According to the French Sziget site newsletter, camping tickets are running out soon. So get yours real soon, if you are planning to stay on the island.

Is your backpack ready? Have you bought the tickets? Have you thought about the acts you really want to see? Are these acts overlapping? And if so, which ones and who are you going to choose? How about accommodation? Is staying on the festival grounds in the tent better than living in the city? Szigetnews wants to know what you think about all of this and more!

So feel free to post a comment and tell everybody!

Budapest Mayor Gabor Demszky has vetoed the Budapest Assembly cityscape comitee’s decision made last month to allow the Sziget Festival to use public areas free of charge for three years, according to caboodle.hu. Committee chairman Attila Ughy has said that the agreement was signed with the festival, and the city could be sued if anyone attempts to break it.

Still, the mayor’s decision does not affect this year’s event.
Ughy also said that the Mayor’s letter did not clearly state whether Demszky objected to the three-year permit or whether his decision also extended to the upcoming Sziget festival.
The Mayor’s office answered that Demszky did not object to the Festival using public areas this year, but the decision to allow it to use them in the next two years under the same conditions. The city would like to receive services in exchange for the free permit to use public areas, valued at 10,6 million Euros. These services would include rehabilitation of green areas used by the festival, improved hygiene at the event, development of parking lots and a larger contribution to tourism marketing. As the event’s biggest backer, the Budapest government would like to be able to set conditions like all other sponsors.

Here’s a nice video preview of this year’s festival, that you will most certainly enjoy.

Since we didn’t get to see Leonard Cohen at Sziget this year, the organizers have prepared another surprise. Singer-songwriter Adam Green, formerly of The Moldy Peaches, will play Sziget this year. Another piece of good news is that the French Sziget site confirms Babyshambles‘ presence at Sziget this year.

Although the organizers are still keeping the list for this year’s festival very quiet, we just heard about another artist playing at Sziget this year. We’re talking about Pascal Arbez, a.k.a. Vitalic. You can watch his video for “My Friend Dario” below.

According to caboodle.hu, Budapest District III (Óbuda) mayor Balázs Bús has applied for the section of Hajógyári (Shipxyard) Island owned by the City to be transferred to the district. A little more than half of the island, the venue for the annual Sziget festival, is owned by the state, while the rest (43%) is controlled by the City.

The mayor thinks the city neglects this area, where illegal races are being held at night. He also feels that if more of the island would be owned by the district, the green area would be larger, and more development aid would be assigned to the district. Those resources would be spent on the island. He added that within the framework of the “Dream Island” investment planned for the southern part of the island, some €1.5 million would be spent on managing the green areas.

About the effects this would have on the festival, Balázs Bús said that “We don’t think that the Sziget Festival should be canceled or changed.” However, he added that they would like to reach better agreements with organizers of the festival to protect the interests of local residents.