EXIT Festival, one of Europe’s most popular music festivals, has announced that its 2025 edition will be the last held in Serbia, citing government funding cuts and sponsor withdrawals following the festival's support for anti-corruption protests in the country.
The long-running festival, which takes place annually at Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad and drew over 210,000 attendees last year - similar to the number of people who attended Glastonbury - will hold its final Serbian edition from 10-13 Jul. The decision comes after organisers publicly aligned with student-led protests in Serbia that erupted following the November 2024 collapse of a concrete canopy at Novi Sad railway station, which killed sixteen people.
“This is the hardest decision in our 25-year history, but we believe that freedom has no price”, said festival founder and director Dušan Kovačević in a statement. “With this act we are defending not only EXIT but the fundamental right to free expression for all cultural actors around the world”.
Since taking its stance supporting the protests, EXIT has been stripped of all government funding, including cultural grants, the festival organisers say, with multiple sponsors also withdrawing their support under what the festival describes as “state pressure”.
The protests, which have continued for six months and drawn hundreds of thousands of participants, have demanded accountability for the tragedy in Novi Sad, with demonstrators calling for transparency in public construction contracts and an end to corruption in infrastructure projects.
That movement has gained unprecedented support, with Serbia’s five largest trade unions joining student-led demonstrations for the first time. The protests have already led to political upheaval in the largest of the former Yugoslav states, including the resignation of the prime minister and the fall of the government.
Founded in 2000 as a student movement advocating for peace and democracy in post-war Serbia, EXIT has grown into an internationally recognised festival that has brought major acts to the Balkans and generated significant tourism revenue for Serbia.
Over its 24-year history, the festival has hosted performances by artists including Moby, The Prodigy, Rage Against The Machine’s Tom Morello and The Black Eyed Peas. The festival has won multiple European festival awards and estimates it has brought hundreds of millions of euros to the Serbian economy.
The announcement represents a potentially significant cultural and economic blow to Serbia, where EXIT has served as both a major tourist attraction and a symbol of the country’s post-conflict transformation. The festival’s departure will also inevitably raise questions about artistic freedom and the treatment of cultural institutions that voice political dissent.
The investigation into the Novi Sad station collapse has made limited progress, according to France24. While prosecutors filed criminal charges against thirteen people in December, including a former transport minister, the Serbian court returned the indictment for further investigation.
The European Public Prosecutor’s Office has also launched its own investigation into possible misuse of EU funds related to the station’s reconstruction.
While EXIT organisers have not announced where future editions might be held, they indicated they have received invitations from other countries. The 2025 edition is being promoted as an emotional farewell to the venue that has hosted the festival for a quarter-century.
Wherever EXIT ends up next, the loss of the festival will mark the departure of one of Serbia’s most visible cultural exports and a platform that has helped reshape the country’s international image since the Yugoslav wars of the 1990s.
