1. EXIT FESTIVAL

Exit is an award-winning summer music festival which is held at the Petrovaradin Fortress in the city of Novi Sad, Serbia.
It was officially proclaimed as the 'Best Major European festival' at the EU Festival Awards, which were held in Groningen in January 2014, while it's sea edition Sea Dance festival won the "Best Mid-Sized European festival" Award in 2015. The EU Festival Award is considered as one of the most prestigious festival awards in the world.

The festival was founded in 2000 in the University park as a student movement, fighting for democracy and freedom in Serbia and the Balkans. After the democratic changes happened in Serbia, Exit moved to the Petrovaradin fortress in 2001. Nonetheless, social responsibility is still key aspect of the festival activities.

Exit has won the 'Best Overseas Festival' award at the UK Festival Awards in 2007, 'Best Major Festival Award' in 2013 and was ranked one of the 10 best major festivals at European Festivals Awards 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 and one of the 10 Best Overseas Festival at UK Festival Awards 2013.

Exit has gained international media attention over the years. The International edition of CNN, CNN World Fiesta, featured an article on music festivals in the beginning of June 2011, which included Exit on the list of nine best festivals in the world.The Guardian declared Exit as the best festival in the world in 2006 and the best tourist destination in 2008.The Sun, the British daily newspaper, included Exit on the list of eight best festival destinations in 2012. In Euronews' May 2013 article on the world's leading festival destinations, Exit was included in the ten best European festivals in 2013.

Exit has received several awards:

• The Golden Superbrand at Superbrands Serbia 2006, 
• Best SEE Event at SEE.
• ME Awards in 2007, 2008 and 2010. 
• UK Festival Awards 2007, together with Yourope, 
• The Association of the 40 largest festivals in Europe, awarded Exit the 'Best European Festival' award.

The EXIT village promotes this way of life; it's the beach home to all patrons of the festival throughout its five days. Besides mainstream acts, EXIT hosts a diverse array of artists, including representatives of underground electronica, metal, punk, and experimental genres.

Exit Festival, combined with its seaside sister Sea Dance festival makes for a world's most unique festival package which has become the best festival holiday on the planet that spans over 10 days. This amazing package combines two award-winning festivals at two spectacular locations in two neighbouring countries, which proved last year to be a success formula that attracted 300.000 people from 60 countries who have travelled from the magical Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia to the  Jaz Beach in Montenegro.

2. GUCA TRUMPET FESTIVAL

GUCA TRUMPET FESTIVAL – THE GUARDIAN OF NATIONAL SPIRIT AND TRADITION

Every August, accompanied by the sound of trumpet, gunshots and big fireworks, the largest of all national festivals – Guca Trumpet Festival in Dragacevo begins. 

Guca becomes the capital of trumpet, and Dragacevo, a region where Guca is located, the Republic of trumpeters – unique in the whole world. That is how this magnificent trumpet manifestation, which has with the course of time grown to be the most important celebration of the people of this region, begins.

All the bands that take part in the contest will be honourably called – the trumpeters of Dragacevo. All the winners at the Festival deserve the flatting title of the best trumpeters of the Festival which has been won in a knightly competition.

Opanci

With their spiritual and hand-made gadgets the trumpeters will be joined by loom weavers and embroidery makers; tailors, cap makers; cobblers who make “opanak” (traditional footwear which is a part of Serbian national costume), producers of healthy natural foods and drinks (dairy products, corn bread and home made brandy-rakija). 

Serbian cooks will preparing the famous dish of the Festival – sour cabbage, boiled beans, roast and grilled meat and some other traditional dishes whose fragrance and taste make you hungry no matter how full you are. Cold and hot plum brandy will be served together with corn bread, cheese and “kajmak” (national dairy dish) – as a starter.

Serbian traditional meal - Kajmak

The village of Guca in the Dragačevo district is a peaceful, scenic and colorful part of western Serbia.  It has gained world fame owing to its Assembly of Trumpet Players, the largest trumpet and brass band event on the planet.

The love of the people of Dragacevo for music, especially for the trumpet, began in the rule of Prince Miloš Obrenović who ordered the formation of the first military band in 1831. From then until now the trumpet has reigned here uninterrupted while woodwind instruments, in keeping with the customs, warm the soul of its population.

Orchestra in national clothes

Some orchestras, when they appear on stage for official competition, wear the national dress and authentic indigenous dances with other folk inspired elements and musical accompaniment, have become an integral part of the national gathering.

The virtuoso musicians are for the most part fully self-taught and lend an air of authenticity unmatched by academic musicians. They play by ear and quite spontaneously, relying on their imagination and musical memory.

The Gucha Assembly of Trumpet Players continues to grow year after year: today, this musical feast of recognizable national skills is more popular, more diverse and bigger than ever before.

History:

The first Dragacevo Assembly of Trumpet Players was held on October 16, 1961 in the yard of the Church of Sts. Michael and Gabriel in Guca. Initially, it was a very modest Assembly - almost subversive for the prevailing political circumstances of the time. However, the Assembly gradually grew and expanded its magical influence.

The song "Sa Ovčara i Kablara" marks the beginning of the festival each year. Some church music festivals notwithstanding, the Assembly of Trumpet Players is the best known event of this kind, extending uninterruptedly for 55 years and attracting guests and musicians alike from every continent.

Trumpet players and folk song and dance groups from around the world deem it a great honour to be invited to the Assembly, and the number of visitors increases with each coming year. The record was set in 2010, when Guca hosted in excess of 700.000 visitors over 10 days of festivities.

In 2016 the Final Serbian Trumpet Band Competition will be held for the 56th time in August - the exact date is not known as yet. Maestros from whole Serbia will compete for the prestige Golden Trumpet award. Beside this competition a various program with rich cultural heritage like traditional wedding, sport event and art program will entertain the more than 500.000 visitors 5 days long.

3. BELGRADE BEER FEST

Belgrade Beer Fest is on average, the biggest beer festival in Southeastern Europe. Within 5 days in August, over 500.000 people visit the festival. The large number of visitors is mostly due to basic festival principles: free entrance, an exceptional music program, and a wide range of foreign and domestic beer brands.

Belgrade Beer Fest was founded in year 2003. In thirteen years of its existence over 7.2 million visitors could have seen more than 570 music performances, tasted more than 300 beer brands and participated in numerous social campaigns. Some of the artists: Orthodox Celts, Van Gogh, Cassidy's Brewery Del, Arno Band , Zemlja Gruva  Enormna Blajsna Goran Grbić Dixi Band, Grupa Beograd Artan Lili, Transeen Love Hunters, The Somethings Couple Up & Bege Fank, Soul Trains, Eva Braun, Svi Na Pod,  Ničim Izazvan,  Igor Vince, etc.

In the first five years Belgrade Beer Fest was located at Kalemegdan Fortress. From 2011 Belegrade Beer Fest moved to Usce Park. The festival is held annually over 4 to 5 days  as a showcase event for various beer producers. In addition to domestic and foreign brews, the festival features live music performances each evening. Different kind of music was played: rock, pop, world music, electronic music.

It has quickly grown in size and popularity: in 2004, it attracted over 75,000 foreign visitors to Belgrade and in 2005 it was the second most visited festival in Serbia with 300,000 visitors. In 2009 it attracted more than 650,000 visitors, and in 2010 the festival attracted about 900,000 visitors

Awards:

The festival has received numerous awards. One of them is the recommendation of the British newspaper "The Independent", which ranked Belgrade Beer Fest  in year 2005, among 20 world events that must be visited. Professor Dennis Wilcox, in his book, "PR Strategies and Tactics" which is being used in over 350 universities around the globe, stated Belgrade Beer Fest as a positive example of marketing and PR campaign. With regard to large social campaign "I choose to recycle", whose aims were the strengthening of the environmental awareness of citizens and the purchasing of recycling containers for Belgrade schools, marketing magazine "Taboo" awarded the Festival as the marketing event of the year 2009.

Van Gogh

Owing to all the mentioned, Belgrade Beer Fest established itself as one of the most important segments of the tourist offer of Serbia, as well as a brand that promotes our country and strengthens its image.

Osmi putnik

The award "Best of Serbia" that the Festival got for 2014 edition is the best proof of that.

Action "Best of Serbia" has been oganized, since 2004, by Ministry of Trade, Tourism and Telecommunications, Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Serbia and daily economic newspaper "Privredni pregled", with the goal to promote the most successful brands on the Serbian market.

4. NISVILLE INTERNATIONAL JAZZ FESTIVAL

Nisville is an annual summer music festival in the Ancient Fortress of Nis, Serbia.

From the festival’s very beginning, its concept has been based on presenting the ‘traditional’ jazz forms together with their fusion with the ethnic tradition from the different parts of the world, especially from the Balkans. Nisville has become the leading and the most visited jazz festival in South Eastern Europe with a total visit of 100,000 people for 4-days festival. Nisville concept from the beginning, except the "traditional" forms of jazz, was based on the fusion of this stream with the ethnic traditions of various parts of the world, particulary the Balkans.

English magazine "New Europe" wrote about Nisville and the most famous jazz magazine in the world, American "Downbeat", in its extensive view of the festival, placed out Nisville as the best way bouth to promote jazz as a line formed in America, traditional Balkan music and the combination of these two styles, which contributed to the presentation of Balkan music as a new world musical phenomenon. 

Billy Cobham - Nisville

Here are some performers who have appeared over the years: Billy Cobham, Roy Hargrove, Tom Harrell, Benny Golson, Solomon Burke, Stanley Jordan, Candy Dulfer, Miroslav Vitous, dr Donald Byrd, Mingus Dynasty, Grace Kelly, Joe "Defunkt" Bowie, Incognito, The Brand New Heavies, Teodosi Spasov, Yildiz Ibrahimova, Dusko Gojkovic, Jamie Davis, Saban Bajramovic, Esma Redzepova…

Attracting some 100,000 visitors each year, the festival has managed to secure everyone from the saxophonist Grace Kelly to legendary soul star Solomon Burke in the past, as it fills two full programmes of music inside the fort on the Earth and Sky stages. Its third arena, the River stage, takes things beyond the walls with musicians playing in an intimate amphitheatre down by the Nis wharf

History 

The jazz festival tradition in Niš, initiated in 1981, and terminated in 1991, was renewed at the end of 1994 thanks to the producer and economist who specializes in cultural management, Ivan Blagojević, theatre director by vocation. The first manifestation, entitled “International Nišville Jazz Festival” was held in January 1995. From the very beginning, in addition to the “more traditional” forms of jazz, the concept of the festival has primarily been founded on the fusion of this genre with ethnic traditions of various parts of the world, especially the Balkans, and the venue, with the exception of two editions, (owing to space rental issues) was the large hall of “Klub Vojske” (Army Club), with the capacity of 800 seats.

Ever since the start, the Festival has established cooperation with cultural centers and embassies of the United States of America, the Netherlands, France, Norway, Germany, whose musicians have significantly participated at this manifestation and the names of the participants increasingly became greater: Reggie Workmen, Jimmy Cobb, Philip Catherine, Aria Hendricks, Miles Griffith, Denise Jannah, Bemshie Shearer etc.

Based on the ideas of Ivan Blagojević, Nišville has frequently had programs involving different musicians (who had often not been acquainted with one another by that time) forming the same bands, including the performance by Šaban Bajramović with jazz musicians from Serbia, Bulgaria and Germany, followed by the “ad hoc” ensemble whose main lineup was made up of musicians from the “triangle” of Serbia – Bulgaria – Macedonia: Vasil Hadžimanov, Teodosi Spasov and Toni Kitanovski (band which continued working after Nišville), and a special exclusive involved the only joint performance by the Queen and King of Romani music – Esma Redžepova and Šaban Bajramović.

Esma Redzepova and Saban Bajramovic

5. KUSTENDORF FILM AND MUSIC FESTIVAL

Kustendorf is a unique festival, without red carpet, billboards and advertisements, fully devoted to film, music, friendships and exchange of creative ideas and energy.

Kustendorf Film Festival is an annual event held in the village of Drvengrad (also known as Kustendorf) in the Mokra Gora region of Serbia. Kustendorf  village that Emir Kusturica (Film director) has built where the shooting of "Life is a miracle" took place, south west from Belgrade, in Serbia, close to Mokra Gora, not far from the Bosnian border.

Drvengrad, the town made of wood, is the center of all festival happenings. Like any other town, Drvengrad has a central square with the church of St. Sava, a library, an art gallery, a market, a kindergarten, a “prison”, a swimming pool, a sauna, a hair salon, a pastry shop, a grocery shop, a sports area, cinemas, restaurants and many other facilities that make the visit to the Festival an unforgettable experience.

Küstendorf International Film and Music Festival host famed directors, actors, and musicians, as well as numerous young film directors and students of film schools from around the world and other eminent guests from the world of film.

The Kustendorf International Film and Music Festival was founded in 2008 with the idea to bring together the icons of contemporary author’s cinema and young, future filmmakers. The official competition shows student films from all over the world, and the winner receives a “golden egg”.  The festival takes place every year in January in Drvengrad in Mokra Gora, organized by “Rasta International” and under the patronage of the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Serbia.

Film programme:

The film programme at Kustendorf Festival is screened in several theatres. The Competition Programme and the Contemporary Trends Programme is screened at the biggest, Damned Yard theatre. Other films are shown in the Noam Chomsky amphitheater. After the projections of films,  workshops are held by renowned film authors.

Music programme:

Every night at midnight, after the screenings and workshops, various music stars perform on stage.

This year the Ninth Kustendorf film festival was organized from 22 to 26 January, 2016.  

Competition programme:  

As part of the main programme of the festival, 17 films by young directors from Bulgaria, China, Croatia, Hungary, Iceland, Iran, Mexico, Palestine, Russia, Serbia and Spain will compete for the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Eggs. The films in this year’s selection characterize everlasting themes and the diversity of movies and artistic approaches.

Emir Kusturica - Film director, organizer of "Kustendorf"

Awards:

The Special Jury Award was presented to Masa Sarovic for her film "Grad".

The Bronze Egg was presented to Maria Guskova’s "Return of Erkin", a movie with “excellent composition, powerful images, great expressive silence, and deep attention in society and forgiveness.

The jury awarded the Silver Egg to Basil Khalil. His movie, "Ave Maria", was given the second place award for “cinematic high standards, liberating humor, power of the script, and the way it transcends belief systems.”

The first place Golden Egg was awarded to David Borbas for "Wartburg". Upon presenting the award the jury emphasized his, “fresh new ideas, humor and depth, stylish chic, and social research.” Borbas was accompanied by two of his crewmembers, who were clearly moved by the accolade.

Winners of the Ninth Kustendorf Film Festival

6. TOUR DE SERBIE - INTERNATIONAL CYCLING RACE

Tour de Serbie - International cycling race is an event with the longest tradition in our country. It dates back to 1939, since 2005 it has been ranked 2.2 on the UCI Europe Tour. The race takes place under a slogan “Cycling and tourism together”. The goal of the race, is also the affirmation of Serbian tourism, its natural beauty, cultural heritage, and hospitality of Serbian people.

International cycling race through Serbia is a sports organization registered with the Ministry of Education and Sport of the Republic of Serbia .

History

The first race was started on May 22, 1939, in front of Hotel Moskva in Belgrade and lasted six days. The total length of the race was 1010 km . The sponsor of the first race and a race in 1940, was Peter II Karadjordjevic. It is interesting that the first cup was made ​​of pure gold. Race 1941 did not start due to the onset of World War 2 in Yugoslavia. The first post-war race was held in 1963 and since then is maintained without interruption.

Race is so far gone through more than 60 towns in Serbia and several cities in Macedonia, Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Since the introduction of the European tour by the International Cycling Union in the season of 2005, this race has been included as part of EUROPETOUR and classified as a category 2.2 race.

First stage - Pozarevac

In 2014, tour was being held from the 17th to the 22nd of June on the route 850 km long, divided into 6 stages from Pozarevac, over Krusevac, Priboj, Pale (BiH), Ruma to Belgrade, where the finish line was being in front of Unknown hero monument on Avala mountain.

Second stage - Roma

There were three main stages housed in Serbia with separated road routes organized in three days. First route took 123,2 km distance from Pozarevac to Pozarevac. Second, 223, 9km from Pozarevac to Roma, and last took 81, 9km distance from Roma to Belgrade.

Third stage - route to Belgrade

People from different European countries take parts in this event, so this is right reason for calling it inetrnational cycling race.

This year Tour de Serbie will take place from wednesday 15 June 2016 till sunday 19 June 2016.