The SZIN Festival (pronounced scene, get it?) is another of Hungary’s fine festival staples. Standing for Szegedi Ifjúsági Napok (The Youth Days of Szeged), SZIN will take place in August (after Sziget, don’t worry), between 26th and 30th. One of the last in the summer’s festival calendar, it’s a good excuse to go out with a bang.
It’s actually a festival of notable vintage, with the first taking place in 1968. At the time, it was the only youth festival in Hungary. Its popularity steadily grew, with thousands visiting each year, but after the political changes here it wasn’t organized for almost 20 years, due to a lack of support. Six years ago, though, Szeged’s mayor (lovely chap) decided to retrieve the event from festival heaven. After that, a small group of enthusiastic young organizers began to work on it, and the rest is festival history. Since 2003, it’s been going from strength to strength – where both lineup and crowd numbers are concerned.
Szeged’s a charming town on the banks of the Tisza river (the place is stunning, really). It’s very much a university town (read: parties), perched near the Romanian and Serbian borders. Dubbed “the city of sunshine” and “the flourishing cultural capital of Southern Hungary”, it makes visiting the festival alone while you’re there an extremely silly thing to do! The place is full of gorgeous architecture, fascinating history and cultural culturalness. Make time for it.
Since 2005, an increasing amount of international acts have performed at the festival (The Cure and Alphaville were the first) and every year the lineup’s packed with some of Hungary’s finest. By 2007, the likes of Kosheen, Apollo 440, and Freestylers were there, along with some huge Hungarian names. 2008’s crowd were treated to acts like Morcheeba and Phats and Small, and this year Macy Gray and Spiller will be among the headliners.
Show me the way:
The exact location of the festival is a camping ground at Újszegedi Partfürdő. The 13 hectare area sits a five minute stroll from Szeged city center, on the sandy beach of the River Tisza. For more info, see www.szegedcamping.hu
Show me the money:
A pass for the whole festival: 14,100 HUF until August 19th; 16,700 HUF on the spot (both include camping).
Daily tickets: 5,100 HUF until August 19th; 6,200 HUF on the spot. You’ll be able to stay on-site until 8 a.m. the following morning.
Tickets available online via www.ticketportal.hu and www.jegy.hu
SZIN – Szegedi Ifjúsági Napok
Tel.: +36.62.423.638
www.szin.org