The largest (free) open-air music festival in Europe takes place on an island in Vienna, a city not exactly famous for its ocean vistas.
Ah, but Vienna does have the mighty Danube river, whose long artificial Donauinsel island hosts the Donauinselfest – a weekend of music, fun and bleary-eyed Monday mornings.
- Annual music festival with mainly local performers and the occasional international star
- Typically attracts well over 2.5 million visitors in normal years
- Loads of other festival activities
- Held downsized versions in 2020 and 2021
- 2022 dates: Jun 24 -26
- See also: Events in Vienna | Where is the Danube?
The music festival
(Photo by Andreas Jakwerth | Click photo for copyright info etc.)
Technically, the 21km long and 250m wide Donauinsel (Danube island) is a flood regulation measure, a description which has all the sex appeal of a broken exhaust pipe.
However, this artificial island also serves as a recreational park, where you can hike, swim, cycle, trampoline, climb, eat, drink and generally be merry. For one weekend each year, a chunk of it turns into a huge open-air music festival: the Donauinselfest (Danube Island festival)
And entry is free.
As you can imagine, the word “free” next to the word “festival” has a certain attraction to it; the Donauinselfest pulled in some 2.7 million visitors across all three days last time the full event took place.
(Photo by Andreas Jakwerth | Click photo for copyright info etc.)
The music typically covers various genres, including rock, pop, rap, hip hop, electronic music, swing (yep), folk, metal, and all things in between.
Although most performers ply their trade in Austria, the roll call of international stars from past events includes the likes of Mando Diao, Lisa Stansfield, Amy Mcdonald, Michael Bolton, Sean Paul, Bob Geldof, as well as a who’s who of the wider German-speaking music worlds.
All sorts of other activities help keep you occupied between performances, too, not to mention a host of stands to ensure you stay fed and watered (not free, obviously).
The Donauinselfest normally features around 13 stages, 600 hours of music, and 17 themed activity areas. Get a feeling for a typical festival from the video at the bottom of the page.
(Curiously, a political party organises everything: the SPÖ has more or less formed the city government for decades.)
The 2022 Donauinselfest
In 2021, only four stages with local acts opened with strict limits on audience size. I don’t need to explain why.
You could only visit one stage on a day and access was limited to pre-registered visitors who had won tickets in a lottery.
In addition, a double-decker bus with a built-in open-air stage toured the city across summer to give short concerts in parks, tram depots and other locations.
Full details of the 2022 festival are yet to appear, but the organisers hope to return to the traditional format.
2022 dates and tickets
Planned dates for 2022 are June 24th to 26th.
You don’t normally need to buy a ticket because entrance is, as mentioned, free. Look to the official website for 2022 access and programme details.
How to get to the Donauinselfest
For the events on the island, don’t take a car. Jump on the subway to the Donauinsel or Handelskai stations.
The Donauinsel subway station is on the U1 line that traverses the city centre. Use the U6 line to reach Handelskai. The trains run at very short intervals into the night during the standard 3-day festival.
Address: Look for the long, wide watery object that passes through Vienna:
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