The bridge to freedom
Sziget takes place on a beautiful, wooded island in the middle of the Danube river, accessed by this rickety (and very ‘Grammable) bridge.
The National
The National headlined on Saturday, joining a roster that also included Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters, Martin Garrix and more.
The Sziget sign
In case you wanted to prove you’d been, here’s the photo opp you were looking for.
Macklemore and found garment
Macklemore’s track ‘Same Love’ chimed with the theme of this year’s Sziget – the message above the stage reads ‘our diversity unites us – together we can change’. “The world is a crazy place right now,” Macklemore told the crowd. “I don’t know how it is in Hungary, but in America right now we are in the middle of a crisis because of our president. You have people being divided, parents getting taken away from their kids. I believe in love, acceptance and compassion.”
Life’s a beach
You know when you’re at Glastonbury thinking: This place has got everything but a beach? Yeah, Sziget has a beach – and you can take a dip in the Danube.
Messing about in the river
Given the mercury hit 36 degrees on some days, you can’t blame these guys for taking the opportunity to cool off.
IAMDDB keeps Sziget in check
IAMDDB brought plenty of Manc attitude to Sziget, not least thanks to her hit ‘Shade’, which sent the crowd absolutely bonkers. IAMDDB’s set, semi-improvised between her and her DJ, was one of thundering trap beats, jazzy vocals, plenty of – in her words – “vibing” and some straight-to-the-point stage banter. “Give me a show of hands if you’ve got a pussy,” she said at one point.
Fest-wear
Impress your friends back home with this choice piece of merch.
Years & Years
Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander dressed for the heat. Their set ended with the song ‘King’, during which a fan threw a tiara on stage and Olly duly put it on.
All the fun of the fair
One of the cool attractions at Sziget is an old-school Hungarian funfair, which harks back to the country’s communist past via a string of extremely strange games: ‘Angry Kitchen’ and ‘Clown Bowling’ were two particularly good ones.
The littlest wheel
Sure, we’ve been on big wheels at festivals, but how about tiny wheels, like this one? Now that’s a novelty.
The Sziget Eye
Oh yeah, there’s a big wheel too – the Sziget Eye.
Post Malone is lit
No, that’s not the sight of Post Malone lighting farts after one too many beer bongs. It’s the LA-based rapper’s pyro flaring up during his intense headline set on Sziget’s Sunday night.
On the march
This marching band were guaranteed to rustle up a crowd whenever they popped up. Other sights to spot as you mooched around the island included giant puppets dancing at the Global Village, one of many stages offering a diverse music programme.
Happy campers
Campers at Sziget pitch themselves all over the island for the week – and make great use of the trees, as you can see here.
Van McCann surveys his crowd
Here’s Van McCann of Catfish & The Bottlemen doing his thing on stage. And at Sziget, that thing included a big, 15-minute mega-jam freakout to end the set.
The Bottlepeople
Arty happenings
Art abounds at Sziget, where there’s something interesting, beautiful or just plain weird to see around every corner, and there’s a whole field dedicated to art installations. Here’s a wishing tree.
Florence + The Machine float on
And on the sixth day, Florence Welch brought her transcendent show to Sziget, where she invoked a mood of euphoria as she celebrated 10 years since her debut album ‘Lungs’ and recent release ‘The Hunger’. In line with Sziget 2019’s theme, Welch dedicated ‘You Got The Love’ to towering ‘You Got The Love’ to “the LGBTQ community of Hungary. We love you, we’re family”
Szo long, Sziget
Another fantastic year over, Sziget returns from August 5 to 11, 2020.
