Ultra Europe Brings the Best DJs in the World to Split

This year, around 150 performers of the so-called big room sound, trance, and techno will play music on five stages, including some of the currently strongest names in the world of DJs – Above & Beyond, Adam Beyer, Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Dash Berlin, David Guetta, Hardwell, and others.

The largest electronic music festival in Europe, Ultra Europe, will be held for the fourth time this year in Split, Hvar, Brač, and Vis from July 14 to 20, gathering around 150 foreign performers and more than 150,000 visitors from around the world, the organizers announced on Tuesday in Zagreb.

At the presentation of the news for this year’s Ultra Europe in Zagreb’s Arena, representatives of the Split-Dalmatia County and the City of Split appeared, led by County Prefect Zlatko Ževrnja and Mayor Ivo Baldasar, who previously discussed with Minister of Tourism Anton Kliman about the support of state institutions for this festival, to ensure its continued presence in Croatia in the coming years.

– Ultra Europe is the spiritus movens that has energized the entire city and its surroundings. We want it to stay with us, and we are negotiating with the owners, said Baldasar.

Assistant Minister of Tourism Olivera Shejbal stated that the Ministry will do everything possible to keep the festival in Croatia, as it is a global event of great promotional value.

– Besides being able to announce the performers and program of this year’s Ultra already, according to the contract, the festival should also be in Split next year, as negotiations with the owners – the Ultra World Wide organization – are ongoing, but everything will depend on the support of local and state institutions, emphasized Ultra director Nikola Bušljeta.

He added that one of the partners of Ultra World Wide, the Ultra Europe festival, is predominantly owned by Croats, which he believes is one of the main reasons why Ultra Europe remains on the Croatian coast.

– It is not easy to keep Ultra in Croatia every year, as its growth brings an increasing number of offers from countries that want to take it over, Bušljeta stated.

Noting that Ultra is more than just a festival, as it has earned the nickname ‘Destination!’ due to the beauty of Croatian locations, Ultra Europe communications director Luka Jureško emphasized the festival’s contribution to Croatian, Dalmatian, and Split tourism, as it will again gather numerous visitors, more than 150,000 from over 140 countries.

– Due to such numbers and spending of around 300 million kuna during Ultra Europe, almost everyone in Europe wants to host this project, and besides Croatia, Ultra festivals are held in more than ten locations: in Tokyo, Miami, Singapore, Rio, and elsewhere, Jureško emphasized.

Production worth 3 million euros

The organizers highlighted that the value of the festival’s production is around 3 million euros, and that the Split-Dalmatia County achieves a significant increase in foreign tourist arrivals and revenue every year due to it. Alongside the festival, a regatta is organized with more than 600 sailing boats participating, while more than 40 private jets land at Split Airport. Jureško also provided data that last year, Ultra was followed by more than 900 accredited journalists, while the value of PR publications is estimated at over 20 million euros.

The festival is supported by numerous institutions, including the City of Split, Split-Dalmatia County, and their tourist boards, as well as the Croatian National Tourist Board, which allocated a total of 1.5 million kuna for this festival in 2014 and 2015, of which 900,000 kuna was allocated last year.

‘Line up’ 2016 with more than 150 performers

In everything, the most important is certainly the music that will be played this year on five stages by around 150 performers of the so-called big room sound, trance, and techno, including some of the currently strongest names in the world of DJs: Above & Beyond, Adam Beyer, Afrojack, Alesso, Armin van Buuren, Carl Cox, Dash Berlin, David Guetta, Hardwell, and others.

On Tuesday, the film “Ultra World Aftermovie” was premiered for Europe, which has been viewed more than a million times in the two months since its release and showcases events around the Ultra festival worldwide, with more than half of the film dedicated to the festival’s host destinations, among which Croatia, Split, and the islands hold a special place.