It’s Official: Exit Festival Serbia Sets August Dates

A week ago, Serbia’s prime minister Ana Brnabic asked the promoters of Exit Festival, not to cancel the 20th edition of the event, in light of an improved health situation in Europe. Now, the new dates have been set: Aug. 13-16.

Brnabic has been in close consultation with the country’s health experts, which have been assembled in a National Crisis Team that will now also make sure, the 20th edition of Exit Festival will follow all governmental guidelines.

As one of the measures, the festival capacity will be reduced and some of the moats and trenches that host around 40 stages and zones will remain closed. 

The main areas at the 18th century Petrovaradin fortress, however, such are the colossal Dance Arena, the Main Stage, or No Sleep, among others, will be open.

Ticket sales will recommence on June 1, with all details including refund options as well as the updated lineup to follow in the coming days. 

The festival team has confirmed that a vast majority of artists they spoke to are eager to perform this summer. Many of them have been away from the audience for several months in isolation, and they see Exit as an opportunity to reconnect with their fans this summer.

The promoters want to pay tribute to their peers on the worldwide event scene, who had to cancel most if not all of their 2020 events and who will be invited to join Exit in August.

“We got so many messages and emails of support from other festival promoters, agents and artists who see Exit as a sign of a soon revival for the whole event industry. But even more important, a sign for the whole society that the worst is behind is,” said one of Exit’s founders, Dušan Kovačević, and added as a reference to the festival’s revolutionary history: “Exactly 20 years ago, after a decade of isolation and civil wars in the ’90s, we found an exit and embraced it as our name. Now, it’s time to globally exit from this pandemic.”

Serbia, like other European countries, intends to reopen its borders with no limits or PCR tests needed, which would mean that people from all around Europe would be able to come to the festival. 

The festival’s organizers emphasize that if by any chance there is an epidemic outbreak in some countries in August, visitors coming from that particular country will have to go through the PCR test which will be free or low priced. 

Brnabic, however, said that the country’s health experts expect the epidemic situation to be under control in all of Europe by then.

Exit co-founder and programmer Ivan Milivojev told Pollstar that there weren’t any more details to be shared at this point in time. The actual capacity on site Aug. 13 will depend on the development of the political situation in the region closer to the date.

It will be a lot less than in 2019, though, when Exit set a new attendance record, 56,000 people per day.

Since most U.S. and UK artists won’t visit mainland Europe this summer, the lineup of the 20th Exit Festival will be reduced, as well. The original bill featured David Guetta, Fatboy Slim, James Arthur, Tyga, Boris Brejcha, Sepultura, Zhu and many more.

Milivojev emphasized that his heart went out to all of his colleagues. “The whole world has suffered, the summer is still cancelled, yet Exit may represent a light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.