Features
12 photos from the seamless spectacle of EXIT Festival 2024
A year out from its milestone 25th anniversary, Serbia's EXIT Festival proved that its longevity as a European festival favourite still stands
Billed as the warm-up event to its crowning 25th anniversary due to take place next year, you'd be forgiven for thinking EXIT Festival's impending celebrations came a year early.
Pulling out all the stops at its recent 2024 edition, EXIT welcomed over 210,000 visitors to its idyllic home on the banks of the Danube River, where the Petrovaradin Fortress looks out majestically from its outcrop of Novi Sad, described as the 'Gibraltar of the Danube'.
Over the weekend of July 10 - 14, EXIT welcomed visitors from more than 80 countries across the globe, including many returnees and newcomers alike, all drawn to the festival's multitudes of talent spread across its four-day bill.
Audiences were graced by performances encompassing a mind-boggling range of sounds and genres, which included everything from trap to pop, rock to house, EDM to techno, and plenty more. Whatever your earworm, EXIT had something for you.
Something different at this year’s edition was the emphasis on family, encouraging both performers and audience members to bring their children. EXIT's founder, Dusan Kovačević, brought with him three generations of family to the festival's 2024 edition, while US singer and guitarist Tom Morello invited his son, Roman, on stage to play the guitar. On the same stage, Brazilian musician Max Cavalera also performed alongside his son, Igor Junior.
A number of first-time performances saw audiences serenaded by the trap anthems of Alabama’s Gucci Mane, the timeless catchiness and nostalgia of The Black Eyed Peas, and the sweet dance-tinged pop vocals of Kenya Grace.
For those nostalgia lovers, there was also a heart-wrenching performance from John Newman which included his hit singles ‘Love Me Again’ and ‘Feel The Love’, and a dizzying performance from Rage Against the Machine’s Tom Morello, who served up an emotional rendition of ‘Like a Stone’, dedicated to the late Chris Cornell.
For the dance music fans, Carl Cox’s three-hour-long hybrid set pumped up the energy on Thursday night with his iconic selection of club heaters ranging from house classics to deep, chugging techno bangers.
An epic closing set from South African house legend Black Coffee provided the perfect backdrop to end a weekend of pure spectacle, community spirit, good music, and harmony, with his deep, spiritual selections soundtracking the path towards dawn.
EXIT has since announced its milestone 25th anniversary edition taking place next year. A special message screened at the Fortress Stage detailed that its next edition intends to return to "an artistic state of EXIT, and a state of mind created together with millions of people who have passed through the gates of the Petrovaradin Fortress over the past 24 years".
Check out some photos from the seamless spectacle of EXIT Festival 2024 below, and check out some videos from this year's edition here.
