EXIT Festival in Serbia’s second city of Novi Sad has become one of Europe’s most famous festivals! As it approaches its 20th birthday in 2020, the festival is still innovating and branching out – but it will never forget its initial ethos of freedom, social change and youth rebellion at the beginning of the millennium.
EXIT Festival will be held 4-7 July 2019 at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, while the always diverse line-up will include The Cure, Greta Van Fleet, Carl Cox, Skepta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, DJ Snake, Desiigner, Lost Frequencies, IAMDDB, Sofi Tukker, Solomun, Tale of Us, Tom Walker, Maceo Plex, Charlotte De Witte, Boris Brejcha, Peggy Gou, Jeff Mills, Amelie Lens, Dax J, Phil Anselmo & The Illegals, Tarja Turunen, 65daysofstatic, The Selecter, Peter & The Test Tube Babies, Whitechapel, Atheist Rap, Arcturus, Total Chaos and many more to come soon.
There are many reasons not to miss it!
It is a force for social change!
Not many modern festivals have a backstory beyond a commercial enterprise, but EXIT was formed in the spirit of genuine youth rebellion. The festival started as a 100-day student protest in 2000 against the Milosevic regime, with an idea to “Exit out of the madness” and a movement for freedom in Serbia and peace in the Balkans. The festival’s mission statement was clear from the beginning – to achieve social change with music and foster an openness with the rest of Europe and further afield. The growth of EXIT followed a long period of Serbian people feeling isolated from the rest of Europe, with young people especially embracing the change and a pride in the city. Each year EXIT has a theme, such as ‘Freedom’, ‘Summer of Love’, or 2019’s banner of ‘Tribe’, and this is laid out in the opening ceremony and promotional materials – adding to the vibe of unity and community.
The Stunning Location!
Petrovaradin Fortress is simply Europe’s greatest festival setting – a 18th century citadel on a cliff overlooking the River Danube.
The whole city embraces EXIT!
From the hundreds of official volunteers at the fortress, to the good-natured street vendors on Varadin Bridge selling beers from buckets of ice or barbecued corn on the cob, Novi Sad welcomes EXIT like a returning best mate every summer.
Value for money!
If you’re a UK festival veteran you’ll be allergic to overpriced tickets and food and drink costs that border on extortion rackets. But even though EXIT’s production values are off the charts – from the sound systems to the lasers shows, fireworks and performers – it’s by far the cheapest big league festival in Europe.
