Top Europe Music Festivals in 2022
We take a look at some of the best music festivals planned for 2022 in Europe, from rock to pop, and from the UK to Serbia. With so many festivals across Europe, it’s hard to choose just a few, but this is a selection of some of our favourites.
Glastonbury Festival, UK
Glastonbury is legendary and a ‘must-do’ for any music festival lover. You’ll never be short of bands to see or things to do as you’ll sprawl around this vast site. It’s probably the biggest music festival on the planet and attracts thousands of artists from various genres. Recent headliners include Jay-Z and Beyonce but it is still predominately a Rock festival.
Glastonbury is located in Somerset and is not far from Bristol and Bath. However, be warned that you need to apply for tickets well in advance and they usually sell out very quickly (2022 is now sold out). The festival celebrated its 50th birthday in 2020 but was cancelled due to the pandemic. 2021 was a virtual event, and this year, 2022, it is back in full effect and likely to be a special one!
Genre: Various
Location: Pilton, Somerset
Dates: Wednesday 22nd June to Sunday 26th June 2022
Leeds and Reading Festivals, UK
Leeds is a city in Northern England and Reading is in the Southeast, not far from London. The festivals run on the same weekend each year and have a pretty much identical line-up with bands playing Leeds one day and Reading the next (or vice-versa).
Genre: Indie/Rock
Location: Bramham Park in Leeds, and Richfield Avenue in Reading
Dates: Thursday 25th August to Sunday 28th August 2022
Sónar, Spain
One of Europe’s finest cities has achieved what most of the others have failed to achieve and organise a damn good music festival. Attend Sónar by day for up and coming acts or Sónar by night for an array of top DJs and bands mostly from the world of electronica.
If you’re hardcore you can do both and rave pretty much party non-stop from Thursday through to 8:00 am on Sunday morning. There’s also a load of parties and events (often free) if your budget doesn’t stretch for the full €310 every-day VIP ticket.
Genre: Electronic
Location: Fira Montjuic de Barcelona and Fira Gran Via de L’Hospitalet
Dates: 16th to 18th June 2022
FIB Benicàssim Festival, Spain
A big hit with regulars on the UK festival scene. This is thanks to a line-up that can compete with any of the main British festivals with the added benefit of beaches and nice weather. It is Spain’s biggest music festival but you shouldn’t expect that much local representation in the line-up.
Headliners for the 2022 edition include Kasabian, Justice and Two Door Cinema Club. Early bird tickets start at just €60 making it also one of the best value options on the European festival calendar.
Genre: Indie and Alternative
Location: Benicàssim, north of Valencia
Dates: Thursday 14th July to Sunday 17th July 2022
Website: https://fiberfib.com/en/info-2/
EXIT Festival, Serbia
The setting is perhaps the best of any of the European summer festivals with more than 1,000 artists who play on more than 40 stages and festival zones. It has grown from humble beginnings to become one of the largest and best-loved festivals in Europe with a varied schedule on the numerous different stages representing great value for money.
Novi Sad lies on the Danube and you can very quickly hop over into nearby Croatia which is also home to a number of cool summer festivals.
Genre: Electro/Rock mix, metal, and hip-hop
Location: Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia
Dates: Thursday 7th July to Sunday 10th July 2022
Sziget Festival, Hungary
This six-day event is pretty damn enormous with 60 different stages set in woodlands by the River Danube. With so many stages, there is music to suit all tastes with everything from pop and punk to psychedelic rock and reggae on the bill. There are also loads of extra events from boat parties to art programs, performances and talks.
The event takes place on a wonderful island in the middle of the river, but it’s easy to hop over a bridge into the heart of the Hungarian capital and explore what is one of Europe’s most interesting cities.
Genre: From rock, indie and pop through to all varieties of dance music
Location: Óbudai-sziget, Budapest
Dates: Wednesday 10th August to Monday 15th August 2022
Open’er Festival, Poland
This 4-day event takes place in an important port city in Northern Poland and has a very different vibe to some of the others, as you might be able to tell from the moody looking images on its website! There is something of an industrial feel to the whole thing but it is frequently the setting for some powerful performances from some of the most talented artists and bands on the planet.
Tickets are of excellent value and much cheaper than comparable events with similar lineups in Western Europe. It promotes itself as an eco-friendly event too and also boasts fashion and art stages to go with the tunes.
Genre: Rock and Electronic
Location: Open’er Park, Gdynia
Dates: Wednesday 29th June to Saturday 2nd July 2022
Iceland Airwaves, Reykjavik, Iceland
Airwaves was first held in an aeroplane hanger back in 1999 and has since grown into a really special event lasting four days. The festival takes place during the onset of the dark Icelandic winter which adds a special vibe to the event and makes it quite unique from other festivals as it takes place at a time when the Europe festival calendar has long since winded down from the summer buzz.
You might not get as many household names at Iceland Airwaves but it’s still a fascinating and beautiful country to visit and for a small city. Reykjavik has plenty of brilliant bars and live music venues making it the perfect setting to check out some of the hottest new bands. It is worth noting though the the cost of travel in Iceland is very much on the high side so it’s not a good choice for anyone looking for a budget festival experience.
Genre: Electronic music, rock, indie, electronic/techno, hip hop, folk, pop, R&B, soul
Location: Various venues in downtown Reykjavík
Dates: Wednesday 2nd November to Saturday 5th November 2022
Roskilde Festival, Denmark
This is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and was created in 1971 by two high school students. Pretty much anyone who’s anyone in the world of music has played this Danish festival over the years with the likes of Bob Marley, Nirvana, R.E.M and Radiohead all former headliners. The festival officially lasts eight days and consists of activism, camps and art as well as music.
There is plenty of fun and quirky things to do from taking a dip in the swimming lake, to visiting the on-site cinema or for the exhibitionists amongst you taking part in the naked run!
Genre: Electronic, Indie, Multi-Genre, Rock
Location: Roskilde, near Copenhagen
Dates: Saturday 25th June to Saturday 2nd July 2022
Tomorrowland, Belgium
This festival was one of the success stories of the 2010s and has turned into something of a mecca for fans of dance and electronic music. It attracted 400,000 people in 2019 and promises to be one of Europe’s biggest festivals in 2022 when, all being well, thousands will flock to Belgium once more.
This is another festival that can sell out very quickly and it attracts hundreds of top DJs from around the world. There are also now a number of spin-off events building on its success such as Tomorrowland Winter in the French Alps.
Genre: Dance, Electro
Location: The recreation area in De Schorre, Boom, between Antwerp and Brussels
Dates: Friday 15th July to Sunday 31st July 2022
