EXIT Festival has announced it will return to its original home at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad, Serbia, for a special edition in July 2027, with a full-scale comeback planned for 2028. The announcement came three days after a student-backed political list won Serbia’s October 25 election, according to the festival.
EXIT left Serbia in 2026 after publicly backing student-led protests that followed the Novi Sad station collapse, citing political, security and financial pressures. Founder and CEO Dušan Kovačević said the festival had pledged to stand with the student movement even at the cost of its own future, and that it would return once freedom returned to the country.
Founded in 2000 as a student movement, EXIT relocated to Petrovaradin Fortress in 2001 and grew into one of Europe’s largest festivals, drawing roughly 200,000 visitors over four days in past editions, according to the festival. Past lineups have included The Prodigy, Kraftwerk, Wu-Tang Clan, Arctic Monkeys, Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, the Sex Pistols, and electronic artists such as Carl Cox, Richie Hawtin and Tiësto. During its year away from Serbia, EXIT staged eight events across six countries, including a Starlight Festival at the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt that the festival says drew more than 40,000 attendees from 114 countries. Details on the 2027 edition’s lineup, dates and ticketing are expected to be announced later.
Based on a press release provided to Music Industry Weekly by Chris Alderton, jukeboxpr.co.uk.