With summer not too far round the corner, many of you will be turning your attention to festival season. But for families, Glastonbury, Reading, and V Festival tend to be a bit tricky with young children. There are some solutions however. We’ve taken a look at some of the best family friendly music festivals from around Europe. For another take on festivals, check out our top European summer festivals.
1. Latitude, UK
When and where: 14th – 17th July 2016, Southwold, Suffolk
What is it: A laidback festival with a mix of ambient, pop, and indie music.
Don’t miss: New Order are headlining the final night with support from The Maccabees, Laura Mvula, and Squeeze.
Photo by: Emmy Blunt
Latitude has built up a strong reputation in its short history. A firm favourite with locals, it’s also becoming a hugely popular family festival for those outside East Anglia. With a strong environmental focus (litter is a rare sight) and politically-conscious overtones, Latitude has a different atmosphere to any other festival in the UK.
Families are well catered for with a Kids Area. There is also an Inbetweeners Area (for 12+). There are a number of workshops and live theatre to keep them entertained. There’ll be science based activities as well as arts and crafts and an enchanted garden.
Price wise, under 10’s can grab a weekend ticket for £8 (must be accompanied by an over 18). A weekend ticket for adults costs £205.50 and accompanied teens £140.50. Day tickets cost £5 per child and £84.50 for an adult.
2. Into the Great Wide Open, Netherlands
When and where: 1st – 4th September 2016, Vlieland, Netherlands
What is it: A festival for all ages on the island of Vlieland north off the Netherlands northern coast.
Don’t miss: Line up not yet announced
Into the Great Wide Open is a pop festival on Vlieland, a small island on the coast of The Netherlands. It prides itself on being a “dream festival” for all ages. It offers good music, visual arts and film, all in beautiful rural environs.
A completely different experience to most British festivals. Into the Great Wide Open is relaxed and all about being outside. Expect lots of campfires with fresh oysters and fish on the menu.
Prices are pretty cheap. An adult ticket costing €35. 4-15 year olds pay €7 whilst under 4’s get in free.
3. Pohoda, Slovakia
When and where: 7th – 9th July 2016, Trencin, Slovakia
What is it: A music and arts festival that blends different genres with the aim of communicating different cultures.
Don’t miss: Electronic legends The Prodigy are headlining this year alongside Icelandic trio Sigur Rós.
Photo by: anrymos/Fotolia
Based at a former military airfield, Pohoda is pretty easy to reach. It provides more than enough space for its 30,000 visitors, which makes queues a thing of the past. Perhaps the highlight for parents is the Children’s park where you can hire a professional babysitter! The park has several attractions available for families, programmes for children, as well as a family camping area.
Under 12’s go free whilst adult prices start at €89 for the 3 day festival.
4. Špancirfest, Croatia
When and where: 19th – 28th August 2016, Varaždin, Croatia
What is it: A 10 day street festival focusing on bringing together musicians, theatre, street performers, and visual artists.
Don’t miss: Line up not yet announced
Held every year since 1999, Špancirfest is a Croatian street festival which attracts around 100,000 visitors over its 10 days. Previous highlights include Fun Lovin’ Criminals, Asian Dub Foundation, and Flogging Molly.
Incorporating a number of mini festivals such as the Komedija fest (comedy) and Hlapec fest (for children), Špancirfest has something for everyone.
5. Just So Festival, UK
When and where: 19th – 21st August 2016, Rode Hall, Cheshire
What is it: An annual weekend long camping festival for kids and families.
Don’t miss: David Gibb, Baghdaddies, and Skinny Lister are amongst the musical highlights performing.
It may be small but the Just So Festival packs a punch. A much more community based festival, Just So is low key and perfect for kids. It doesn’t have the most well know bands or musicians but it more than makes up for this with quirky fun. Keep an eye out for lantern parades, Telling Tales (a world of books and stories) and The High Chaparral where you can learn to lasso. Set in a beautiful part of the countryside, there’s lots to discover amongst the trees!
Weekend tickets are £125 for adults and £50 for kids (under 3’s go free).
6. Sziget, Hungary
When and where: 10th – 17th August 2016, Budapest, Hungary
What is it: A huge festival attracting a range of music and performing arts. Best for teens rather than small children.
Don’t miss: This year’s line-up is huge. Bastille, Bloc Party, Muse, Jake Bugg, Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds, Years & Years, Rihanna, and M83 are all appearing!
Photo by: rudi1976/Fotolia
One of the largest music and cultural festivals in Europe, the Sziget Festival is held on a small island in the Danube. It’s regularly named as one of the best festivals in Europe and also hosts cinema, dance, and theatre activities throughout the week.
A 5 day pass costs €215 whilst the full week is €249.
Do any of these grab your attention?
If you’re not planning on attending any this year, what’s the best festival you’ve been to before? Get in touch with us on Facebook or Twitter and let us know!
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Great list! Sziget may not be the most family friendly though, I’ve heard it can get a bit mad there! Somewhere like Camp Bestival is really great for a family friendly vibe – always got a great theme, good music and relaxed atmosphere.