In a year of anniversaries, powerful emotions, and government pressures that led to EXIT leaving Serbia, our leading festival has reached the finals of the European Festival Awards, the most prestigious festival recognition in Europe.
After audiences from around the world voted for the top 20 festivals in Europe, an international jury of leading music industry experts compiled a list of the top 10 in various categories.
Thus, EXIT was placed among the top 10 in the category of Best Major European Festival, together with European festival giants such as Rock Werchter from Belgium, Mad Cool from Spain, and Pinkpop from the Netherlands.
Our leading festival was also nominated in the category of Best European Festival Organiser (Promoter of the Year), alongside Tomorrowland, Sziget, and Germany’s top event organisation FKP Scorpio. EXIT founders Dušan Kovačević, Ivan Milivojev, and Bojan Bošković were nominated in the category Award for Excellence and Passion, while EXIT’s Adriatic jewel, the Sea Star Festival, made the list of the top 10 medium-sized European festivals.
This result comes in a year in which EXIT, together with numerous artists, bands, and public figures, found itself under government pressure due to its support for students fighting for a free society. Major European and global media outlets such as the BBC, the Guardian, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Le Monde, and others reported on EXIT’s forced departure from Serbia on their front pages, giving significant international coverage to the student protests and the suppression of freedoms in our country.
In addition to its notable achievements at the EFA competition, EXIT has been awarded at other European and regional ceremonies. Notable recognitions include the UK Festival Awards, where it was named Best European Festival in 2007, the title of Best European Festival 2016 by the European Best Destinations platform, as well as the highest recognition from the Regional Cooperation Council, which named EXIT the Champion of Regional Cooperation in Southeast Europe in 2017.
This year’s decision by the public and the European jury at the prestigious EFA competition carries particular weight: it is not merely a festival award for musical achievements but a strong message of support and solidarity. Europe sees what is happening in Serbia and supports a festival facing pressure at home.
The laureates will be announced on 14 January at the opening ceremony of the Eurosonic Noorderslag Festival in Groningen, one of Europe’s key music industry gatherings and an important platform for presenting new talent, while the full list of categories and finalists is available on the official website of the European Festival Awards.
(Danas, 11.12.2025)
https://www.danas.rs/kultura/scena/exit-u-finalu-za-cetiri-kategorije-nagrada/