A Few Biggest European Music Festivals (with 2024 Dates)

Summer in Europe is the best time. Travels, beaches, picnics in the park, sport events, concerts. Summer is also the time of music festivals, smaller or bigger, with different types of music. Actually, there are so many festivals that it’s hard to follow them all.

I love sport travelling, which combines visiting with attending big sports events. Combining travelling with attending big music events is also an absolutely a great idea! Of course, it’s a different type of travel then. You have less time and less energy during the day, as you spend it during concerts at night.

Yet, it’s a great way to travel and enjoy summer and music.

What are the biggest European music festivals? What are their dates for 2024?

Let’s have a look at festivals in England, Denmark, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Croatia, and the Czech Republic.

Quick links to organise your trip to music festivals in Europe:

Accommodation: Booking.com

Check here for flights.

Rent a car for car rental.

Here for private transfers and guided tours.

And here to check bus schedules.

Biggest European Music Festivals: Glastonbury, England

Starting from probably the most iconic one, whose history started on September 19, 1970. It was then that the first festival took place. It’s a rock festival.

Glastonbury takes place in the small village of Pilton in Somerset. The closest big city with and airport is Bristol.

Glastonbury Festival 2024 Dates: 26-30.06, 2024

Here you can see all the information regarding the festival and tickets.

Roskilde Festival, Denmark

Roskilde is one of the biggest international rock festivals. It has a long history as well; the first edition took place in 1971. The festival takes place close to the Danish town of Roskilde, around 30 km (around 19 mi) from Copenhagen. So it will be easy to get there; you can fly to Copenhagen or even to the Swedish city of Malmo, connected with Copenhagen by the bridge.

Roskilde Festival 2024 Dates: 29.06-06.07, 2024

Tickets and information here.

Opener, Gdynia, Poland

When reviewing a few articles about music festivals, I didn’t notice any information about Opener in Gdynia. I know I live in Gdynia, so I can’t be the most objective here, but it’s a festival worth mentioning. As it’s a huge festival, with around 80 000-100 000 attendees daily. Depending on the singers, it was sometimes even more.

Opener in Gdynia started in 2003, but then it was smaller and it took place in Gdynia city centre. Then it was moved to the airport outside the city. There are free buses that take you there from the station in the centre. It used to be more rock, a ‘stronger’ music festival; now it’s changed to lighter. Stars that performed in 2023 were, for example, Arctic Monkeys, Kamp!, or Kendrick Lamar.

I have to say the time of the festival is a bit tiring for inhabitants of Gdynia, but I think the location of the festival is great for participants. Gdynia is a part of the so-called Tricity, and when coming here, you can visit Gdynia, Sopot and the most famous, Gdańsk. During the day, you can just rest on the beach.

There is an airport in Gdańsk, so it’s easy to arrive here.

The Opener usually takes place at the end of June and beginning of July.

Opener 2024 dates: 03-06.07, 2024

Festival site and tickets here.

Here check for accommodation in Gdynia.

Biggest European Music Festivals: Ultra Europe Festival, Split, Croatia

Another huge festival in a great place to visit is Ultra Europe in Split, in Croatia.

Split as a travel destination probably doesn’t need many recommendations. City with interesting Unesco monument, great weather and many beaches to gain energy.

If you have more time, you can also visit nearby islands.

It’s easy to reach Split, as it has an international airport with a lot of flight connections. And it takes around 30 minutes to arrive at the centre from the airport. If you travel to Split for the festival (or during any other trip), remember to drink coffee and eat local food.

And if you have better connections to Dubrovnik than Split, that is also no problem. Here are many tips on how to get from Split to Dubrovnik (and vice versa, from Dubrovnik to Split too).

If you are planning to come to Split for the festival, check out Croatia Travel Tips.

Ultra Europe, Split dates: 12-14.07.2024

Festival website here. Here accommodation in Split.

Pag Island in Croatia festivals

Pag Island, in the north of Dalmatia (you can reach it from Zadar), is known as a party island, especially Novalija town and Zrce Beach. There are two festivals that take place on the island in the summer.

Check out places to stay on Pag!

Hide Out

Dates: 23-27.06, 2024

Festival site with information.

Sonus Festival

Dates: 18-22.08, 2024

And information.

Biggest European Music Festivals: EXIT Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia

Let’s stay in the region. Another famous festival that takes place in July in the Serbian city of Novi Grad is the Exit Festival. It takes places in Novi Sad, the second-biggest city in Serbia, in the Petrovaradin Fortress. The Fortress is the most important monument in Novi Sad, so the atmosphere is very special.

How to get to the Exit Festival? There is no international airport with commercial flights in Novi Sad, but you can fly to Belgrade Airport and take the transport from there. It’s only 75 km (46 miles). You can also find different accommodations in Novi Sad.

EXIT Festival Dates: 11-14.07, 2024

Tickets and information are here.

Biggest European Music Festivals: Sziget Festival, Budapest, Hungary

Not so far from Serbia is one of the biggest European music festivals. It’s Sziget, in the capital of Hungary, Budapest.

Sziget in Hungarian means ‘island’ and yes, the festival is located on the island!. It’s an island on the Danube River, not so far from the centre. The location is absolutely amazing. It’s very easy to get to Budapest; there are many flights from different destinations. It’s also a great city to visit, so you will have a lot to see and do during the day. Just note that the festival takes place in August, which means it’s usually really hot in Budapest at this time. So it will not be easy to move a lot in the city.

Sziget Festival includes not only music but also shows, art, and many additional activities.

Sziget Festival 2024 Dates: 7-12.08, 2024

Check out this page for any information and tickets.

And here are some Budapest Travel Tips. I described there few great hotels in Budapest. You can also search for accommodation here.

Balaton Sound, Zamardi, Hungary

Balaton Sound is another very famous music festival in Hungary. Here you can find the line up for the festival in 2023 to see what and whom you can expect.

Balaton Sound takes place in Zamardi, a town on the south shore of Balaton Lake. Balaton, sometimes called the ‘Hungarian Sea’ is the biggest lake in Central Europe. It lies around 80 km from Budapest. So it’s not far, but during the summer traffic can be huge, especially during weekends, as it’s the main holiday place for Hungarians. That’s why you can find there many places to stay. To get to Balaton, fly to Budapest. Other well-known towns at Balaton Lake are Siofok, Balatonfűred and Tihany.

Dates for 2024: 3-6.07.2024

Tickets and all the information are here.

Colours of Ostrava, Ostrava, Czech Republic

Festival in Ostrava, a city in the north of the Czech Republic. Here, you can see what you can see and do in Ostrava. Here, where to stay.

Colours of Ostrava 2024 Dates: 17-20.07, 2024

Check out this page for any information and tickets.

These are just examples; there are many more festivals in any European country you would like to visit. Remember that very often you can also participate in the festival as a volunteer. It’s a lot of work during and before the festival, but it can be a great adventure. Search for this information on festival websites.

Are you interested also in sports? Check out Biggest Sports Events in Europe in 2024 to see how to travel for sports next year!