The Setting
source: szigetfestival.com
The one big upside is that the whole bash takes place well within Budapest. Although a little off from city centre, it’s actually very easy to reach by public transportation. Best part: the whole thing is on an island on the Danube.
This is where the name comes from as well, as the word ’sziget’ in Hungarian simply means ’island’. And the name is pretty fun too, as it’s officially called Hajógyári Sziget, which you probably won’t understand, but I’ll help you out and tell you that the cool term of Hajógyári actually means ’shipyard’. So yes, this bit of land was used in the past to build ships and boats and although most of the year it’s just a rather forgotten and oversized park, there’s a little chunk of it that still serves as a yard althought it’s nowhere near a major one and mostly just used for storage.
Up until a couple of years ago, part of the island was hosting one of the most popular and biggest party areas of the city, packing a multitude of clubs in a big, mayhem-enducing pile, but of course corruption and over-the-top knife-fights brought the business to its knees when the current government got to power (Naturally, it’s all not that simple, but this not a space for political debates).
So yeah, it’s one giant park, some bits bordering on becoming an actual forest and mostly runners and cayacers are training here.
If that doesn’t impress you then the next chapter will as it is finally dealing with the music.
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