Stuart WoodEXIT Festival in Serbia has announced it will be going ahead from 13-16 August.
The festival was personally un-cancelled by Ana Brbanic, Prime Minister of Serbia, who asked organisers to consider moving it to later in the year instead of cancelling.
Organisers say the event will be organised in close collaboration with the National Health Coordination team, and will follow all health and government guidelines. It will run with a reduced capacity from previous years.
EXIT Festival takes place inside the 18th century Petrovaradin fortress (pictured above). Headliners in 2020 will include David Guetta, Tyga and Fatboy Slim.
Many countries in Eastern Europe have been less severely impacted by Covid-19 than those in Western Europe. Serbia has registered 241 total deaths to Covid-19, with 11,300 confirmed cases. Since 22 May, the country has not registered more than one death to the disease in a single day [Accurate as of 29 May].
“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 plans to reopen its borders with no limits or tests required. However, organisers say that if there is an epidemic outbreak in some countries in August, visitors coming from those countries will have to go through a PCR test which will be free or very low priced. However, the Serbian Prime Minister said that their health experts expect the epidemic situation will be under control in all of Europe by then.
EXIT Founder Dušan Kovačević commented: “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.”
EXIT Festival began in 2000 as a protest against the regime of Slobodan Milosevic. Kovačević referenced this revolutionary history, adding: “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.”