EXIT Festival reveals 2025 edition will be the last in Serbia
EXIT Festival's 25th edition this July will be its last in Serbia.
Taking place in the iconic Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia, EXIT Festival has been one of the most influential in Europe for a quarter of a century. It boasts over 40 stages and attracts 210,000 attendees from over 80 countries from around the globe.
It has hundreds of headliners from across the music spectrum with everyone from Black Eyed Peas and trap pioneer Gucci Mane, The Exploited to The Prodigy having played.
This year it takes place from July 10–13 in Novi Sad with DJ Snake, Sex Pistols, Amelie Lens, Eric Prydz, I Hate Models, Solomon, Tiesto, Nina Kraviz, RPR Soundsystem and tens more all scheduled.
The festival, which was born out of a sense of resistance and solidarity against oppression, citing continued governmental pressure as a reason for the decision to bring the festival to an end in its current format.
Dušan Kovačević, founder and director of the EXIT Festival group, has released the following statement.
“Through music, creativity, and activism, EXIT has connected generations and nations, rebuilt broken ties, and built bridges where others route to divide. We have brought numerous European festival awards to our country and region, along with hundreds of millions of euros in tourism revenue and international recognition that global experts consider invaluable.
However, ever since we publicly stood with the students of Serbia in their fight for a freer and more just society, we have been subjected to immense financial and political pressures aimed at stripping us of our fundamental rights to freedom of thought and expression. Despite being completely cut off from public funding at all levels of government, and with some sponsors forced to withdraw under state pressure, we refuse to be silenced.
As a result, this year’s anniversary edition will be the last to take place in Serbia where freedom of speech is systematically suppressed.
“This is the hardest decision in our 25-year history, but we believe that freedom has no price. With this act, we are defending not only EXIT, but the fundamental right to free expression for all cultural actors around the world. We invite them to stand with us in this fight" said Dušan Kovačević, founder and director of the EXIT Festival group.
While we know we are welcomed with open arms around the world, we owe our audience one last dance at the Petrovaradin Fortress. That is why our entire team is more determined than ever to make this year’s edition the most emotional and unforgettable yet.
EXIT 2025 will take place from July 10–13 in Novi Sad, when together with students we will mark 25 years of fighting for the better world. EXIT is not just a festival — EXIT is all of us who believe we can make a change. And just as we ignited the spark of change together a quarter of a century ago, today we once again defend the right to live freely.
If this truly is the last EXIT at the Fortress, let it be unforgettable. Let it be our strongest yet — a festival remembered not for its end, but for its unity. For love. For freedom.”
For more information about EXIT Festival, visit: https://www.exitfest.org
