Straight to “Exit”

Exit Music Festival was founded in 2000. It was first held in the summer of 2000 in Serbia. The event was located by the famous Danube River, in order to gain some attention. It was first held in the Novi Sad Petrovaradin Fortress. The festival quickly gained notoriety, attracting massive crowds. As a result, the event increased from a weekend long affair to a four day event in 2003. It has been held over four days ever since. With the added days and crowds, it moved location to Vojvodina.

Despite its infamy and popularity now, the festival had some teething problems, and it seemed unlikely it would ever succeed. Its future was threatened by a lack of finance and funding during its creation. But, thanks to the involvement and persistence if Serbian youths and university students, the money was acquired and Exit was born.

The initial false starts to the festival were due to the circumstances surrounding its creation. Exit was essentially a guise: a pretend party designed to disguise a political motive. Exit was a commentary on the political corruption and instability of Serbia at the time, following its freedom from communism. However, as it was illegal to make such public declarations against the government, the festival acted as just one giant student party.

Bojan Bošković, Dušan Kovačević and Ivan Milivojev were three students from the Novi Sad University who founded this festival in 2000. In the first two years, the Faculty of Technical Sciences and the University of Novi Sad organized the event through the Students’ Union. Slowly several commercial companies and NGOs were involved in organizing the event. Many corporations around the globe have been trying to buy the festival since.

Exit Music was awarded the “Best European Festival’ by the UK Festival Awards 2007 and Yourope from Europe.  Yourope conducts 40 large festivals in Europe.  After being narrowed down to 10 festivals, Exit took top prize as the Best European Festival; a title it works hard to live up to ever since. The origins of Exit have been largely forgotten and the festival has acquired a powerful platform for other reasons, which have also led to its awards. Exit is acclaimed as having great amenities and cleanliness. It is considered one of the most accessible festivals, with the best health and safety records. The majority of attendees are Serbs, regarded highly for their hospitality. The location also makes it one of the cheaper events in Europe, which again, has contributed to over two million music fans attending the festival since 2000.

Lastly, Exit receives so many visitors due to the location and layout of the festival. The venue for this festival is by the banks of the river Danube, at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad. The acoustics are superb and various gigs and events can take place simultaneously without interference of sound. The Main stage is located inside the Petrovaradin Fortress which can hold nearly 35,000 people. The natural backdrop is very scenic and the world’s best performers captivate the audience with amazing energy. Renowned artists and stars from all genres of music gather at Exit’s Main Stage every year to support diversity and discuss different views on their social platform.

The party continues until dawn as the best electronic acts are featured in sessions “After 2 AM” and this has been acknowledged as the festival trademark. Apart from the Main Stage, there are 15 more astounding stages and the “Exit Village”. In the Exit Village, you can expect nonstop music, played by the sound systems and a lot of fun, along with a pool. The attendees will have the opportunity to join many sports, like badminton and football or to enjoy the bumper cars in the entertainment park.