The final day of Sziget Festival was filled with incredible music that provided the perfect send-off. Being at Sziget festival is an unforgettable and surreal experience: the Island of Freedom is a place like no other.  On the last day of the festival, Szigest hosted a flag party to celebrate its 30th edition with thousands of fans gathered on the main stage to celebrate the diversity of Szitizens together by waving 5,000 flags. Monday was the day that sold the highest number of tickets, and with a look at the lineup there’s a reason why this day was the most popular. 

RAYE delivers a raw performance, blending Jazz, spoken word & personal struggles

RAYE was first on the main stage with her band which included piano, saxophone, trumpet and guitar. Her opening song was ‘Thrill is Gone’, a nod to jazz legend B.B King with a song of the same name. RAYE’s spoken word style rap to the lyrics “My boy ain’t my boy, but I call him that cause it feels better” speaks to the woes of modern dating. RAYE admits that she is a fan of “dramatic endings”, so the song is pushed to its climactic high-note end by RAYE’s incredible vocals. RAYE opened up about her struggles with addiction before playing ‘Mary Jane’ and stated that addiction was part of the human experience, and when she became an independent artist she wanted to make honest songs.

RAYE moved on to play ‘Ice Cream Man’, a moving song about her experience of being sexually assaulted by a music producer. The singer stated that it was a song that she “wished she didn’t have to write”, but opening up about the topic was important in educating others about the issue. Another raw and emotive track was ‘Genesis’, RAYE’s seven-minute song, which is divided into three movements that move between genres. RAYE ended her set with crowd favourite ‘Escapism’ and a rock version of ‘Prada’. 

Skrillex ignites the stage with explosive EDM, pyrotechnics, & an unforgettable all-night party

Skrillex followed RAYE and produced a high-energy performance that was visually impressive with pyrotechnics and lasers. The crowd danced to his electronic hits ‘Rock ‘N Roll (Will Take You to the Mountain)’ and ‘Kill Everybody’. Whilst it would be easy to say that DJs do not do much during their shows due to many of their tracks being premixed, Skrillex uses high-tech equipment and strobe lighting,  and the EDM buildups and beat drops create an electric atmosphere in the crowd. Skrillex also played at the Revolut stage with Four Tet and kept everyone dancing till dawn. The fireworks at the end of Skrillex’s set were a highlight, creating an explosive end to an explosive set. 

Fred Again.. doesn’t disappoint with an emotional, genre-blending set with the most uplifting energy

Fred Again.. drew in hundreds of thousands of people who gathered to experience his music. The opening of his set was emotionally charged, blurring the lines between live performance and DJing with tracks such as ‘adore u’, which he wrote for his sister and ‘places to be’ , both of which he played on his piano which created a goosebump atmosphere. Fred Again’s music has a shapeshifting quality but has been described as House, indie pop and tempered-down techno. The screen lit up with his message for Sziget, he thanked the crowd for their support and their energy.  Fred Again.. turned up the tempo with ‘Jungle’ and the Skrillex cover ‘Rumble’, both of which were crowd favourites. Fred Again.. also played ‘Marea (we’ve lost dancing)’, which features The Blessed Madonna and like many of his songs came from his 2020 lockdown diaries. This was a night that lots of people had been looking forward to for a long time, and Fred Again.. delivered in bucket loads.

Sziget festival have recently announced special 48-hours Sziget 2025 tickets Super Early Bird by Revolut will start at 7pm BST on Thursday 15th of August via www.szigetfestival.com/en/tickets. Ticket deals will include a special discounted price for 21 years old and under, as part of the festival’s commitment to be affordable for the younger generation.

2025 Ticket Early Bird prices:

• 6 days general admission at 249€

• 6 days VIP at 469€ 

• 6 days for 21 year olds & under at 199€

• Instalment plans are also available

Sziget festival will come back to the Island of Freedom, Budapest between the 6th and 11th of August 2025.
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Heather Gosling is a university student currently studying English Literature at York. She is passionate about journalism, creative writing and music. She has written for many online and print publications and is working on a music magazine (@circulationzine).