From a small event on the Bridge of Love to one of the most recognisable electronic music festivals in the region, Lovefest has grown alongside Vrnjačka Banja. This August, the festival begins a new chapter: for the first time, its 19th edition will unfold across two weekends, on 7–8 and 14–15 August.
Some festivals take you to major cities, abandoned industrial sites or distant coastlines. Lovefest belongs to a different category. For almost two decades, it has transformed a peaceful spa town known for its parks, mineral springs and long promenades into one of the liveliest destinations on the regional electronic music map.
In Vrnjačka Banja, that contrast feels surprisingly natural. During the day, the town keeps its familiar summer rhythm: coffee along the promenade, walks through the park, swimming pools and excursions into the surrounding countryside. In the evening, the area around Park Jezero changes beneath the lights of the festival stages. Music continues late into the night, and for several days the entire town takes on the energy of a much larger city.
This summer, that moment will last longer than ever. Lovefest 2026 will be held in a two-weekend format for the first time, with different programmes and performers appearing on 7–8 and 14–15 August.
The Festival That Began on the Bridge of Love
The story of Lovefest began in 2007, when a group of young people from Vrnjačka Banja decided that their town deserved an event of the kind they had previously seen only in major European centres.
The first edition was held on the Bridge of Love, a place whose name already contained the future identity of the festival. Without major sponsors or elaborate production, the event attracted around 1,000 people. It may have been a small party compared with the Lovefest of today, but it established the foundations of an idea that would grow into something much larger than a single summer gathering.
Over the following years, the festival changed locations, expanded its programme and began welcoming increasingly prominent artists. Since 2014, it has been held in the town park. Today, Lovefest features five stages and attracts more than 25,000 visitors per festival day. According to the organisers, more than half a million people from across Europe have attended the festival so far.
Despite its growth, Lovefest has retained the quality that made it different from the beginning: the informal atmosphere of a summer festival held in a small town. Here, world-renowned electronic artists perform not on the outskirts of a metropolis, but among the trees of one of Serbia’s most famous spa parks.
Love Unfolding: A New Chapter for Lovefest
The 19th edition is titled Love Unfolding and introduces a completely new format. Instead of taking place over a single extended weekend, the festival will be divided into two parts: 7–8 and 14–15 August.
The visual identity of this year’s edition draws on the motifs of butterflies and twins, symbolising transformation, duality and the beginning of a new era for the festival.
Although the main events will take place over two separate weekends, Vrnjačka Banja is likely to remain in the Lovefest mood throughout the week between them. Visitors can choose one weekend or combine both into a longer August stay.
The new format is about more than simply extending the festival. The two weekends have distinct musical accents, making Lovefest 2026 feel like two connected chapters of the same story.
What Kind of Festival Is Lovefest?
Lovefest is primarily an electronic music festival, with a strong focus on techno, house and their contemporary subgenres. It is not built around a single major concert or a traditional programme in which the audience remains in front of one stage all evening.
Its character emerges through movement between different spaces and sounds. One stage may host some of the biggest names on the international techno scene, while another offers house and disco sets. Smaller stages create room for harder and more experimental sounds, as well as performers from Serbia and the wider region. Part of the programme also takes place during the day, beside the pool, before the main evening events begin.
The central Fire Stage is reserved for the festival’s biggest stars. The Energy Stage offers a broader range of house and techno, while the RAW and 99 stages lean towards a more intense club sound, emerging artists and performers from the regional scene. The H2O Stage represents Lovefest’s daytime side, with an open-air pool programme taking place from noon until early evening.
Lovefest is therefore not designed only for visitors arriving to see one particular artist. Its appeal lies in the complete experience: moving between large and intimate stages, daytime and nighttime events, the collective energy of the festival crowd and the more relaxed rhythm of a summer spa town.
The First Weekend: From ARTBAT and Deborah de Luca to Richie Hawtin and Nina Kraviz
The first festival weekend, taking place on 7 and 8 August, presents several different sides of contemporary electronic music. On Friday, 7 August, the Fire Stage will welcome ARTBAT, Deborah de Luca, Anfisa Letyago, Omiki, Dejan Milićević, Gard and other artists. ARTBAT brings a large-scale melodic electronic sound created for major festival crowds, while Deborah de Luca and Anfisa Letyago are known for their energetic techno sets.
On the same evening, the Energy Stage will be led by house music legend Louie Vega and Gerd Janson, alongside Tama Sumo, Lakuti, Danilo Kas and Luton & Šćepa. It may be the best illustration of Lovefest’s musical range: from the monumental production of the main stage to sophisticated house sounds that transform another part of the park into an enormous dance floor.
Saturday, 8 August, brings two artists who have had a major influence on contemporary techno to the Fire Stage: Richie Hawtin and Nina Kraviz. Adiel, Baggi, Layzie and Gard are also part of the programme, while the Energy Stage will feature Sedef Adası, Tijana T, Hannah Holland, Cassy, Marko Milosavljević and other performers.
The first weekend therefore brings together several generations of electronic music: pioneers who helped change the history of the genre, artists who now headline some of the world’s largest festivals, and prominent figures from Serbia and the regional scene.
The Second Weekend: Jamie Jones, Joseph Capriati, Loco Dice and Pan-Pot
The second part of the festival takes place on 14 and 15 August, turning towards a somewhat different combination of techno and house. On Friday, 14 August, the Fire Stage will be led by Loco Dice, Pan-Pot, Sidney Charles and Traumer, alongside Alisha, Amedeo Picone and other performers. The Energy Stage will feature Mark Broom, Grace Dahl, Boris, Insolate and Filip Xavi.
The festival’s grand finale is scheduled for Saturday, 15 August, when Jamie Jones and Joseph Capriati will take over the main stage. They will be joined by Francesco Squillante, Marco Tropeano and Alisha. The closing night on the Energy Stage will feature Young Marco, a live performance by Octave One, Leon Vynehall and other artists.
The two weekends are therefore not conceived as repetitions of the same programme. The first combines large-scale festival techno, melodic electronic music and house classics, while the second leans more towards club-oriented house, tech house and hypnotic techno.
The complete programme is spread across five stages, meaning that the most famous names represent only the beginning of a much broader selection of Serbian, regional and international performers.
Lovefest Does Not End with the Final Set
One of the most interesting things about Lovefest is the way its rhythm spreads throughout Vrnjačka Banja. During the festival, the town fills with visitors, music can be heard from different locations, and the usual boundary between a relaxing holiday and nightlife almost disappears.
Mornings in the spa town begin more slowly at this time of year. Visitors have breakfast along the promenade, rest beneath the trees in the park or head to the swimming pools before the town starts gathering momentum again in the late afternoon. It is precisely this cycle – festival by night and spa town by day – that makes Lovefest different from events offering little more than a stage and a campsite.
The gates to the main festival grounds open at 8:30 p.m. each day, while the H2O daytime programme runs from noon until 6 p.m. The detailed performance schedule is available through the official Lovefest mobile app. Visitors can choose between daily passes, weekend tickets and a full pass covering both festival weekends.
Summer in Vrnjačka Banja Between the Two Festival Weekends
Lovefest may provide the reason to visit, but it does not have to be the only part of the journey. Vrnjačka Banja is at its liveliest in August, with busy café terraces, long evening walks and events taking place across the town centre.
A day can begin with a walk through the Central Spa Park and past the mineral springs, followed by a ride on the panoramic wheel, a swim or a few hours at one of the local spa centres. The Bridge of Love, where the festival’s story first began, is a natural stop for anyone wishing to understand the connection between Lovefest and its hometown.
For a different view of the area, visitors can head towards Mount Goč, located approximately half an hour away by car. Forest trails, viewpoints and cooler temperatures offer a welcome break from the August heat and the intensity of the festival nights. The nearby Žiča and Studenica monasteries, as well as the city of Kraljevo, make it easy to extend the visit and discover more of this part of central Serbia.
Those who remain in Vrnjačka Banja between the two weekends will have the opportunity to experience both sides of the town: as a loud, brightly illuminated festival stage and as a historic spa destination that is still best discovered during a slow walk through the park.
Over 19 years, Lovefest has grown from a local idea into a festival that brings visitors to Vrnjačka Banja from across Europe. Yet its story still begins in the same place: in a town that turned love into its symbol and transformed one small event on a bridge into four major nights of music in August.
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