EXIT Festival was an annual music festival held in Novi Sad, Serbia. Founded in 2000 as part of a student movement advocating for democracy and freedom, EXIT grew into one of the largest music events in Europe. It also spawned several spin-off events organized by the same team. In 2026, the festival was canceled due to the team’s support of ongoing anti-corruption protests in Serbia. However, its spin-offs in other countries continued. One of these spin-offs is Sea Star Festival.
The first Sea Star Festival took place from May 25 to 28, 2017. It was held as part of EXIT’s Summer of Love alongside the Revolution festival in Timișoara, Romania, the EXIT festival in Novi Sad, Serbia, and the Sea Dance festival in Budva, Montenegro, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in San Francisco.
The main concerts were held on Friday and Saturday, but the program also included Day Zero on Thursday and a closing party on Sunday. The festival featured over 70 acts on six stages. The headliners and notable acts included Bad Copy, Dubioza kolektiv, Elemental, Fatboy Slim, Mahmut Orhan, Modestep, Paul Kalkbrenner, Pendulum, Pips, Chips & Videoclips, Rambo Amadeus, S.A.R.S., Spiller, The Prodigy, UMEK, Urban & 4, and other performers.
The first Sea Star Festival was a success, drawing 50,000 attendees. In its first year, the festival was nominated for and won several awards. At the European Festival Awards, the festival was shortlisted in the “Best Medium-Sized Festival” and “Best New Festival” categories (losing to Down the Rabbit Hole in the Netherlands and Wacken Winter Nights in Germany, respectively). The festival won the Zlatna koza – Capra d’oro award, presented by the Istria Tourist Board, for promoting tourism in the region, as well as the Ambasador Award, a Croatian award recognizing achievements in the EDM industry, in the “Best New Festival” category.
Sea Star Festival has been held every May since its inception, except in 2020 and 2021 when it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The festival typically begins on the fourth Friday in May and lasts for two full days, plus a Welcome Day on Thursday and a closing party on Sunday.
The multi-genre event features pop, rock, electronic music (techno and house), metal, punk, hip-hop, reggae, and more. Artists perform on several stages, including a main stage reserved for headliners, a stage for hip-hop acts, and one or more stages for electronic dance music. Past headliners have included Amelie Lens, Angelina Mango, Artbat, Baby Lasagna, Boris Brejcha, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Dubioza k, Fatboy Slim, Hot Since 82, Hurts, IAMDDB, Indira Paganotto, John Newman, Loreen, Lost Frequencies, Meduza, Nina Kraviz, Ofenbach, Onyx, Paul Kalkbrenner, Paul Van Dyk, Robin Schulz, Sven Väth, The Prodigy, Tommy Cash, UMEK, Wu-Tang Clan, Xzibit feat. Furnace Band, and others.
Photo: seastarfestival.com
