the city.

 

‘We are rooting for you guys’

‘Thank you, come and spend 6 nights at Sziget, that’s the way you help us the most! Every little counts!’

[thetime]

2 minutes ago, kristofm said:

 

 

On what went wrong:

They’ve got a strategy (the American company) and it’s very much and almost only about who’s playing at a festival. They are focusing their spendings and budget on getting the best possible line up, that either works or don’t, for Sziget it’s not a good strategy. We’ve been arguing with our owners about this for years. A French kid is not going to fly over to Budapest to see these acts because they can see these names in France as well in their own environment. 

 

Very true that.

 

I'd rather go to Sziget with an ok lineup, rather than a Werchter or Mad Cool with a good lineup.

[billybigballs]

36 minutes ago, kristofm said:

Tamás Kádár, Radio 1 this morning:

 

With this owner there is no festival next year, we have a process now to “bring Sziget home”. It’s a complicated and tough process but I really hope we’re seeing the end of it very soon and will have positive updates.

 

On what went wrong:

They’ve got a strategy (the American company) and it’s very much and almost only about who’s playing at a festival. They are focusing their spendings and budget on getting the best possible line up, that either works or don’t, for Sziget it’s not a good strategy. We’ve been arguing with our owners about this for years. A French kid is not going to fly over to Budapest to see these acts because they can see these names in France as well in their own environment. You can spend a lot on the line up you’ll end up with the same names ad a French or Dutch festival. We should be special in the atmosphere and the vibes, in all these things that we were the best at until 2018 in Europe. These things are not as relevant for them (for these current foreign owners). (…) Instead of this, all the resources and money from the owner went on, let’s say, getting Ed Sheeran. It’s a very great show, but since covid, you’ll get this at a stadium gig anywhere. If you do follow this trend and you end up organizing gigs instead of festivals, then you’ll lose your audience. And our problem is not that we don’t have any day ticket buyers who want to see shows, it’s the international, full pass buyers that we don’t get as much as we used to. I’m not saying this can’t be helped at all, but if we want to get out of this hole, this is the only direction to go through. Show off the special values of Sziget and bring back that number of foreign visitors we had before covid.

 

This spring, the owner of the company that owns us changed. That is an important factor that is causing these changes, and what we tell them is we don’t want a year without Sziget, not a single one, it’s a major festival in Europe for 30+ years. The owners don’t have any more festivals in this region.

 

On the future:

I can’t talk about the details of the deal until they’re closed, but with Károly Gerendai we try to create a team that has an interest and also passion to keep Sziget alive.

 

‘Is there a chance it’s not organized next year but will be in the future?’

We really don’t want that, due to many reasons, it would be tough to get back our international crowd that way. If it’s not sure and certain that there is Sziget every year it’s very hard to get back from there. For Glastonbury it’s okay, but they’ve been doing that for ages, but we can’t tell people that we skip a year but buy your pass for 2027 because we swear we’ll organize it, it doesn’t work like that.

 

On booking artists:

We do negotiate with artists as we speak. We’ve got promising discussions with them. But we can only make things official when this process is closed - I hope that’s done in a week or two.

 

On the city council:

Ages ago we had a conflict with the council about how much we should pay them. We made a study with KPMG, it turns out Sziget generates a strong and visible part of the Hungarian GDP. So it has a lot of added value to the city.

 

‘We are rooting for you guys’

‘Thank you, come and spend 6 nights at Sziget, that’s the way you help us the most! Every little counts!’

 

I think this is the most insightful set of information so far. He's really not holding back on his dislike of the current owners (but why should he?)

 

I'm positive for next year - just wish they'd release confirmed dates of 12 to 17 August because I have a cracking accommodation booked at a bargain price as all the hoteliers in Budapest seem certain it's the week before! And have lowered their prices for the following week accordingly!

 

 

 

 

[billybigballs]

35 minutes ago, thetime said:

 

Very true that.

 

I'd rather go to Sziget with an ok lineup, rather than a Werchter or Mad Cool with a good lineup.

Exactly, we could see most of the Sziget line-up in recent years at either Reading or Leeds but we don't, we head to Budapest.

[nathanh]

48 minutes ago, billybigballs said:

Exactly, we could see most of the Sziget line-up in recent years at either Reading or Leeds but we don't, we head to Budapest.

Its exactly that. I'm a regular R&L goer, probably always will be as someone from Reading. But it would never live up to what I experienced at Sziget, in fact coming home to almost head straight to Reading almost made Reading fall flat. Similar lineups but the people and the atmosphere made Sziget truly magic

[dhtjmnd12]

19 hours ago, CCester said:

Yes, we missed you. So 8.11-15 are the dates? It’s going to be five days then?

Out of interest how did you figure out the dates from what leaks has said? I'm interested by the puzzle

[kristofm]

10 minutes ago, dhtjmnd12 said:

Out of interest how did you figure out the dates from what leaks has said? I'm interested by the puzzle

Idk I told chatgpt to unlock that code and it included the numbers (26, 08, 11-15 or something) + a text like "hope you missed me".

And there was a similar clue about 2 years ago when the date of the festival changed.

Edited October 15, 2025 by kristofm

[dhtjmnd12]

2 minutes ago, kristofm said:

Idk I told chatgpt to unlock that code and it included the numbers (26, 08, 11-15 or something) + a text like "hope you missed me".

And there was a similar clue about 2 years ago when the date of the festival changed.

Now that’s really clever lol, I didn’t know AI could do that! I’ve just done the same with copilot and it translated to:

 

“I 11 Hope 15 you 8 miss 26 me”

 

so yeah as you say potentially 11-15/08/26

[billybigballs]

19 hours ago, Sziget2025_Leaks said:

49 3131 686F7065 3135 796F75 38 6D697373 3236 6D65

Basically "I hope you miss me" with 11, 15, 8, 26 intwined - 11 to 15 of August 2026.

[Yelo, the Parmiggiana]

5 hours ago, kristofm said:

Tamás Kádár, Radio 1 this morning:

 

With this owner there is no festival next year, we have a process now to “bring Sziget home”. It’s a complicated and tough process but I really hope we’re seeing the end of it very soon and will have positive updates.

 

On what went wrong:

They’ve got a strategy (the American company) and it’s very much and almost only about who’s playing at a festival. They are focusing their spendings and budget on getting the best possible line up, that either works or don’t, for Sziget it’s not a good strategy. We’ve been arguing with our owners about this for years. A French kid is not going to fly over to Budapest to see these acts because they can see these names in France as well in their own environment. You can spend a lot on the line up you’ll end up with the same names ad a French or Dutch festival. We should be special in the atmosphere and the vibes, in all these things that we were the best at until 2018 in Europe. These things are not as relevant for them (for these current foreign owners). (…) Instead of this, all the resources and money from the owner went on, let’s say, getting Ed Sheeran. It’s a very great show, but since covid, you’ll get this at a stadium gig anywhere. If you do follow this trend and you end up organizing gigs instead of festivals, then you’ll lose your audience. And our problem is not that we don’t have any day ticket buyers who want to see shows, it’s the international, full pass buyers that we don’t get as much as we used to. I’m not saying this can’t be helped at all, but if we want to get out of this hole, this is the only direction to go through. Show off the special values of Sziget and bring back that number of foreign visitors we had before covid.

 

This spring, the owner of the company that owns us changed. That is an important factor that is causing these changes, and what we tell them is we don’t want a year without Sziget, not a single one, it’s a major festival in Europe for 30+ years. The owners don’t have any more festivals in this region.

 

On the future:

I can’t talk about the details of the deal until they’re closed, but with Károly Gerendai we try to create a team that has an interest and also passion to keep Sziget alive.

 

‘Is there a chance it’s not organized next year but will be in the future?’

We really don’t want that, due to many reasons, it would be tough to get back our international crowd that way. If it’s not sure and certain that there is Sziget every year it’s very hard to get back from there. For Glastonbury it’s okay, but they’ve been doing that for ages, but we can’t tell people that we skip a year but buy your pass for 2027 because we swear we’ll organize it, it doesn’t work like that.

 

On booking artists:

We do negotiate with artists as we speak. We’ve got promising discussions with them. But we can only make things official when this process is closed - I hope that’s done in a week or two.

 

On the city council:

Ages ago we had a conflict with the council about how much we should pay them. We made a study with KPMG, it turns out Sziget generates a strong and visible part of the Hungarian GDP. So it has a lot of added value to the city.

 

‘We are rooting for you guys’

‘Thank you, come and spend 6 nights at Sziget, that’s the way you help us the most! Every little counts!’

 

This alone brought me back on the hype train I jumped off seven years ago.

 

I’m genuinely glad to realize that my disillusionment with Sziget wasn’t necessarily due to the demographic shift, but rather to the company that owned it trying to water down the formula because “one size fits all” is cheaper than actually understanding an asset through its business case.

 

I’m honestly and deeply disgusted by how investment funds, whose only purpose should be to make an investment thrive, have become so obsessed with short-term returns and buy-sell mechanics that everything they touch ends up dry and soulless.

 

Wishing well.