Ibiza losing summer music festivals crowd to Croatia
Move over Ibiza - there is a new capital of summer electronic music festivals in Europe. Adam Wright tunes in
When it comes to summer music festivals, the Europeans have always done it a little better than the rest of the world.
Every year between June and September, a world-class festival takes place almost every weekend in countries ranging from Spain and France to Germany, Austria and Hungary - and particularly the UK.
Traditionally, rock and pop music have been the mainstays of most such events, but the rise of electronic dance music has in recent years made that sound the focus of most summer music festivals held across the continent. For much of the past two decades, Spain's Balearic island of Ibiza has been the summer capital of electronic music events in Europe, but in the past five years it has been usurped by an unlikely contender: Croatia.
there is a sense of adventure and exploration here which is a huge part of the appeal. And the sunshine helps too
The country at the crossroads of central and southeast Europe and the Mediterranean may not be the first place that comes to mind when considering where to go during summer to drink a beer in the sun while listening to a DJ spin dance music. Although it's been two decades since Croatia won its four-year war of independence against Yugoslavia in 1995, the bloody conflict still looms large in the popular consciousness. But since the war ended, Croatia's image has slowly been overhauled by travellers who return home raving about its warm Mediterranean climate, its unspoilt 2,000-kilometre coastline and its picturesque towns.
And now, due to the efforts of a group of dedicated event promoters, the country has staked a claim as the summer music festival capital of Europe. More than 15 large-scale music events are taking place in the coming months, starting with the FOR Festival at Hvar from June 19-22 and concluding with the Unknown Festival in Rovinj from September 8-12. While most modern genres are covered - including indie rock and hip hop - it is in the area of electronic music that Croatia has become a force to be reckoned with.
The first such event to put Croatia on the radar was The Garden Festival, which attracted a modest 300 people when it made its debut in the Dalmatian coastal town of Petrčane in 2006. In 2012 there was a change of site to Tisno, a little further down the coast, situated between Zadar and Split. Apart from The Garden Festival (running this year from July 2-9), the new site also hosts four other festivals: Electric Elephant (July 10-14), Soundwave (July 17-21), Suncebeat (July 23-30) and Stop Making Sense (July 31-August 3).
"But having said this, many parts of the country still feel quite undiscovered, there is a sense of adventure and exploration here which is a huge part of the appeal. And the sunshine helps too."
