Eastern European Festivals: Nationalism, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll

As summer comes around, so does festival season, and Eastern Europe has become a hotspot for these types of giant parties, where anything goes! Cheaper than Ibiza, but with festivals that are equally as extravagant, Croatia, Serbia and Hungary have become the new pilgrimage for party-goers. After 40 years under communist rule, and after several wars in the 90s, Eastern Europe now turned its hand to the world of tourism – and of partying.

But in these countries, the partying knows no limits. Festivals are inundated with alcohol and drugs, with dealers targeting young people to buy highly dangerous experimental drugs. In Serbia, one festival even serves as a platform for extreme nationalists to air their views to the world, in a demonstration which quickly spirals out of control.