Well, 2020 was certainly a bust when it came to festivals and partying…right? Totally understandable, of course, given the severity of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost all of 2020’s festivals in Croatia were cancelled and postponed for a year.
However, things are looking up for 2021 which means that…fingers crossed…it will likely be a summer of partying!
Festivals in Croatia 2021
Here are the details of the 2021 festivals taking place:
- Sea Star Festival
Umag, 28th & 29th May 2021
Part of the ‘Exit family’, Sea Star will be helping the Exit Festival celebrate 20 years! - INmusic Festival
Zagreb, 21st – 23rd June 2021
Croatia’s largest open-air festival, in its 15th edition, sees another excellent line-up – The Killers, Beck, The Lumineers and more - Dimensions
Tisno, 1st – 5th July 2021
Like its “big sister” Outlook, Dimensions makes the move to Dalmatia for 2021 in a new early July slot - Fresh Island Week
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 3rd – 10th July 2021
Hip hop’s finest names head to Zrce Beach for fun in the sun - Hospitality on the Beach
Tisno, 8th – 12th July 2020
The third year for drum and bass magic in Tisno - Ultra Europe
Split, 9th – 11th July 2021
Ultra Europe’s eighth edition will surely feature some BIG names on the bill - Love International
Tisno, 14th – 20th July 2021
Celebrating its fifth edition, Love International will serve up some amazing back to back sets this year - Seasplash Festival
Sibenik, 15th – 18th July 2021
The nineteenth Seasplash returns to Sibenik, bringing together an eclectic mix of musical styles and genres - SuncéBeat
Tisno, 21st – 29th July 2021
Another week of revelry from the crew behind Southport Weekender - Outlook Origins
Tisno, 29th July – 2nd August 2021
Outlook returns to its Dalmatian origins for its 13th event, and earlier in the year too! - Membrain Festival
Sibenik, 5th – 8th August 2021
One of the few festivals to go ahead in 2020 (in a smaller guise), they’re ramping things up again for 2021! - Defected Croatia
Tisno, 5th – 10th August 2021
Previously Ibiza regulars, Defected return to Croatia for their fifth event showcasing the best of house music - Barrakud
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 8th – 12th August 2021
The tenth year of techno for Barrakud in the clubs of Zrce Beach - Sonus Festival
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 15th – 19th August 2021
Sonus’s eighth year will see plenty of top techno and electro names perform - Dekmantel
Tisno, 26th – 30th August 2021
An intimate, late-season event in The Garden Tisno - Hideout Festival
- Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 5th – 9th September 2021 (note: new later date!)
- Celebrating the tenth edition of the festival in 2021
Festivals in Croatia 2020
We’re temporarily keeping this list up so you can see some details of which events were postponed for a year. (And which went ahead in 2020!)
- Awake Croatia
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 20th – 23rd August 2020
Some big-name DJs at this trance event…still going ahead in 2020! - Goulash Disko POSTPONED TO 2021
Komiza, island of Vis, 9th – 13th September 2020
A wonderful end to the festival season – in a beautiful location! DJs, producers and bands from around the world congregate in Komiza for this entirely crowd-funded festival.
Reviews of Festivals in Croatia
Unsurprisingly, almost all of the festivals that are held in Croatia are very highly regarded and well reviewed by the music press. Here’s some reviews of festivals held in previous years:
- 10 things a session in Croatia taught us (Mixmag, 19th September 2014)
- Garden Festival and Electric Elephant 2014: The DiS Review (Drowned in Sound, 27th July 2014)
- Not going to Glastonbury? Try Eastern Europe’s more affordable festival alternatives (Daily Telegraph, 23rd June 2014)
- Croatia’s new Unknown festival ‘unique’ says co-founder (BBC Newsbeat, 7th September 2013)
- Dimentions Festival 2013 Review (Skiddle, 16th September 2013)
- Review: Garden Festival 2013 (Skiddle, 18th July 2013)
- Europe’s Best Summer Festivals, which includes FOR Festival, Garden and Terraneo (Forbes, 12th June 2013)
- ‘Knee deep in mud at an English festival? Give me Spain any day’ (Guardian, 26th May 2013)
- Festivals guide 2013 listings: European (Guardian, 11th May 2013)
- Is Croatia Europe’s best festival destination? (Guardian, 10th May 2013)
- Croatian holiday? The festivals are looking fine (InTheMix, 17th January 2013)
- Soundwave Festival (The Independent, 25th August 2011)
- Review: Electric Elephant 2010 (Skiddle.com, 29th Septemeber 2010)
- Croatia – the Dalmatian Coast and Garden Festival (Scotland on Sunday, 24th August 2010)
- Garden Festival (The Guardian, 18th July 2010)
- T-Mobile INmusic festival: LCD Soundsystem, The Flaming Lips and Billy Idol rock Croatia (Metro, 28th June 2010)
- A Massive Attack of music in Croatia (BBC 6 Music, 24th June 2010)
- How Croatia splashed on to the music festival map (on The Garden Festival – The Guardian, 3rd May 2009)
Other Festivals
The very well-known Exit Festival is held in the neighbouring country of Serbia and is an amazingly fun event to attend – and perfect for combining with a holiday in Croatia.
Started in 2000 as a protest against the political system at the time (and initially a dance music event), Exit has now grown considerably to become one of Europe’s top festivals.
Held in the impressive Petrovaradin Fortress at night-time (festival hours are 9pm to 6am each day), many head to Exit as a chance to experience an incredibly fun – not to mention eclectic – foreign festival in a cheaper setting.
Check out the Exit Festival website for more details on the event; Visit Croatia attended the 2009 Exit Festival – read up on my experiences, as well as hints and tips that may be useful to you!