Announcing the World's 300 Best Festivals for 2016
Article by: Laura Mason|@masonlazarusWed February 10, 2016 | 00:00 AM
Here it is! Fest300's 2016 List of the World's Best Festivals. From traditional stalwarts like Glastonbury and Fiesta de San Fermín, to cultural tastemakers like the Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal and the Cape Town International Jazz Festival, there's a whole new mix of worldly happenings to expand your mind and plan your year around.
This year Fest300 saw the largest participation ever in our annual Best Fest Quest , a crowdsourcing campaign every November in which we remove 30 festivals from our list and ask the international festival community to vote on new ones for the new year's list. As we hoped, the winning festivals were spread all across the globe. Our readership tends to skew towards music festivals – and particularly independent, immersive events – we definitely saw an increase of these on the 2016 List. Also, based in San Francisco with our largest following on the West Coast, we saw many festivals added from California, the Pacific Northwest, and British Columbia. But in spite of these factors, new festivals from 11 different countries still surged to the top of the Best Fest Quest and won.
Our congratulations to the 30 new festivals on our list and to winning voter of the Best Fest Quest who was announced this morning Fest300's Instagram.
What the 2016 List Says About Global Festival Trends
As we know, the global festival scene continues to change at a lightning pace – we dedicate our daily lives to tracking that evolution. So, what do the new festivals on our 2016 List say about emerging global festival trends? For one thing, independent, immersive festivals are hot right now. Events with an aspect of adventure beyond music and art programming – like Boomtown Fair in England and Dirtybird Campout in California – are leading the charge of a new wave of whimsical events that take escapism to new levels. As behemoth festival franchises continue to spread to far-flung countries and vie for larger and louder than life sensory experiences, there is an equal movement in favor of independent boutique events like Bass Coast in Canada, and Desert Hearts in California. These are festivals with their own dedicated, year-round communities and reputations for great vibes. Conscious gatherings are also in vogue, Shambala Festival in the United Kingdom is a great example of a green festival, and Lake of Stars in Malawi gives a tremendous amount back to its native community. There is a trend away from VIP experiences towards more participation, such as the mandates you'd find at Canada's Astral Harvest, Colombia's Rock al Parque, and ARISE Music Festival in Colorado. Exotic destinations have always been in vogue and this year we’ve added raving in a glacier at Iceland's Secret Solstice and the desert vibes of Oasis Festival in Morocco. While Fest300 tends to stay away from intense music-related discussions, as it can sometimes divide the tribes, we have noticed a surge in house music lately. The interest in more underground artists and curated lineups is replacing the boom in mainstream EDM that reigned supreme a few years ago.
There is clearly a proliferation of interest in festivals that encourage their attendees to become more creatively involved. This leads to better tailor-made experiences and a shift away from the one-size-fits-all festivals that turn into franchises. Older, larger festivals are spawning more boutique experiences. For example, California's Lightning In a Bottle gave birth to the house-and-techno-focused Woogie Weekend and the popular Liquid stage from Glade Festival has been reborn as Noisily Festival in the UK.
Participation, community and whimsical narratives are themes of the festival world in 2016 and innovative ways of making our events more green and sustainable are on everyone’s minds. Fest300 is delighted to see how these trends bear out this year and what our community chooses for our 2017 List on the next go-around.
The 2016 List, By Region
Congratulations to the 30 new festivals on our list, winners of our Best Fest Quest and denoted with an asterisk below.
Click here to access our full Festival Finder , where you can sort by region, date, and festival type!
Africa and The Middle East
- Afrikaburn
- Cape Town International Jazz Festival *
- Fes Festival of World Sacred Music
- FESTIMA
- Gnaoua World Music Festival
- International Festival of the Sahara
- Lake of Stars *
- Mawazine
- Oasis Festival *
- Oppikoppi Festival
- Panafest
- Rocking the Daisies *
- Splashy Fen Music Festival
- Timkat
- Wodaabe Gerewol & Cure Salee
Asia
- Ansan Valley Rock Festival
- Ati-Atihan
- BaliSpirit Festival
- Big Mountain Music Festival *
- Boryeong Mud Festival
- Chinese New Year
- Dinagyang
- Diwali
- Esala Perahera
- Fuji Rock Festival
- Gion Matsuri
- Guru Nanak Jayanti
- Hadaka Matsuri
- Hajj
- Harbin Ice & Snow Sculpture Festival
- Holi
- Jaisalmer Desert Festival
- Kanamara Matsuri
- Kumbh Mela Festival
- Lopburi Monkey Banquet
- Losar
- Maha Shivaratri
- Molten Iron Throwing
- Nadaam
- Navratri
- Obon
- Onam
- Pingxi Sky Lantern Festival
- Pushkar Camel Fair
- Rainforest World Music Festival
- Rath Yatra
- Sapporo Snow Festival
- Songkran
- Sunburn Festival
- Tet Nguyen Dan
- Thaipusam
- Thrissur Pooram Elephant Festival
- Vegetarian Festival
- Waisak
- Wakakusa Yamayaki
- Yi Peng and Loy Krathong (Lantern Festival)
Australia and Oceania
- Byron Bay Bluesfest
- Camel Cup
- Darwin Beer Can Regatta
- Galungan
- Heiva I Tahiti
- Melbourne Cup Carnival
- Mount Hagen Cultural Show
- Naghol Land Diving
- Queenstown Winter Festival
- Rainbow Serpent Festival
- Splendour in the Grass
- Splore
- Strawberry Fields *
- Stereosonic
- Sydney Gay & Lesbian Mardi Gras
- World Buskers Festival
Caribbean and Central America
- Cannabis Cup
- Crop Over
- Envision Festival
- Junkanoo Parade
- Reggae Sumfest
- Semana Santa
- St. Lucia Jazz & Arts Festival
- Trinidad and Tobago Carnival
Europe
- Amsterdam Dance Event
- Awakenings Festival *
- Battle of the Oranges
- Beltane Fire Festival
- Bestival
- Boom Festival
- BoomTown Fair *
- Brussels Light Festival
- Burning the Clocks
- Calcio Storico Fiorentino
- Cannes International Film Festival
- Carnevale di Venezia
- Colours of Ostrava *
- Concurs de Castells
- Cooper's Hill Cheese-Rolling
- Creamfields
- Donauinselfest
- Download Festival
- Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- El Colacho
- Electric Picnic
- EXIT Festival
- Festa de São João
- Festival Number 6
- Festival of Giants
- Festival of Near-Death Experiences
- Fiesta de San Fermín
- Fusion Festival
- Galway Oyster Festival
- Glastonbury
- Haro Wine Festival
- Hay Festival
- Henley Royal Regatta
- Hogmanay Celebration
- Ibiza Closing Parties
- Iceland Airwaves
- Il Palio
- Kazantip
- King's Day (Koningsdag)
- Kirkpinar Oil Wrestling Festival
- Krampusnacht Festival
- Las Fallas
- Latitude Festival
- La Tomatina
- Leeds Festival
- Les Festes de la Merce
- Lewes Bonfire
- Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival
- London Design Festival
- Manchester International Festival
- Melt!
- Mevlana Whirling Dervishes
- Montreux Jazz Festival
- Mysteryland
- Noisily Festival *
- Notting Hill Carnival
- Nowhere
- Oerol
- Oktoberfest
- Open'er Festival
- Outlook Festival
- Oyafestivalen
- Paléo
- Paris Techno Parade
- Pflasterspektakel
- Pinkpop Festival
- Positivus
- Primavera Sound
- Provinssirock
- Pukkelpop
- Regata Storica
- Rock am Ring
- Rock Werchter
- Roskilde Festival
- Rouketopolemos
- Salzburg Festival
- Scottish Highland Games
- Secret Garden Party
- Secret Solstice *
- Shambala Festival *
- Snowbombing
- Sonar Festival
- Stars of the White Nights
- Stonehenge Summer Solstice
- St. Patrick's Day
- Street Parade Zurich
- Sziget
- Tomorrowland
- Up Helly Aa
- Venice Biennale
- Viareggio Carnevale
- Wacken Open Air Festival
- Walpurgisnacht
- Way Out West
- Westman Islands Festival
- Wickerman Festival
- Wife Carrying World Championship
- Wilderness Festival
- WOMAD
- World Bodypainting Festival
- World Bog Snorkeling Championships
North America
- AFROPUNK Festival *
- Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
- ARISE Music Festival *
- Art Basel Miami
- Art Outside *
- Astral Harvest *
- Austin City Limits Festival
- Bass Coast *
- Beale Street Music Festival
- Beloved Festival *
- Beyond Wonderland
- Bonnaroo
- Bottlerock Napa Valley
- Brooklyn Hip-Hop Festival
- BUKU Music + Art Project
- Bumbershoot
- Burning Man
- Calgary Stampede
- California Roots Music and Art Festival
- Calle Ocho
- Camp Bisco *
- Cheyenne Frontier Days
- Chicago Blues Festival
- Cinco de Mayo
- Coachella
- Comic-Con International
- CRSSD Festival *
- Decibel Festival
- Desert Hearts *
- Día de los Muertos
- Dirtybird Campout *
- Electric Daisy Carnival
- Electric Forest Festival
- Electric Zoo *
- Fantasy Fest
- Festival d'été de Québec
- Festival International de Jazz de Montréal
- Firefly Music Festival
- Food & Wine Classic in Aspen
- Frozen Dead Guy Days
- Further Future *
- Gathering of the Vibes
- Gem & Jam Festival *
- Hangout Music Festival
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival
- High Sierra Music Festival
- Holy Ship!
- Imagine Music Festival
- International Folk Art Market
- Jam Cruise
- Joshua Tree Music Festival
- Just For Laughs Comedy Festival *
- La Calaca
- Life Is Beautiful
- Lightning in a Bottle
- Lollapalooza
- Lockn'
- Lucidity
- Luminato Festival *
- Mad Decent Block Party
- Mardi Gras
- Monterey Jazz Festival
- Moogfest
- Motion Notion *
- Movement Electronic Music
- National Cowboy Poetry Gathering
- National Pyrotechnic Festival
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
- Newport Folk Festival
- New York City Wine & Food Festival
- Northern Nights
- Outside Lands
- One Spark
- Oregon Country Fair
- Osheaga
- Paradiso Festival *
- Pemberton Music Festival
- Pitchfork Music Festival
- Quebec Winter Carnival
- San Francisco Pride
- Sasquatch!
- Shambhala Music Festival
- SnowGlobe Music Festival
- Sonic Bloom
- Stagecoach
- Sturgis Motorcycle Rally
- Summerfest
- Summer Camp Music Festival
- SunFest
- Sundance Film Festival
- Suwannee Hulaween *
- SXSW
- Symbiosis Gathering
- Taste of Chicago
- Telluride Film Festival
- Texas Renaissance Festival
- The BPM Festival
- The Governors Ball Music Festival
- The Village Halloween Parade
- Toronto International Film Festival *
- Tortuga Music Festival
- Treasure Island Music Festival
- Ultra Music Festival
- Voodoo Experience
- Vive Latino
- Wakarusa
- Wanderlust
- What The Festival
- Woogie Weekend *