Sziget
Hungary, August 8 to 15
Last year’s festival pulled in more than 385 000 people (festimaticians — that’s three and a bit Glastonburys) for the week-long event on Obudai island in the middle of the Danube on the outskirts of Budapest. Sziget transforms into a self-contained party city, with cinemas, restaurants and sporting activities laid on. And you can always nip into the city if you need a break from the fun. After some vigorous e-hobnobbing, we’ve managed to get a sneak peak at a partial line-up before anyone else.
Headliners: The Killers, The Good the Bad and the Queen, the Hives, the Chemical Brothers, Faithless. You heard it here first.
Info: szigetfestival.com, â,¬120 including camping. See the extended partial line-up at blog.youngineurope.com.
The Electric Picnic
Ireland, August 31 to September 2
A self-described “boutique” festival in County Laois with a bounty of gimmicks laid on to accompany the music. Boutique camping options include beach huts, bohemian bivouacs, podpads, tipis and double-decker dorms — all with an après-fest chillout zone. Add to this juice bars, alternative therapy (reiki, reflexology, shiatsu, other funny words), yoga and a silent disco and you’ve got yourself a thoroughly new age festival, darling. With only 32 000 tickets available, this one counts as “intimate” on the mega-festival scale.
Headliners: Bjork, Beastie Boys, Primal Scream … if you believe the rumours.
Info: electricpicnic.ie, â,¬220 for festival pass including normal (pleb) camping, tickets on sale April 2. Arrange boutique camping now at boutiquecamping.net, prices start from yikes! — â,¬520.
Roskilde
Denmark, July 5 to 8
Unofficially the best-looking festival in Europe, Roskilde offers four days of multi-musical Scandimania at the beginning of July. Things used to be a bit grungy at Rosklide, but recent years have seen a deliberate evening of the genres. Yes, the ticket is traditionally Scandinavian (expensive) but for the first time this year international visitors will be able to volunteer in return for a free ride.
Headliners: Bjork, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, the Klaxons, the Who (confirmed so far).
Info: roskilde-festival.dk, â,¬200.
Benicassim
Spain, July 19 to 22
Seventy kilometres north of Valencia, this tiny port town on the Costa del Azahar morphs into hotbed of indie-electronica for four scorching days in July. The sheer heat of the Spanish midsummer makes Benicassim a mostly nocturnal affair — things get going at about nineish, rarely finishing before daybreak the next day. Yup, that means tucking up in a freshly baked tent each morning. The music is British indie-heavy, so the average patron is more likely to be cockney than Castilian.
Headliners: The Arctic Monkeys, the Human League, Iggy & The Stooges, the Magic Numbers.
Info: fiberfib.com, three-night passes â,¬145, four nights for â,¬160.
Exit Festival
Serbia, July 6 to 9
Originally started by a couple of students from the local university in 2000 as a covert anti-Milosevic protest, Exit Festival has grown exponentially, attracting the electronica set from all over Europe to an 18th-century fortress on the banks of the Danube in the Serbian town of Novi Sad. This year, former Led Zepper Robert Plant is joining the otherwise beat-intensive ranks on the main stage. Best of all … a ticket can be had for just more than £50.
Headliners: The Basement Jaxx, the Beastie Boys, LTJ Bukem, Robert Plant.
Info: exitfest.org, â,¬78,50. Another â,¬15 for camping (camp.etickets.to). — Â