Montenegro is well-known for having some of Europe's most beautiful scenery, beaches, and coastal villages. Still, it also has a thriving cultural scene and a jam-packed festival schedule throughout the summer. Tourists to the country are increasingly planning their travels around these events, which allow them to see incredible music, culture, and art in unique and magnificent surroundings.
If you plan a trip to Montenegro this summer, keep reading to learn about the top ten Montenegrin summer festivals.
The Mimosa Festival, held in the picturesque coastal city of Herceg Novi each March, heralds the beginning of spring (we know it is not in summer, but we thought we'd include it anyway) after the gloomy days of winter. The celebration, named for the yellow Mimosa flower, one of the first to blossom in spring, attracts hundreds of locals and tourists yearly.
Volunteers pick over 10,000 mimosa flowers and arrange them in bouquets before distributing them throughout the city in preparation for the festival. During the celebration, a parade marches through the town streets, with musicians and dancers adding to the festivities while vendors set up tents and dish out free fried fish, wine, and mimosa flowers.
Following the procession, people gather in the town square to dance to live music while children participate in various family-friendly activities. Ultimately, a massive papier-mache building representing the year's misfortunes is ceremonially destroyed on the town marina to represent new hope.
Every June, three days of pop, rock, and techno music from the Balkans and worldwide descend on a massive stadium in the Montenegrin capital of Podgorica.
City Groove has been a cornerstone of the European festival circuit for many years, known for its superstar bookings and passionate crowd. Moreover, unlike many festivals of this size, it takes pleasure in being a green event that increases awareness of environmental issues among visitors.
Southern Soul is an annual three-day jazz, funk, disco, and soul festival on the wonderfully gorgeous, sun-kissed Ulcinj Copacabana Beach.
Southern Soul's line-up usually comprises over 40 musicians that perform for more than 70 hours across the festival's three stages, attracting thousands of visitors from Montenegro and beyond Europe. It is held on a section of the beach known for kitesurfing, allowing attendees to spend their days enjoying watersports before partying the night away.
The festival takes pleasure in being an event with a conscience committed to environmental responsibility. The organisers help limit the event's environmental impact by prohibiting the use of plastic bags, restricting the distribution of pamphlets, and creating awareness about decreasing festival-goers' carbon footprint through public transportation.
Kolasin, Montenegro's biggest mountain resort, is about 1,000 metres above sea level and hosts the popular yearly festival Udahni Kolasin.
Udahni Kolasin is a music, art, cultural, and dance lover's paradise, with bands playing everything from jazz to rock to pop to house funk and everything in between. Visitors can also tour Kolasin's historical attractions and use the town as a base for exploring Biogradska Gora National Park or other regions of the Bjelasica Mountains among the festivities.
A list of Montenegrin festivals would only be complete with Fascinada, the country's oldest celebration, stretching back over 500 years. The festival is held at Perast, a historic town on the Bay of Kotor, and honours Our Lady of the Rocks, a church located on a man-made island just off the coast.
Every year, as the sun sets on July 22nd, a convoy of beautifully painted fishing boats makes its way along the coast and out to the island, joined by local acapella singers. When they get to the island, boulders are thrown into the sea to symbolise the island's resistance to the ocean's might. The entire event is a beautiful and distinctively Montenegrin experience!
Sea Dancing is an annual three-day celebration on Budva's gorgeous Buljarica beach and attracts over 80,000 people worldwide. It is the younger sister of Serbia's viral EXIT Novi Sad festival.
Sea Dance has featured megastars such as The Prodigy, Jamiroquai, Underworld, Rudimental, Róisn Murphy, Skrillex, Hurts, Lost Frequencies, John Newman, Sean Paul, and Fatboy Slim, and this year includes a typically fantastic line-up of over 100 of the hottest international music stars.
The gorgeous Montenegrin white, turquoise, and green coastline, surrounded by picturesque mountains, provides the ideal setting for Sea Dance's assortment of world-class performers.
Bokeljska Noc, often known as Boka night, is Kotor's most popular summer festival. Visitors and locals go to the harbour to enjoy all-night festivities and stunning fireworks and witness lavishly decorated boats and floats fighting for the top prize.
The evening starts with the boats sailing down the waterfront of Kotor. The festivities continue with a massive free open-air concert in the old town, with thousands of people partying until the sun rises.
The Montenegro Film Festival has been running for almost three decades and presents an international programme of some of the world's best and most cutting-edge films and documentaries.
Together with the films on display, the festival's gorgeous setting is the show's star. It takes place in the historical setting of Herceg Novi's old town. The main theatre is an ancient castle called the Bloody Tower, which overlooks the Bay of Kotor, with several smaller unique outdoor theatres throughout the town.
Every summer, Montenegro's most popular rock music festival is hosted in Lake Krupac in Niksic, attracting over 20,000 music aficionados over three nights. The festival's line-up frequently emphasises local acts and includes several old Yugoslav stalwarts, giving it a nostalgic air.
The setting for the festival is the forest that flanks the lake's coast, and the main stage hidden amid the trees lends it a distinct natural charm. Festival attendees can camp for free in the forest, and organisers ensure the event is environmentally beneficial by organising trash collecting programmes and eco-workshops.
Bedem Fest is a well-known summer festival in Montenegro that focuses on alternative rock music. It occurs in Niksic's Old Town, in the Ottoman-era stronghold called Bedem.
The event's site within the mediaeval walls of the Old Town lends it a distinct charm, and festival-goers can pitch a tent and camp at the foot of the fortress. Bedem's jam-packed musical line-up and diverse and great cuisine selections draw guests from all over the world.
