Five Best Summer Music Festivals In Europe

Are you planning on going to a summer music festival in Europe this year? If so, you’ll be one of the lucky ones to enjoy performances from many of the biggest names in the music industry. But with the unofficial first weekend of summer fast approaching do you still need to buy tickets? Do you know what artists will be at which music fest? Likewise, will you be camping or desire more comfortable overnight accommodations? To get you on the right track, here are just a few basic facts about the best music festivals going on in Europe this summer.

Creamfields

Hylands Park
London Road, Writtle
Chelmsford CM2 8WQ, United Kingdom
www.creamfields.com

Dates: August 25-28, 2022

One of Europe’s largest electronic music festivals, Creamfields is already sold out. However, you can still purchase day and camp tickets through secondary markets. For instance, Ticketmaster, Skiddle, Ticketline and Ticket Quarter have resale tickets. Even though prices are higher, this is Creamfields 25th anniversary. In other words, this is going to be one of the top music festivals this summer in Europe. In fact, the list of featured performers is like a who’s who of EDM. With that in mind Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Calvin Harris, Martin Garrix and Tiësto are among the marquee names.

How To Get There

Creamfield lists several ways to get to its 25th anniversary electronic music festival. If you’re driving by car, you can prebook a parking pass or pay upon arrival. In case you want to take a bus you might like is the Big Green Coach, with stops in 55 locations. To point out a few locations, Cambridge, London Victoria, Portsmouth and Southhampton. What’s more, you have the option to take a shuttle bus from designated spots in Liverpool, Manchester and Warrington. The town of Daresbury is about halfway between Liverpool and Manchester.

Creamfield South

The original electronic music extravaganza has been so popular it added a second festival this year. However, Creamfield South begins June 2, so time is running out for last minute tickets. On the other hand, there will be some big names appearing at Hylands Park in Chelmsford. In particular are top EDM acts like David Guetta, Fat Boy Slim, Calvin Harris and Idris Elba.

Glastonbury Festival

Worthy Farm
Worthy Lane, Shepton Mallet
Somerset, England BA4 4BY

Dates: June 22-26, 2022

If you had to pick just one European music festival to go to this summer, it might be Glastonbury. One of the largest and certainly most famous, Glastonbury is also one of the oldest, dating back to 1970. In fact, that first event was held the day after rock icon Jimi Hendrix died in London. Whether or not you can find a resale ticket this year is questionable.

Who Will Be Appearing

This year, two of the headliners are from that era, along with two wildly popular contemporary artists. Namely, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Billie Eilish and Kendrick Lamar. If that’s no enough, there are other acts that could be top billing in other venues. For example, Crowded House, Doja Cat, Lorde, Megan Thee Stallion and Olivia Rodrigo. Of course, there are even more acts, like Pet Shop Boys, Robert Plant and Allison Kraus, Rufus Wainwright and St. Vincent.

Tickets

As one of the biggest summer music festivals in Europe, Glastonbury sells out quickly. Moreover, official resale tickets through See Tickets have already sold out. There may be tickets available through secondary markets but event organizers will not make recommendations.

How To Get To Glastonbury

In order to reach the event, you have several transportation options. You can take your own car, rideshare, take a bus or a train with a shuttle transfer. At the Castle Cary train station, there will be a free shuttle bus to transport you to the festival grounds. The historic town of Glastonbury is approximately 13.2 km (8.2 miles) from the festival

Sziget Festival

Óbudai-sziget (Óbuda Island)
Budapest, Hungary
www.szigetfestival.com/en

Dates: August 10-15, 2022

Some of the biggest names in hip hop, EDM and more will appear this summer at Sziget. To name a few, Justin Bieber, Dua Lipa, Calvin Harris and Artic Monkeys are among the headliners. That’s not to mention that tickets are still on sale, including day tickets and 3-day passes. Likewise, camping tickets are available as well. With a camping pass, you can camp most anywhere on Óbuda, the largest island in Budapest.

How To Get To The Sziget Festival

Getting to the Sziget Festival is far easier than many other summer music festivals in Europe. Of course, the obvious reason is that it’s located in Budapest whereas others may require longer travel. In Budapest, you can take the H5 train to the Filatorigát station. In the event you need other transportation options, you can take the Metro, drive onsite, or even take a boat.

Tomorrowland

Provincial Recreation Area De Schorre
2850 Boom, Flanders, Belgium
www.tomorrowland.com/en

Dates: July 15-17, July 22-24 and July 29-31, 2022

Glastonbury has Paul McCartney and Billie Eilish this summer. But if electronic dance music is your thing, go to Tomorrowland. After all, it’s the world largest, with 400,000 attendees in 2019. What’s more, this year’s summer music festival will be held on three weekends, instead of two. This means that organizers expect this year to be even bigger, with a whopping 600,000 music fans.

Who’s In The Lineup At Tomorrowland

Tomorrowland will host more than 700 performers, including some very big names. That is to say Steve Aoki, Martin Garrix, Hardwell, Tiësto, Armin van Buuren will be on the main stage. But it’s also important to realize that there are at least 15 other stages, including Atmosphere and Freedom. Other artists you can see are Alesso, Diplo, Amelie Lens and Charlotte de Witt, along with Eric Prydz’s HOLO show.

How To Get To Tomorrowland

In order to accommodate 600,000 people, this mega summer music festival has to have several transportation options. In this case, the best ways are by shuttle bus or by train and then a shuttle. Buses will be operating by De Lijn from the Boom train station to the festival grounds. That is coupled with the Tomorrowland City Shuttles, serving Brussels and other cities. On the other hand, you can drive, take a taxi or use the Kiss and Ride (K&R) option. Of course, you can also bike to the festival. Boom is nearly halfway between Brussels and Antwerp.

Untold Festival

Cluj Arena
Aleea Stadionului 2
Cluj-Napoca 400375, Romania
www.untold.com

Dates: August 4-7, 2022

One of the challenges of getting tickets to a summer music festival is availability. Take for example, Glastonbury that sells out quickly coupled with ticketholders from last year’s canceled event. In light of this, have you thought about the Untold Festival? Held in the unofficial capital of Transylvania, Untold is Europe’s second largest EDM festival. Not only does it attract nearly 400,000 attendees, it’s also a showcase for top performers. As a matter of fact, David Guetta, G-EazyKygo and Steve Aoki will all be there.

Tickets

Plenty of tickets remain available, which is a great reason to consider attending Untold. Furthermore, tickets start at €50 + taxes ($53.45 + tax) and a 4-day pass is €159 + taxes (169.99 + tax). For a 4-day pass, that’s quite a bargain in comparison to some U.S. music festivals.

Accommodations

Unlike many popular summer music festivals in Europe or elsewhere, Untold has no camping. Fortunately, the festival has a listing of places to stay, with reasonable rates. Of course, you can also look for your own places to stay, whether it’s an AirBnb or other hotel. The tradeoff is that you’ll have to take a train into Cluj-Napoca from another city.

How To Get To The Untold Festival

If you’re staying in Cluj-Napoca, it’s just a 15-minute walk to the stadium from Old Town. If you’re arriving at the central train station, you can still walk although it’s slightly further, taking about 30 minutes. From the train station, you can also take city trams No. 101 or 102 to the stadium.

About The Author

Randy Yagi is an award-winning freelance writer who served as the National Travel Writer for CBS from 2012-2019. More than 900 of his stories still appear in syndication across 23 CBS websites, including CBS New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and San Francisco. During his peak years with CBS, Randy had a reported digital audience reach of 489 million and 5.5 million monthly visitors. Additionally, his stories have appeared in the Daily Meal, CBS News, CBS Radio, Engadget and Radio.com. He earned a Media Fellowship from Stanford University in 2012.