We start the month of August with several proposals to visit, festivals as a central element for a holiday season.
The Sziget Festival will be another year that Hungary will fall in love with, with a line-up of artists such as David Guetta and Imagine Dragons. The same goes for the new edition of Starlite Marbella. The Edinburgh International Festival is loaded with performing arts, with theatre, dance and music, just like at the Sanssouci Palace. On the other hand, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London is showing the exhibition Divas. The Long Night of Museums fills Berlin with art and culture, while the Canillo Escènic Arts envelops the streets of Andorra. Let’s take a look at the 7 art festival highlights for August!
Andorra: the great art stage
After celebrating the tenth anniversary of Cirque de Soleil throughout the month of July, the second edition of Canillo Escènic Arts returns to Andorra this summer. The performing arts festival brings together local and international artists offering a programme full of fun and innovative proposals. Throughout the first week of August, seventeen proposals are responsible for bringing art to the streets of Canillo. From light exhibitions to circus humour and dance.
The Picto Facto Company is in charge of exhibiting an artistic installation, illuminating the nights of the festival.
The light of the moon will shine under the name of Museum of the Moon. The installation by British artist Luke Jerram comes to Andorra recreating the Earth’s satellite. Seven metres in diameter with detailed images of its surface,accompanied by a sound composition by BAFTA winner Dan Jones. The Sauce Company takes its dancers skyward, dancing from on high, while the Bitonio Company takes the audience to the Buddhist legend of the three monkeys who see not, speak not and hear not.
When? 1 to 8 August 2023
Where? Canillo, Andorra
Schedule: You can get the specific schedule for each show here.
The island of freedom resides in Hungary
The Sziget Festival returns to Hungary for another August with a great line-up of renowned artists. Musical performances, as well as theatre, circus, dance, gastronomy and more. Well-known stars such as David Guetta, Imagine Dragons or Billie Eilish top the bill during the festival days. Accompanied by singers such as Irishman Niall Horan, Sam Fender or Lazza. In the non-musical programmes, four circus companies will perform every day in front of thousands of visitors. On the other hand, contemporary dance will also be represented, with performances from 12 different countries.
The 7 art festival highlights for August feature outdoor events, where music is the central element in the summer season.
The activities on offer can be enjoyed by young and old alike, and at night the light installations will enchant visitors. For example, the Portuguese artist Telmo Ribeiro presents Clouds in Garden, which, through lasers and smoke, recreates passing through coloured clouds. This year, the festival wanted to promote sustainability by reducing the carbon footprint, with 80% of the catering offering vegetarian dishes, as well as local food. On the other hand, recycling and reuse is also present, committed to recycling 50% of the festival’s waste.
When will it take place? From 10 to 15 August 2023
Where: Május 9. park, Budapest, Hungary
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The Art of Edinburgh
Scotland celebrates the 75th Edinburgh International Festival with 295 events, over 2000 local and international artists from 48 different countries. This year they want to make visitors think with the question: Where do we go from here? To ask where we are going, and how art impacts on society. To this end, the activities are separated into three themes: Community over chaos, Hope in the face of adversity and A perspective that is not our own. During the three-week festival, opera, theatre, dance and music will flood the streets of Edinburgh.
The artist Cécile McLorin Salvant arrives at the festival with two special shows
The festival highlights some of the most innovative acts. Among them, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra of Venezuela is bringing a group of young musicians aged between 19 and 25. Younger children will be able to delve into the magical library through Punchdrunk Enrichment’s The Lost Lending Library. On the other hand, the performance Ogresse arrives as a musical by Cécile McLorin Salvant. The artist will also perform at Usher Hall in a special concert that fuses jazz with blues, theatre and storytelling.
When? 4-27 August 2023
Where? Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
Opening times: Monday to Sunday 10am to 8pm
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The magnificent nights at Sanssouci Palace
The Potsdamer Schlossernacht 2023 festival welcomes visitors under the motto Magnificent! with a variety of music, live painting, illuminations, circus performers, and more. Waiting to offer two magnificent summer evenings to all those who want to enjoy Potsdamer. In front of the Sanssouci Palace four acrobatic performers from TnT Shows will be performing in a balancing act suggesting they can fly over the audience. Meanwhile, the Omnivolant group creates its own universe by flying next to the Orangerie Palace.
The Palace lights up when the sun goes down, representing a different world by day and by night. Michael Clemens
During Potsdam Palace Night, traditional Dutch handicrafts will conquer Sanssouci Park. On the market square, visitors can enjoy Dutch art, buy hand-woven baskets or traditional clogs, made of carved and decorated wood. In terms of melody, there are musicians like the Brazilian Victor Santana showing the diversity of sounds offered by the guitar. Having the melodies of the fine violin or the trumpets that accompany to create the legendary jazz.
When will the concert take place? 18 and 19 August 2023
Where: Sanssouci Palace, Maulbeeralle, Potsdam, Germany
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Berlin’s Long Night Under the Sounds
This year, the Long Night of Berlin’s museums arrives under the motto Berlin Sounds, offering visitors to pay attention to hearing while travelling through the acoustic experience. As in every edition, the city will be filled with over 700 events in more than 70 participating museums. During the tour it will be possible to listen to radio broadcasts in the German Spy Museum, or discover conversations during the Cold War.
Museums wake up when the day is ending and the night darkens the streets. Making discover all that is hidden within its walls.
On the other hand, music will make the night dance with the Exilmuseum workshop when the lights go out and it turns into a swing dance floor. For the little ones and their families, the sounds of nature will come out of their museum cages, and the voices of animals will resurface to create a magical night. Also, connecting with science, the Museum of Technology will show how air and sound are connected.
When will it happen? 26 August 2023
Time: 18.00h to 02.00h
Where: Berlin, Germany
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
Twelve years enjoying the luxury of music with Starlite Occident
The XII edition of Starlite Occident 2023 started at the end of June to stay all summer long, and this August the holidays are allied to enjoy the music festival. Artists such as Pablo López, India Martínez and Sebastián Yatra have already made a big splash with their performances, but the line-up has only just begun. Renowned artists such as David Bisbal, Carlos Rivera, Eros Ramazzotti and Luis Fonsi are scheduled to perform in Marbella. As well as other more classic artists such as Miguel Ríos, Mónica Naranjo or Zucchero.
Sebastián Yatra has been one of the first beloved artists to arrive at Starlite Occident 2023. Enamoring the audience with his voice and positive energy.
The gastronomic offer of the festival does not go unnoticed, offering a variety of restaurants for all tastes. First of all, visitors are enjoying the embers of Temazo. Vegetables, meats and fish prepared entirely by fire. On the other hand, the Japanese essence becomes Tanabata, and the most cosmopolitan sushi can be enjoyed. The restaurant Ánima offers a traditional Mexican experience , and finally, at Sandra’s, caviar and the big stars come together.
When is it? From 21 June to 2 September 2023.
Where? Calle Albinoni s/n , Marbella, Málaga, Spain
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
The great divas of the 20th and 19th century
To end the 7 art festival highlights for August, the Victoria and Albert Museum in London presents a new exhibition dedicated to the creativity and power of iconic artists who have been able to move the world through their art. The Diva exhibition presents more than 250 objects, including clothing, photographs and music by celebrities such as Elton John, Tina Turner, Cher, Marilyn Monroe and many others. More than 60 looks are on display, many of them for the first time.
From left to right: Maria Callas in La Traviata at the Royal Opera House, 1958. Sketch of Bob Mackie’s flame dress for Tina Turner 1977.
We find the fringed black dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in Some Like it Hot in 1959, or Maria Callas ‘ ensemble in the 1952 production Norma. The powerful women of the 20th century begin the exhibition by showing how they drove feminism, and the role of the press in motivating interest in them.
Cher, Elton John and Diana Ross at the Rock Awards Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, 1975
The second section of the tour travels to the present day and explores artists such as Annie Lennox, Prince and Elton John who have shown themselves to the world as they are, transcending the traditional aesthetics set for women and men. Moreover, the media, in the same way that it can lift up, can also intrude on personal lives, and it is a struggle to keep private lives intact. This space reveals the wig and tail Elton John wore to celebrate his 50th birthday. In addition, the figures of Rihanna and Whitney Houston are also present. The Barbadian artist presents five looks, four of them worn at events such as the Met Gala or the Oscars.
When is the date? From 24 June 2023 to 7 April 2024.
Where? Cromwell Road, London, Great Britain
Opening hours: Saturday to Thursday 10.00am to 5.45pm. Friday 10am to 10pm.
Tickets: You can buy your ticket here
