The first, mid-December, announcement of the Sea Star Festival became the largest musical news for the end of the year, not only in the country, but in the region, and the arrival of Exit into Croatia caught the attention of music media of the world, such as Billboard, IQ, and Resident Advisor. The leading electronic music mag stated that EXIT, now with its seaside editions in Croatia and Montenegro, “has become more than a festival, more than a movement, more than a brand. EXIT today is culture in itself“. One of the most appreciated European festivals finally arrived in the shape of the Sea Star Festival, to be held on May 26th, and 27th in Umag’s Stella Maris complex, in a beautiful sea lagoon and on one of the finest gravel beaches in Istria. A powerful headlining trio was announced, The Prodigy, Dubioza Kolektiv and Urban & 4, and by Christmas there were already 11,000 festival attendees confirmed. Judging by the Sea Star concept, visitors will receive the best original ingredients of Exit, joined together in Istrian cuisine.
The original Exit spirit is coming to the Croatian coast!
Main program feature of the Sea Star Festival will be the spirit of favorite Exit experiences mixed with the original, seaside mark of Istria. It is already known that Sea Star will have six stages, dominated by Addiko Tesla Stage and Nautilus Arena powered by Radio 101. Program-wise, the advantage will go to the performers who had some of the best performances at Exit, so the first day of the festival will be focused on the Tesla stage and the electrifying, legendary favorites of Exit, The Prodigy! Tesla, as the motif and inspiration, appeared first at Exit – at one of the first festivals, a Tesla tower was erected, while in 2013, the main stage bore Tesla’s name and Prodigy had a legendary performance.
Crazy band from Essex has special chemistry with EXIT audiences, and even the famous DJ Mag said they “have never witnessed a crazier atmosphere and audience in all their years”, and recommended everyone to see them at Exit, which is definitely true for the other events under the same organization. Dubioza Kolektiv, the leading local attraction, will perform on the same night, as well as festival hosts, Urban & 4.
Second night on the main stage of the Sea Star Festival will present one of the most popular electronic stages in the world – globally famous Exit Dance Arena, of which Mixmag recently said the following: “In the 15 years of our existence, we have never found a better Dance Arena, and believe us when we say we have tried”, while DJ Mag adds: “the best view you will ever have at any electronic music event”. Apart from the spirit, Dance Arena sends their greatest stars into Istria on May 27th, whose names will soon be published.
Nautilus Arena powered by Radio 101, located under the main ATP stadium will present two more superpopular EXIT stages – Fusion and No Sleep – dedicating one night to indie bands, and the other to alternative electronic music.
The rest of the festival will evoke the magical atmosphere of the Petrovaradin fortress with three more popular stages of EXIT, being the integral part of its soul and attraction. Stages named Zion Beats, Exotic Laguna and Silent Octopus will bring a variety of genres with hip-hop, reggae, latino, bass, house, techno. Sixth stage, dubbed Cinema, will boast a huge screen where great movies and best Exit performances will be shown in HD.
Sea Star formula: 2+2 = day and night!
The well known “2+2” festival maths means that along with the two main days, the audiences will enjoy the warm-up party on May 25th, while Sunday, the 28th, is reserved for the after-party! Sea Star begins with a daily program at noon sharp, with parties around the gravel beach in the lagoon, while the night program will light up all stages and last until the early hours of the morning. A large number of confirmed artists will be announced in early February, and the complete program will be known by the end of the month. Along with the eclectic music set up, the visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy a rich Foodland, as well as the chill and activity zone, while a new and innovative cashless system of payment will be presented at the festival.
Sea Star community – accomodation at the festival!
Experience offered by the Sea Star is that of a daily and nightly community, because the closest accomodation is directly at the seaside, a 100 m from the festival area, and 15 minutes of light walk from the sea! There is the festival camp, hotels, vilas and apartments, with the prices from €9.99 per person.
Sea Star offers two types of accomodation – Premium and Premium Plus – both with 4 star ratings, equipped with electricity, drinking water, showers, toilets, and 100 m from both the festival and the sea. The camp will be open from May 24th through 29th, with the prices ranging from €28 to €33. Apart from the camp, the visitors can reserve accomodation in Sol Aurora and Sol Umag hotels (3 and 4 stars), Melia Istrian vilals (4 stars) as well as Sol Amfora, Sol Stella, Sol Katoro and Polynesia apartmants (3 and 4 stars). All of them are between 100m to 1km from the Sea Star festival, which makes the Umag festival the best equipped one in Croatia.
All in one place: tickets and festival packages!
Various accomodation options include bus transfers from larger Croatian cities, as well as packages that include tickets, accomodation and transport. More package information can be found at www.exittrip.org. Currently, there is a limited number of festival tickets that can be bought for the new discount price of HRK229, which is only 50% of the full price, and they can be found at Ticketshop.hr and Entrio.
