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| Károly Gerendai. Photo: MTI |
Bad weather was the bane of this year's festival, as rain showers turned dust produced by weeks of drought into mud.
"It does not look like the festival is going to make a profit this year; the only question is how big the losses will be," Gerendai said. He added that the festival is unlikely to "go bankrupt" considering extra-festival revenue from the "zero-day" concert by Hungarian rock legends LGT and a smaller version of the festival organised in the Romanian city of Tirgu Mures.
Gerendai said some 64,000 people would have to arrive on the last day of the festival if it is to break even. (The day before it closed, the Sziget Festival's visitor count was at 321,000 - 64,000 shy of last year's 385,000.) This is unlikely, as it's a weekday and the headliner is The Killers, a band that is popular in Western Europe, but still has to create a big Hungarian fan base. While foreign festival-goers with week passes will see the show, it may not draw many Hungarian purchasers of day passes, he said.
Gerendai added that the Faithless concert the night before had failed to draw a capacity crowd either.
Source: Hungarian News Agenc y (MTI)
