It’s officially summer, time to jump on a plane for a sun-soaked festival getaway. These holidays provide everything you could want from a trip abroad – views, attractions, beaches, drinks and of course, great music.
Europe hosts some of the best festivals in the world, and many of them provide excellent value, with tickets coming as a full package, including travel, accommodation and entry.
To help you plan your trip, we’ve rounded up the European festivals you need to know about, with some of the best line-ups of the season.
Here’s our big guide to European festivals still left to take place this summer:
Let It Roll
What is it? Let It Roll is a whopping (and womp-ing) three day celebration of drum and bass. With a capacity of 30,000 people, the festival boasts six stages which host a whole range of artists – attracting the genre’s leading names including the likes of Chase & Status.
Who’s playing? Andy C, Black Sun Empire, EN:VY, Metrik, QZB, S.P.Y and many more.
When is it? August 1-3
Where is it? Milovice Airfield, Czech Republic (a 45 minutes drive from Prague)
Tickets: From €164, letitroll.eu
Defected Croatia
What is it? This intimate dance festival hosts just 5000 people, and showcases some massive names and underground favourites across its three stages and boat parties. During the day it offers a ‘wellness programme’, which includes yoga, to help ease that hangover.
Who’s playing? Carl Craig, Catz N’ Dogz, Horse Meat Disco, Alex Mills, Crazy P Soundsystem, Breakbot & Irfane, Kitty Amor and many more.
When is it? August 1-4
Where is it? Barbarellas, Croatia
Tickets: Full festival day and night tickets from £219.00; croatia.defected.com
Øyafestivalen
What is it? Now one of Norway’s biggest festivals, this major Oslo festival pulls in some of the world’s biggest musical acts.
Who’s playing? Pulp, PJ Harvey, Queens of the Stone Age, Gabrielle, Cezinando, Loyle Carner, The Kills, The National, Orions Belte, The Smile, IDLES, Nia Archives, Yard Act, Overmono and more
When is it? August 6-10
Where is it? Oslo, Norway
Tickets: From £296 for a weekend ticket, £107 for a day ticket; nye.oyafestivalen.no
Sziget Festival
What is it? A six-day Budapest bonanza which seems to attract bigger and bigger names each year. Expect internationally renowned acts across multiple genres.
Who’s playing? Fred Again.., Martin Garrix, Sam Smith, Stormzy, Louis Tomlinson, Four Tet, Beck Hill, Honey Dijon, Overmono, Richie Hawton, Ellen Allien, Crystal Fighters, Kylie, Barry Can't Swim, Kojaque, Royel Otis
When is it? August 7-12
Where is it? Budapest, Hungary
Tickets: From €289 (full festival ticket); szigetfestival.com
Way Out West
What is it? Every year Way Out West welcomes around 50,000 revellers to Gothenburg’s leafy Slottsskogen park, hosting a wide range of music’s biggest names.
Who’s playing? André 3000, Tems, J Hus, Benjamin Ingrosso, Fred Again.., Queens of the Stone Age, PULP, PJ Harvey, Loyle Carner, The Smile, Yaya Bey, Kenya Grace, Chase & Status, Slowdive, Sarah Klang, Sampha, Peggy Gou and many more.
When is it? August 8-10
Where is it? Gothenburg, Sweden
Tickets: Three day tickets from £169; wayoutwest.se
Flow
What is it? A varied festival, booking everyone from legacy rockers to cult favourites, held within the industrial surroundings of a disused power station. Last year’s line-up included the likes of FKA Twigs, Caroline Polachek and JOCKSTRAP.
Who’s playing? Pulp, Fred again.., RAYE, Idles, The Smile, PJ Harvey, Jessie Ware, Denzel Curry, Kenya Grace, Overmono, IBE, Joalin, and many more.
When is it? August 9-11
Where is it? Helsinki, Finland
Tickets: From €239; flowfestival.com
Glitch
What is it? Malta’s Glitch Festival has quickly become a highlight of the summer calendar, offering a line-up packed with some of the biggest names in dance music, as well as experiences that include day and night boat parties.
Who’s playing? Young Marco, STK, Muski, Freddy K, Echofaze, Ben Klock, Faster Horses, Roi Perez and many more.
When is it? August 13-16
Where is it? Rabat, Malta
Tickets: 2 Day ticket from €94.90; glitchfestival.com
Les Plages Électroniques
What is it? Back to back electronic music, in Cannes, by the beach, in August? It’s no surprise that Plages Électroniques, which has now been running for nearly 20 years, is heralded as one of France’s best annual parties.
Who’s playing? Kaytranada, Gzo, Fisher, Boris Brejcha, Lost Frequencies, Sch, Timmy Trumpet, Apashe, Bon Entendeur and many more.
When is it? August 16-18
Where is it? Cannes, France
Tickets: Day tickets from £60, three day tickets from £103; plages-electroniques.com
Sonus
What is it? This five-day house and techno get-together celebrated its tenth anniversary in 2023. Now going into its second decade, the festival is set to attract another wave of in-demand DJs for more boat and beach parties across Pag Island.
Who’s playing? Adam Beyer, Chris Stussy, SPFDJ, Sara Landry, Wade, Robert Hood, Ricardo Villalobos, Richie Hawtin, Sama’ Abdulhadi, Mochakk and many more.
When is it? August 18-22
Where is it? Novalja, Croatia
Tickets: From €179, during the current ‘blink booking’ phase; sonus-festival.com
Rock en Seine
What is it? Paris’s biggest festival, delivering a crowd-pleasing blend of rock and pop music that draws an increasingly international crowd each year.
Who’s playing? Lana Del Ray, Fred Again.. LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, PJ Harvey, The Offspring, The Smile, Måneskin, and many more.
When is it? August 21-25
Where is it? Paris, France
Tickets: From €61 for one day, from €219 for four day pass; rockenseine.com
Dekmantel Selectors
What is it? This intimate gathering put on by Amsterdam record label Dekmantel has become known for bringing together some of the most exciting DJs (both new talents and major names) working today.
Who’s playing? Big names include Blawan, DVS1, Marcel Dettmann and SHERELLE.
When is it? August 22-26
Where is it? Tisno, Croatia
Tickets: Now sold out; dekmantelselectors.com
Reykjavik Jazz Festival
What is it? This annual festival has been growing in popularity and prestige over the last 30 years. Now the second oldest musical festival in Iceland, Reykjavik Jazz Festival hosts some of the world’s most exciting jazz acts, covering every subgenre - from Latin jazz, to gospel, to big bands.
Who’s playing? Mikael Máni, Andrés Þór/Jens Larsen Quartet, Anna Gréta Sigurðardóttir & Sigurður Flosason, Gulli Briem, ES Sextet & Marína Ósk and many more.
When is it? August 23-27
Where is it? Reykjavik, Iceland
Tickets: Various; reykjavikjazz.is
Meo Kalorama
What is it? This sustainability-focused festival started two years ago, a relatively new kid on the block of the European live music circuit. Yet, in that time, the Bella Vista Park-based three-dayer has already had the likes of Arctic Monkeys, Blur and Florence + The Machine grace their stages, and shows no signs of slowing down.
Where? Lisbon, Portugal
When? August 29-31
Who’s on the line-up? LCD Soundsystem, Massive Attack, Sam Smith, Jungle, Peggy Gou, The Smile, The Kills, Yard Act and many more.
Tickets: From €145, meokalorama.pt
Dimensions
What is it? A five-day Croatian expedition, showcasing a collection of cutting-edge DJs and musicians, ranging from techno to jazz, taking over the ever-popular town of Tisno.
Who’s playing? Gene On Earth & The Ghost, Dungeon Meat, Peach, Phone Traxxx, Radioactive Man, Shy One, Todd Edwards and many more names to be announced.
When is it? August 31-September 4
Where is it? Tisno, Croatia
Tickets: From £175, dimensionsfestival.com
ION
What is it? A relatively new festival created by London-based underground events brand LWE, ION takes place on the Albanian Riviera, after first making plans to launch in 2020.
Who’s playing? Adam Shelton, Ben Klock, Pangaea, Pearson Sound, Sam Bangura, Zenker Brothers, Zag Erlat, Raresh, Enzo Siragusa, All Shadows, Alexia Glensy and many more.
When is it? September 4-11
Where is it? Dhërmi, Albania
Tickets: Tickets comes as packages including accomodation; ionalbania.com
Defected Malta
What is it? Didn’t manage to get your summer festival sorted in time, or want one to elude autumn for a couple mpre days? Defected’s October dance festival could be the answer to your prayers. Returning for its third year, the festival’s venues include the luxury beach club Café del Mar, the historic Fort St. Elmo and other outdoor and indoor (just in case) spaces across the Island’s capital.
Who’s playing? The line-up details drop on February 28
When is it? October 4-6
Where is it? Valletta, Malta
Tickets: Presale tickets go on sale February 28; malta.defected.com
Iceland Airwaves
What is it? One of the last festivals of the year is also one of the cheapest (for the tickets at least) and most magical: what’s more thrilling than heading to Reykjavík in winter to watch an eclectic mix of excellent musical acts play across the Norden city?
Who’s playing? Squid, Blondshell, Bombay Bicycle Club, Lime Garden, Trentemøller and Yard Act
When is it? November 7-9
Where is it? Reykjavík, Iceland
Tickets: From £39 for a day pass and from £85 for a weekend ticket. Travel bundles including flights, airport transfers and discounted hotels coming soon; icelandairwaves.is
