Top 5 European festivals

You are a very rich man, with a bank account bulging at the seams. Two women want you, one is a beautiful Spanish senorita, the other is a plain Jane farmer’s daughter from Winchester. Which one do you go for?

It’s a pretty obvious choice, as is our festival planning. If we had enough money we would all probably go for the more exciting option. OK, festivals in this country are unique, but there is no competition. We pretend to not care about the mud or the rain. But the truth is, deep down we do care, and would so much rather rave away under the sun, somewhere that isn’t just a field five miles off of the M6.

Sadly we don’t all have that bulging bank account, so we can’t spend the summer hopping across Europe to each festival. Being the nice sort we are, we’ve tried and tested all the festivals over the pond, and handpicked five of our favourites, so even if you don’t have the cash to splash, at least you can pick one from the very best of European festivals.

Exit Festival, Novi Sad, Serbia

This festival has the uncanny knack of making you feel like the king of the castle. That’s probably because the venue it’s held in is the Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia. With its beautiful setting by the river and stunning location, Exit festival is a festival beast like no other.

Exit’s line up 2009: The Prodigy, Madness, Chase & Status, Justin Martin, Heidi, Richie Hawtin, Dubfire, Andy C, Korn, Manic Street Preachers, DJ Marky & Dynamite MC, Sasha, John Digweed, Arctic Monkeys, Caspi & Rusko, Moby, Lily Allen, Sub Focus, Kissy Sell Out, Alex Metric, Patti Smith, Kraftwerk, Fabio & Grooverider feat. MC Rage, Sander Kleinenberg, Carl Cox, Green Velvet, Darren Emerson, Bryan Gee, Kenny Ken

Sonar, Barcelona, Spain

Sonar, the arty farty festival in Spain, or as they call it, the ‘international festival of advanced music and multimedia art’, is a festival like no other. Sonar day is held in and around an art gallery in Barcelona, and then things kick up a notch in the evening, where the festival unfolds in massive arenas with even bigger artists.

Sonar’s line up 2009: Orbital, Grace Jones, Carl Craig, Jeff Mills, Little Boots, Ebony Bones, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Late of the Pier, DJ Mujava & MC Mzura, Sebastian, Fever Ray, Erol Alkan presents Disco 3000, Crookers, Deadmau5, Filastine, Micachu and The Shapes, Moderat, Lars Hornveth + Barcelona 216, Mujava, Filastine, Joker, Martyn, Breakbot, Goldielocks, Bullion, Cécile, Mary Anne Hobbs, Rob Da Bank, Muhsinah, Cardopusher, James Pants, Animal Collective , Omar Souleyman

Garden, Petrcane, Croatia

As a relatively small festival in comparison to the other European giants, Garden has capacity for only 2,000 festy-goers. So, Exit festival it is not, but the beauty of this festival is its relaxed party vibe, underground line up and daily boat trips around the peninsular. And, if you can’t make this one, the area of Petrcane is hosting different festivals there all summer long, so you’ve got no excuse.

Garden’s line up 2009: Faze Action, Ashley Beedle, Gilles Peterson, Âme, Crazy P, Rub N Tug, Mark E, Greg Wilson, Phil Asher, Dixon, Henrik Schwarz, Prins Thomas, Lindstrom

Festival Internacional de Benicàssim, Benicàssim, Spain

Benicassim is a bit like a much smaller, Spainish version of Glastonbury. The main crux of the line up is indie type bands like Oasis, Kings of Leon and Maximo Park, but it also offers a kick arse dance line up as well as some interesting international acts. As far as fun in the sun goes, this is high up the list. Benicàssim’s line up 2009: Mystery Jets, Boys Noize, The Horrors, Oasis, Kings of Leon, Maximo Park, Telepathe, Paul Weller, Yuksek, 2Many DJs, Aeroplane, Elbow, Foals, Lily Allen, Franz Ferdinand, Peaches, Pete Doherty, Friendly Fires, Late of the Pier

Melt, Ferropolis (nr. Berlin), Germany

If quirky and strange festival settings are your bag, then Melt will be sure to get you going. Set in Ferropolis, meaning “city of steel”, Melt takes place in a disused steel mine, just outside of Berlin. Not everyone’s cup of tea, but in the evening, colourful lights shine from the old cranes and they become a feature of the landscape. The line up is pretty hefty too.

Melt’s line up 2009: The Gossip, Digitalism (live), Bloc Party, Boy8-Bit, Diplo, Ellen Allien, Trentmoller (DJ-set)Filthy Dukes, Tiga, Foals, Jazzanova (live), Klaxons, Hudson Mohawke, Mstrkrft, Oasis, Simian Mobile Disco (Live), Luke Slater (live), Super 700, Tobias Thomas, Trentmoller (DJ-set), The Whitest Boy Alive, Whomadewho, Boys Noize & Erol Alkan, Crystal Castles, DJ Koze, Tim Exile, Fever Ray, Goldie, James Holden, Kasabian, Phoenix, Travis, Thunderheist

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