LATE SUMMER FESTIVALS AROUND EUROPE

Missed Glastonbury? Couldn’t afford to go to LA for Coachella? Feeling like a break somewhere warm and sunny before summer turns to autumn? Now’s the perfect time to plan a trip to one of Europe’s late summer festivals – a chance to take advantage of cheap flights, catch your favourite bands under the stars and perhaps indulge in some stylish continental retail therapy!



The success of Spain’s famous Benicàssim has spawned a whole variety of other festivals in this most festive of countries. There’s still time to catch CreamfieldsAndalucia 2011 (13/14 August) in Jerez de la Frontera, which features a brilliant dance line up headlined by The Prodigy, Paul Van Dyk, 2manydjs, Armin Van Buuren and Richie Hawtin. But if only Benicàssim will do, you’ll have to wait until next July! The festival attracts around 45,000 music fans from all over Europe each year and is especially popular with UK festival-goers who benefit from plentiful flights to Barcelona from many regional airports – an easy alternative to flying into Valencia or Alicante – and an excellent choice of budget Barcelona hotels for those who like to turn a festival mini-break into a full holiday.



Germany’s Melt! might be over for this year, but the festival season continues in Ferropolis with Stereo City (19-21 August) featuring non-stop international and national dance acts such as SterMoguai, Bart B More, DjAntention, Matthias Tanzmann and Promo. A more mainstream lineup of Suede, Primal Scream, Beginner, Beirut, Mogwai and DJ sets from Boy George and Marc Vedo headline this year’s Berlin Festival (9-10 September) at Tempelhof Airport and Club Xberg. Berlin is another city which has excellent links from UK airports and is a vibrant and exciting destination at any time of the year.

Jazz lovers are excellently catered for by many top-notch festivals throughout Europe, among them the well-established Rome Jazz Festival, now in its 34th year. Many of its artists represent the emerging jazz generation, underlining the increasingly important role of jazz in the artistic and cultural life of Italy today. For two weeks in July and November the cream of musicians from Italy, Europe and the USA come together to perform in the Auditorium Parco dellaMusica. Once again, flights to Rome from UK airports are frequent, convenient and cheap.

Budapest’s Sziget Festival 2011 starts on 10 August and features five days of bands including Dizzee Rascal, Gogol Bordello, Interpol, Smash Mouth and The Chemical Brothers. Away from the main stage you can find world music, rock and metal stages as well as a party area. Festival tickets include a week’s camping. Tickets for Belgium’s hugely successful Pukkelpop, which kicks off on 18 August, also include camping and train or bus tickets from anywhere in Belgium. This three-day festival of top international rock acts features eight stages, including the intriguingly named ‘Chateau Crapule’!



Rock history was made at France’s Rock en Seine festival 2009 when Oasis split up after the Gallagher brothers had a fight just before they were due to headline the main stage. This year the ‘last party of the summer’ (26-28 August) brings headliners the Foo Fighters, Arctic Monkeys and Archive to Saint-Cloud, just outside Paris, along with a whole bunch of favourites old and new, from Big Audio Dynamite and the LA’s to Biffy Clyro and TinieTempah.



Something for everyone? Shop around Europe now to find the festival that ticks all your travel and musical boxes!



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