One of Europe’s leading festivals has announced it will not be returning to Croatia in summer 2024.
The longest running event in Tisno, SuncéBeat, has revealed the very difficult decision and this summer’s Adriatic odyssey and its 14th edition in the idyllic country will more than likely be its last ever.
A combination of factors have collided and mean it’s time for the team to take a break after 2023 and develop other ideas, whilst SuncéBeat ’s bigger sibling, The Southport Weekender, continues each spring in the UK.
What’s not in doubt is that this summer’s party will be an even more memorable and heady affair in beautiful Tisno, with doubtless a tear or two shed as the dawn rises for the final show across Barbarella’s for the SuncéBeat crowd and the festival’s founders, Alex Lowes and Nick Con
For the duo and their extended festival family, this forthcoming week under the sun and stars will be a celebration of the festival’s enduring legacy and one final get together with some of the seminal artists who have informed its identify and the global crowd who bring the love and magic each year. Artists include debuts from Body & Soul NYC: (Joe Claussell – Danny Krivit – Francois K), Kruder & Dorfmeister (DJ SET) and DJ Spoony plus Kenny Dope, David Morales, Danilo Plessow (MCDE) and his live band Another Taste, Hunee, Antal, Osunlade, Tony Humphries, Children of Zeus (live) and many more. Boat party tickets go on sale Thursday 1st June at 1pm.
Alex Lowes says: “We’ve made some brilliant friends on this journey which has taken us from the early Petrcane days when the whole idea of festivals in Croatia was in its infancy to the more recent years in Tisno where we’ve amped up our ambition and scale. Throughout this we’ve always kept to our roots in the artists we’ve booked and the amazing and loyal crowd we’ve cultivated through the years, essentially a distillation of The Southport Weekender in terms of our ethos and musical scope. Making so many friends, building these relationships and being lucky to come to this gorgeous part of the world each year has always been the highlight for myself, Nick and the wider SuncéBeat team, and not coming next summer is going to hurt us all. We will dearly miss Croatia’s warm welcome, Tisno’s intimacy and the fantastic festival site at the Garden Resort, the boat parties and of course Barbarella’s.
“So this summer is going to be all about celebrating the good times we’ve had – and we have had many – and to party with all of our favourite guests day and night. We know SuncéBeat’s made an indelible imprint in the history of Croatian festivals and the memories will last long, and we expect July to be extra special and a chance to say goodbye to what we have created here in a suitably fitting style.”
After the 14th edition, the team will take stock to decide when – if ever – SuncéBeat to returns to Croatia.
The festival will continue in a potential new location in Europe, with Alex and Nick considering many ideas. Though this summer is their focus.
Alex adds: “We’ve thought long and hard over this decision and we have to be realistic – myself and Nick have faced many challenges in the last three years running SuncéBeat and ever more so as we now approach this 14th and final edition. Being independent is an integral part of who we are and always will be, but it adds to all of the other factors you need to go well for any event on our festival’s level to work. It’s not been an easy decision – it’s frankly been very painful to come to – but also we know it’s the right one and the essence of SuncéBeat will continue in a new guise elsewhere in Europe. And whilst I would always say you never know, I do feel that this is our last Croatian odyssey. So we’re going to conclude SuncéBeat with as big a bang as possible for everyone and make a memorable last party which will have Tisno rocking. We want to give everyone the best memories and something to cherish. It’s been a wonderful, bonkers and love-filled journey.”
SuncéBeat 2023 Thursday 20th – Thursday 27th July 2023
The Garden Resort, Petrica Glava 34, 22240, Tisno, Croatia
LINEUP SO FAR:
Antal, Ash Lauryn, Body & Soul NYC: (Joe Claussell – Danny Krivit – Francois K), Children of Zeus (live), Da Capo, Danilo Plessow (MCDE) and Another Taste (live), David Morales, Djeff, DJ Emii, DJ Spen, DJ Spoony, Hunee, Kenny Dope, Kruder & Dorfmeister (DJ SET), Marcellus Pittman, Osunlade, Quentin Harris, Rich Medina, Sadar Bahar, Terry Hunter, Tony Humphries and Young Pulse and many, many more.
Tickets from: Long weekend from £200 / Full week from £235(boat parties are extra) www.suncebeat.com / @suncebeat
