Sziget Festival Feedback.

(Sorry for all the list posts, I promise I'll mix things up soon!!)

In the middle of the Danube which runs through Budapest, Hungary, is the Sziget Festival: The Island of Freedom. Running for a full 7 days, the festival features a whole range of acts, from big names, local bands, circus, art installations, food. Not only this, but as none of the main acts start before 4pm, you have the whole day to either explore the festival site or hop on a metro and ride into Budapest. With the Sziget City Pass, you don’t have to pay, and you get one free Spa trip (which is the best way to feel clean after days of grime).

As enjoyable as the whole experience was, and as great as it is to say I’ve seen acts such as Bastille, Jake Bugg, La Roux and have danced to Milkshake by Kelis, Baggy Trousers by Madness and Hey Ya by Outkast, there were lots of things I think the festival could have improved on.

1)  The festival site uses a numbering system for each of their festival days rather than the dates, (for example, the festival site is open on day -3). However, they don’t make this clear which days are which. For example, they say the festival runs from Monday 11^th till Monday 18^th, which would imply that the 11^th was Day 1. However, the festival technically opens on the Wednesday, making that day 1 and Monday day -1. This needs to be made clearer on the website when you buy the tickets, as I believed my ticket (valid for day -1) would let me onsite on the Sunday – forcing me to pay a moving in fee for arriving early.

2) It also states it runs from the 11^th till the 18^th, implying that the last act will be on the 18^th and the site closes on the 19^th. In the small print, it actually states that the site has to be cleared by 10am on the 18^th. My flight out wasn’t till the 19^th, meaning I was stuck in Budapest for the day and most of the night (not that this was such a terrible thing, but it wasn’t made clear at the time of purchase).

3) The bag check system needs to be improved. We queued for upwards of half an hour each time we re-entered the festival. All bag check desks need to be open at all times, and the number of desks needs to be increased (and/or there should be a separate lane, decided at wristband check, for those without bags).

4) To avoid people smuggling drink, the price of spirits on the island needs to be more in line with the price of shop bought spirits. For example, you could buy a bottle of Vodka (50cl) for 1400 HUF, and they were selling Vodka Soda’s for upwards of 1300 HUF. Even beers, whilst only 650 HUF, were still hugely inflated from the shop price of 160-200 (ish) HUF.

5) The number of showers need to be doubled at the very least. I had to queue for at least forty five minutes for the showers, even at ‘off-peak’ times (after midday), almost every single day.

6) As all camping is on the festival site, there needs to be a decibel limit after midnight. Not everyone wants to stay up till 6am every night of the festival, particularly as sound checks start as early as 9am. Either this, or there needs to be a separate ‘quiet zone’ (other than the family camping).

7) When you have big screens use them to show what is on stage, rather than just the Sziget logo. The A38 tent has a huge screen which actually blocks the stage, and all you could see was the logo.

8) Improve the maps around the campsite. Almost none of them actually had a ‘you are here’ point on them, and often things were on the opposite side of the path than the map indicated.

9) Indicate in each colour area which area you are in. For example, put yellow crosses on all the trees in the yellow zone, red in the red etc. Unless you are next to one of the big attractions it is impossible to tell which zone you are in.

10) The airport needs to have enough City Pass Wristbands. I was forced to pay for a taxi as they had run out and the paper document alone doesn’t count.

All this being said, I would really recommend going to this festival. All of the acts I saw were incredible and for the most part I had a great time. If you went to Sziget or have been in the past, let me know if you agree with what I've said - you can tweet me @VickiMaitland or leave a comment below!

Top Ten: Personal Festival Rules

I’ve just got back from a 10 day festival, and as exhausted as I am I really want to get back into the routine of blogging. So, without further ado, here are my top festival rules.

1) The number one rule for all festivals is pretty much, when you go to the toilet, don’t look down. At night, this is okay, as you can’t see anything in those portaloos anyway. In the day time… its more ‘Shrek, I’m looking down!’

2) Bring a decent tent, sleeping bag, roll mat (or air bed if you can fit one in) and pillow. I didn’t bring a pillow and deeply regretted it. If you can fit a camping chair in too (or at least a waterproof floor mat) then do, as you’ll want something to sit on that isn’t the muddy floor. I forgot about this last one, and was super lucky that the other people I was camping with hadn’t!

3) Have a system for packing your clothes, including a separate bag/compartment for dirties. This way, you don’t crumple all your clothes when you’re searching for a certain item, and you’re not putting muddy/smelly clothes next to clean ones.

4) Pack lots of light layers. It will hopefully be warm and sunny in the day time, but as the evening goes on it can get pretty cold. Jumpers and leggings are super helpful as pull ons, and thick socks for sleeping are a good call too.

5) Pack a rain mac/ emergency poncho. No matter what the forecast says, it will rain at some point and you’ll be very grateful for it. Once you’re wet it can be hard to get dry again, and you’ll probably make everything else wet too.

6) Wear old, comfortable shoes. They’ll probably get super muddy and you’ll be wearing them all day, so they need to be supportive. I’m currently sporting a swollen foot because my shoes weren’t supportive enough and aggravated an old ballet injury.

7) If you can shower, do shower, but be prepared for mammoth queues and lots of nudity. It feels so much better to be clean. If you can’t shower, or you have to pay for the showers, then baby wipes and dry shampoo are a must.

8) Avoid wearing layers of make-up. I saw in Zoella’s festivalmake-up video that she put on foundation, concealer, blusher and bronzer. I would avoid all that stuff – the more gunk you have to put on your face the more you have to take off, and with only make-up wipes you don’t want to risk getting a breakout from sleeping in day old make-up. I pretty much only put on eye make-up (mascara, eyeliner, maybe shadow) the entire time I was at the festival. No-one really cares what you look like so long as you’re having fun. In her video, Zoey also wore light coloured clothes. Whilst this is a classic festival look, it will get muddy and mud is hard to get off whites properly.

8) Plan out what you want to see and do at the start of the festival. This way you know who you really want to see and you can avoid sudden realisation of clashes. Other than this, go with the flow and don’t be afraid of seeing new acts that you haven’t heard off. Don’t be afraid from splitting up from the group if you want to see someone and other people want to see someone else, just make sure you arrange a meeting point afterward and keep your phones switched on. Try and stay in pairs, though (particularly important if you’re a girl and it’s later at night).

9) Bring bottled water (or buy it on site). I don’t trust festival water at all, and never fill up your bottle unless it specifically states its drinking water.

10) Bring fruit – apples and oranges are great pick me ups. Chances are you’ll be abusing your body with alcohol, sleep deprivation, and junk food. A bite of fruit is not only good for you but it will provide a welcome change from greasy burgers and chips or dry biscuits.

Lastly, have fun. There will be ups and downs during your festival, particularly as you’re more than likely be in a tent with a couple of people and no matter how close friends you are, lacking personal space (and sleep deprivation) can cause friction. But try not to let these phase you. Just enjoy your time and try not to worry about missing acts too much.

I really enjoyed my festival experience, and even though there are some things I wished I’d done differently there are more things I wished I could do again and again.