IMPORTANT Unfortunately, although understandably, due to the coronavirus outbreak many of the festivals listed here have been affected. As you can see from the list below, a great number have been postponed to 2021. This year isn’t to be for many of the usual festivities and parties in Croatia – so, for many of you, 2020 will be a ‘year off’ and we can be refreshed to party (hopefully) as normal in 2021.
(Having said that – you will note that a few events in this list are going ahead this year!)
Festivals in Croatia 2020
- Sea Star Festival POSTPONED TO 2021
Umag, 22nd & 23rd May 2020 now 28th & 29th May 2021
Part of the ‘Exit family’, Sea Star will be helping the Exit Festival celebrate 20 years! - Hideout Festival POSTPONED TO 2021
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 21st – 25th June 2020 now 20th – 24th June 2021
Celebrating ten years in 2020! - INmusic Festival POSTPONED TO 2021
Zagreb, 22nd – 24th June 2020 now 21st – 23rd June 2021
Croatia’s largest open air festival, now in its 15th year, sees another excellent line-up – The Killers, Beck, The Lumineers and more - Fresh Island Week POSTPONED TO 2021
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 4th – 9th July 2020 now 3rd – 10th July 2021
Hip hop’s finest names head to Zrce Beach for fun in the sun - Hospitality on the Beach POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 9th – 13th July 2020 now 8th – 12th July 2021
The third year for drum and bass magic in Tisno - Love International POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 15th – 21st July 2020 now 14th – 20th July 2021
Celebrating its fifth birthday, Love International will serve up some amazing back to back sets this year - Outlook Origins POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 30th July – 3rd August 2020 now 29th July – 2nd August 2021
Outlook returns to origins in Dalmatia for its 13th event, earlier in the year too! - Defected Croatia POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 6th – 11th August 2020 now 5th – 10th August 2021
Previously Ibiza regulars, Defected return to Croatia for their fifth event showcasing the best of house music - Ultra Europe POSTPONED TO 2021
Split, 10th – 12th July 2020 now 9th – 11th July 2021
Ultra Europe’s eighth year already has some BIG names on the bill - Seasplash Festival
Sibenik, 16th – 19th July 2020
The eighteenth Seasplash returns to Sibenik, and will bring together an eclectic mix of musical styles and genres - SuncéBeat POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 22nd – 29th July 2020 now 22nd – 28th July 2021
Another week of revelry from the crew behind Southport Weekender - Membrain Festival
Sibenik, 7th & 8th August 2020
A scaled back, smaller event due to the current situation…but still going ahead! - Barrakud POSTPONED TO 2021
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 10th – 14th August 2020 now 8th – 12th August 2021
A tenth year of techno for Barrakud in the clubs of Zrce Beach - Dimensions POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 13th – 18th August 2020 now 12th – 16th August 2021
Like its “big sister” Outlook (above), Dimensions makes the move to Dalmatia for 2020 - Sonus Festival POSTPONED TO 2021
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 16th – 20th August 2020 now 15th – 19th August 2021
Sonus’s eighth year will see plenty of top techno and electro names perform - Awake Croatia
Zrce Beach, island of Pag, 20th – 23rd August 2020
Some big-name DJs at this trance event…still going ahead in 2020! - Dekmantel POSTPONED TO 2021
Tisno, 27th – 31st August 2020 now 26th – 30th August 2021
An intimate, late-season event in The Garden Tisno - Goulash Disko
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!