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The Sziget Festival always has something new and exciting in store: in 2026, a new stage will be added to the event, where you can meet the favorites of several generations.
The unique atmosphere of Budapest Park and the inimitable experience of the Sziget Festival come together at this year's new venue, the Budapest Park Stage by Johnnie Walker. For five days, 4–5 program slots per day will feature those Hungarian performers who are key players in the Hungarian music scene and have proven themselves in the Park several times. Among the performers, we will also see favorites of several generations: concerts will be given by Beton.Hofi, Pogány Induló, Co Lee, Majka, Bëlga, Tankcsapda, Kispál and Borz, and Quimby, among others.
“Although Sziget has already hosted countless Hungarian performers at various festival venues, this year we have decided to place even greater emphasis on the stars of the Hungarian music scene. Therefore, in addition to continuing to feature Hungarian productions on all stages, we are also working with Budapest Park to create a venue where we will present the best of the Hungarian music scene in a concentrated manner, and which will certainly be a meeting point for Sziget’s domestic audience,” said Károly Gerendai, the festival’s founder, in the opening remarks.
“The unbroken popularity of Budapest Park for over a decade is a guarantee for us of the success of the new, “Hungarian stage.” Since the Park will host a line-up of performers who have already proven themselves and who attract full houses every day, we considered it important to provide them with a stage that is appropriate to their popularity, both in terms of size and outstanding sound and lighting technology,” added Gerendai.
András Pálffy, founder of Budapest Park, highlighted: “We were happy to embark on this collaboration because we see numerous professional and community synergies in it that will create value for both Sziget and Budapest Park in the long term. It is particularly important for us that Sziget, which provides a space for the largest international productions and the meeting of different cultures, creates an environment where the domestic audience can also experience the experience as their own. And just as it is an integral part of the Park’s operation that the party continues after the concerts, in addition to the well-known Park atmosphere, we are also bringing the momentum of the nighttime programs to Sziget.”
The lineup of performers at the Budapest Park Stage by Johnnie Walker is a kind of time travel through the history of Sziget, as bands that were already on the first “Diáksziget” will also be arriving, such as Kispál and Borz or Tankcsapda. The latter is now back with the defining punk-rock album of the time, A legjóg méreg dalail. Then there will be other big favorites, such as Pál Utcai Fiúk, Quimby, Bëlga, Péterfy Bori & Love Band, Irie Maffia, Esti Kornél, the joint show of Bohemian Betyars and Parno Graszt, Majka, Blahalouisiana, Ivan & the Parazol, Byealex and Slepp, Kolibri, Platon Karataev, Lazarvs, AWS, Analog Balaton, Mirror Glimpse, Beton.Hofi, Pogány Induló, Co Lee, Mehringer, and Manuel.
The new stage and this year's closing concert of Sziget will be given by co-founder Péter Sziámi Müller and his fellow musicians. Moreover, the closing act, which has now become a tradition, is given special relevance this year due to the 75th birthday of the legendary lyricist and singer.
Source and photo: Sziget Festival
