Exit And Sea Dance Raise $188,000

Serbia’s Exit Festival and the same team’s new Sea Dance Festival at the Budva Jaz Beach in neighbouring Montenegro raised $188,000 for the region’s flood relief.

Photo: Darko Vojinovic/AP

A flooded street in Obrenovac, some 30 kilometers (18 miles) southwest of Belgrade, Serbia.

In the middle of May, the worst floods in decades left more than three dozen dead and forced tens of thousands of people to flee their homes.

Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Kosovo were among the countries worst affected. Three months’ worth of rain fell on the region in just a few days, causing the Sava and other rivers to burst their banks and flood the neighbouring areas.

Exit had an average daily crowd of 45,000-plus, with a recording-breaking 50,000 on Saturday.

Either Exit’s enhanced profile as a holiday destination and the winning of the European festival award has seen a surge in the number of UK visitors.

This year there were 4,500 of them, about 10 percent of Exit’s total crowd. The new Sea Dance Festival on Montenegro’s Adriatic coast did well for a first edition with an average of a little over 25,000 per day. Exit’s July 10-13 lineup had Jamiroquai, Skrillex, Damon Albarn, Rudimental, and Queens of the Stone Age.

Sea Dance July 15-17 had Jamiroquai, Underworld, Example, Bad Copy, Darkwood Dub, and Roger Sanchez.