Warm beer, overheated tents, the inevitable rain: there’s nothing quite like a great British festival is there? This year why not make your experience bigger and better, or even just quirkier, by jetting overseas to one of Europe’s famed festivals. After all, some of the world’s biggest artists will be hitting events in destinations including Denmark and Hungary. Or alternatively you could seek out a hidden gem, like The World Bodypainting Festival, that none of your friends have hit up yet.
Either way venturing abroad for a festival provides the double win of getting to see some of your favourite acts while also enjoying an exciting new city. And the weather will (probably) be better too.
Whether you’re into indie, pop or electronic music - or just appreciate offbeat art – the Flexicover team’s guide to Euro summer festivals is here to help you find your perfect match.
High on Life Ecstatic Dance Festival, Portugal: 14 to 17 June
If you’re all about becoming at one with yourself and your surrounds, Portugal’s High on Life Festival might be the event for you. It’s billed as an ‘experiential playground for co-creating transformational existence’ and has an anti-booze and drugs message, focusing instead on healthy living. Attendees can expect a weekend of dancing, with an emphasis on ‘conscious dance’, where music, movement and ritual are employed to achieve a unified field of being. The festival welcomes dancers of all levels of experience: it’s really all about improving that vital connection between body and soul and attuning yourself with nature.
Roskilde Festival, Denmark: 29 June to 6 July
Billed as a ‘week-long celebration of togetherness and community’ Roskilde Festival is this year playing host to 188 acts hailing from over 40 countries. Big names set to take to the stage include Bob Dylan, Cardi B, Travis Scott, Robyn, Chance the Rapper, The Cure and Vampire Weekend. It also incorporates a celebration of other arts as well as activism and is known for its food and party scene. Away from the festival site there’s the chance to peruse the city of Roskilde, a 40-minute drive west of Copenhagen, which is known for its Viking Ship Museum and historic Gothic cathedral.
World Bodypainting Festival, Austria: 11 to 13 July
If you like your festivals quirky and colourful it’s hard to beat the World Bodypainting Festival, which takes place in Klagenfurt, Austria, each year. Bodypainting enthusiasts congregate at the side of a stunning lake and compete to win in various categories for their striking art. It’s quite the scene, with most people either slathered in body paint or dressed in fantasy costumes, latex ensembles, extreme makeup, masks, and bizarre fashion. There’s also plenty of other visually stunning events for attendees to enjoy including the decadent Burlesque Ball and the Body Circus, as well as a host of international DJs. Klagenfurt is a three and a half hour drive from Vienna but can be reached in just 90 minutes by car from the Slovenian capital of Ljubljana.
Tomorrowland, Belgium: 19 to 21 and 26 to 28 July
Held in Boom, Belgium, just a half-hour drive from the Belgian capital of Brussels, Tomorrowland is tantamount to a spiritual experience for music fans who are mad about electronic music. Now in its 14th year revellers will be flocking to the epic festival to see genre heroes including The Chainsmokers, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, A$AP Rocky, David Guetta and Adam Beyer. Expect otherworldly stages, bombastic fireworks and light shows across the festival’s two weekends, which boast a distinct wonderland vibe. This year’s theme is The Story of Planaxis, about a man exploring an underwater secret not known to the rest of humanity.
Sziget Festival, Hungary: 7 to 13 August
If you make the trip abroad for a festival you might as well go big and The Sziget Festival is one of the largest music and cultural events on the continent. Headliners for 2019 include Ed Sheeran, Post Malone, Macklemore, Foo Fighters, Florence and the Machine, The 1975, and Twenty One Pilots. The festival takes place on Budapest’s 108-hectare island, Óbudai-sziget, located in the middle of the River Danube and also celebrates other types of art via some rather Instagrammable installations and puts an emphasis on environmental sustainability to help ‘Szitizens’ be more green.
Wherever you plan on heading to this year it’s good to know that Flexicover Travel Insurance is committed to providing you with the highest level of protection to ensure you are safe and secure 24 hours a day when away.
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