Greentraveller's Guide to European Festivals - Part 2

European Festivals (cont'd)

Photo © Stephan Flad

Melt, 16-18 July, Dessau, Germany
Held in a giant industrial museum, Melt is a dynamic rock and electronica festival that has developed a cult following since its inception in 1997. Its striking setting will play host to a line-up including Massive Attack, The xx, Friendly Fires and The Big Pink.

Melt is working with Julie's Bicycle, greenmusicinitiative and energy agency DENA to develop its green initiatives and measure (in order to reduce) its environmental impact. Waste will be collected, and recycling facilities provided.

Travel to Melt by train: The festival runs a special hotel train service from various German cities, starting in Cologne, direct to the festival site. See How to travel by train from London to Cologne. You can also get the train from London to Berlin, where there are several connections a day to Dessau - a local bus takes 20 minutes from Dessau station to the festival site.

Sziget, 11-16 August, Budapest
Meaning ‘island’ in Hungarian, Sziget takes over an island in the Danube, close to the beating heart of Budapest, every August. Firmly established as one of Europe’s biggest festivals, the line up this year includes Kasabian, Calvin Harris, Enter Shikari, Faithless, Muse and Yeasayer alongside a range of non-English language acts.

Environmental issues are enjoying a raised profile at Sziget, with waste collection and recycling incentives for festival-goers, a ‘Green Courtyard’ for environmental groups and undertakings to protect the natural environment of the festival site.

Travel to Sziget by train: Sziget is conveniently located in Budapest, less than a 24 hour train journey from the UK (see How to travel by train from London to Budapest). The festival’s website has detailed information on all the local bus and train services running from Budapest’s stations and city centre to the festival site.

Way Out West, 12-14 August, Gothenburg, Sweden
Only four years old but attracting praise and attention from music-lovers and environmentalists alike, Way Out West is an urban festival bringing big names such as LCD Soundsystem, M.I.A. and Paul Weller to Sweden's second city alongside up and coming stars Local Natives, The xx and Marina and the Diamonds.

Environmentally-certified, Way Out West is a leader in waste management, chemical use, renewable energy and sourcing organic food - all food outlets are required to have a majority organic food, and biofuel is used to power the event.

Travel to Way Out West by train: Way Out West is conveniently located in Slottsskogen Park in the centre of Gothenburg, an easy walk from the central station and the city's historic sites. Getting to Gothenburg by train from the UK is easy - see our detailed journey planner: How to travel by train from London to Gothenburg.

On stage at Pukkelpop. Photo © Joris Bulckens

Pukkelpop, 19-21 August, Hasselt, Belgium
With almost 200,000 attendees and a cross-genre selection of major acts, Pukkelpop is firmly established as one of the most popular and wide-ranging European festivals. This year’s festival, located in Kiewit, outside Hasselt, Belgium, will play host to such big names as Iron Maiden, Queens of the Stone Age and The Flaming Lips, as well as bands of the moment These New Puritans and White Lies and electronica superstars like Diplo and Aeroplane.

As well as offering music for all tastes, Pukkelpop is also making strong efforts to go green – with sun-boiler systems to reduce energy consumption by 65%, a comprehensive recycling strategy, and an educational ‘eco-team’. 

Travel to Pukkelpop by train: Public transport to Pukkelpop is free... so your trip to the festival costs nothing more than the price of the train ticket to Belgium - see our detailed journey planner: How to travel by train from London to Belgium -  (for terms and conditions of travelling in Belgium, see the Belgian rail network’s dedicated page on How to travel by train to Pukkelpop in Kiewit), and there is also a free, guarded cycle park adjacent to the festival site.

Page 1: European Festivals