The concert on 8 August was a separate DJ OTI event, not an early opening of Sziget.
Publication date: 8 August 2026
Last checked: 8 August 2026
If you heard music or saw unusually large crowds around Budapest’s Óbuda Island today, it was not the Sziget Festival starting early. The event was DJ OTI und die Freunde, a separate retro party on the Nagyrét area of the island, featuring DJ OTI — the stage persona of Hungarian presenter Sebestyén Balázs.
The event used the same island and main-stage area associated with Sziget, but it required its own ticket: the organiser’s ticket page explicitly states that Sziget Festival tickets and passes were not valid for it. The city expected a very large audience, so visitors may have noticed crowded public transport and access routes around the island.
Sziget Festival itself begins on Tuesday, 11 August, and runs until 15 August. If you are staying nearby or planning to cross the area, today’s crowds were connected to this one-off concert rather than the festival programme. Sziget’s official visitor information confirms the festival dates.
Written by Zoltan Szabo photographer and licensed tour guide
PhotoSherpa, Budapest Photo Walks