Christopher BarrettOne of Europe’s largest festivals, the six-day, 90,000 capacity, Sziget Festival, is to no longer be operated by Superstruct.
The Hungarian festival will run as a reduced, five-day, event from 11-15 August in 2026 without the involvement of Superstruct, which acquired a 70% stake in it in 2017. With a line up including Chappell Roan, Charli XCX and Shawn Mendes, the event is set to return to its Óbuda Island home.
Sziget founder Károly Gerendai, who parted ways with the event in 2017, has returned to join the festival’s management team. He is understood to have secured a new long-term agreement with the city of Budapest to run the festival.
Sziget CEO Tamás Kádár said, “For 2026, we’re working toward the same goal as always: to continue developing Sziget as one of Europe’s leading festivals with the strong lineup and international allure that has made it a unique event for decades.
“Superstruct’s period of operational involvement in the festival allowed us to navigate the pandemic and to invest in the quality of the festival experience for visitors from across Europe – we are grateful for all their support.”
Gerendai added, “This year’s Sziget already showed very positive developments, giving us a strong foundation to build on. At the same time, there is always more work to do to secure the place of the festival in the hearts of fans who visit us from across the world.
“Our focus now is to emphasize Sziget’s unique identity and values even more. Not only through the headline acts, but also by deepening the festival’s cultural significance and its connection to Budapest.”
Recent years have seen two other Superstruct-owned Hungarian festivals, Volt and Balaton Sound, close.