Summer's coming - and it's bringing its usual endless supply of events, festivals and sporting occasions! So that means it's time to route out your rarely used wellies, test your tent still stands by itself and check the best line-ups for the biggest parties of the year! We've rounded up some of the biggest music festivals from around the globe and put them all in one place, so all you've to do is pick where's best for you!

February

Big Day Out, Australia and New Zealand

Mid January - Early February

The Big Day Out isn't just one festival, but several held all over Australia and New Zealand in all the major cities, Sydney, Perth, Melbourne, Adelaide, The Gold Coast and Auckland! Each location features seven or eight stages catering to a whole host of musical tastes and with everything you need provided all you've to worry about is your sunscreen!

Hostels in Australia | Hostels in New Zealand

June

Glastonbury Festival, England

Three days, last weekend of June

Glastonbury is one of the worlds most famous festivals and is also the largest festivals of its kind in the world. It's not all about music either with a huge array of entertainment on offer from dance to comedy gigs. The location, in the south west of England, is exactly the kind of place you can imagine the festivals hippy owners feeling at home in. One thing though; bring your wellies!

Hostels in Bristol

Sonar, Spain

Three Days, 18 - 20 June

There's no denying that a music festival in the rain can be a bit of a pain, trudging around in mud and coming back to a leaking tent with only wet clothes to wear isn't anyone's idea of fun. So why not bring the fun indoors? Sonar Festival is split into two parts, Sonar by Day and Sonar by Night. By day you'll be in the Centre and Museum of Contemporary Arts while by night the action moves away from the city centre and the party keeps on going!

Hostels in Barcelona

Provinssirock Festival, Finland

Three Days, 12 - 14 June

The Finns love their rock music and Provinssirock is the countries biggest rock music festival and traditionally kicks off the whole Summer festival season. Big names are guaranteed with past performers being Foo Fighters, David Bowie, The Prodigy and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Hostels in Finland

July

Roskilde Festival, Denmark

Four days, starting from first Thursday in July

One of the big 4 music festivals in Europe (the others being Sziget, Rock Werchter and Glastonbury) the Roskilde Festival annually attracts crowds of over 100,000 a day to a big field south of Roskilde, Denmark. The campsites usually open on the Sunday, four days before the event kicks off, so as to let everyone bed down and find their bearings. Although these bearings may be lost during the 4 days of gigging!

Hostels in Denmark

Oxegen Festival, Ireland

Four Days, around the 10 - 12 July

Irelands answer, some say, to Glastonbury and T in the Park is Oxegen, a 4 day event that takes place on and around Punchestown Racecourse in Kildare, Ireland. The lineup each year is usually quite similar to the above mentioned festivals and with eight stages, covering all types of music, and a funfair there's something for everyone!

Hostels in Dublin

T in the Park, Scotland

Three Days, around the 10 - 12 July

T in the Park is Scotlands major music event featuring over 120 acts playing to 85,000 revelers outside the small town of Kinross between Perth and Dunfermline. The festival takes place on the same dates as Oxygen in Ireland and usually features similar acts as well!

Hostels in Edinburgh

Benicassim Festival, Spain

Four Days, around the July 16 - 19 July

Benicassim is a small beach town located between Valencia and Barcelona on the Costa De Azahar. While most festivals carry the danger of flash floods and unwanted mud baths, Benicassim takes the best of bits of most festivals and sticks them beside a beach in sunny Spain. What could be better?

Hostels in Barcelona

Hultsfred Festival, Sweden

Four Days, 8 - 11 July

One of Sweden's largest and most successful festivals has been running since 1986 and has attracted some pretty big names along the way. Radiohead, Bjork, Blur, Black Sabbath and Oasis have all played the Hultsfred Festival in the past to crowds of around 30,000. The small town of Hultsfred is the location and the festival is certainly the highlight of the local calendar!

Hostels in Sweden

Rock Werchter, Belgium

Four Days, 2 - 5 July

Belgiums biggest, baddest (in a good way) and loudest festival now spans four days and boasts over 60 international acts on two stages. For the 80,000 folk lucky enough to be in attendance at Rock Werchter there's nearly always sun beating down and you're sure to find something to suit your taste at a festival Belgians believe to be the best in the world!

Hostels in Belgium

August

Sziget Festival, Budapest

Seven days, usually starting on the first week of August

Sziget stands for island and an island is exactly where you'll be for this week long super festival which is fast becoming one of the biggest in the world. Set on the Danubes Óbudai-sziget, a tree filled island in Budapest, Hungary this festival requires serious stamina to last the entire 7 days. Are you up to it?

Hostels in Budapest

Pukkelpop, Belgium

Three Days, 20 to 22 August 2009

One of Belgiums largest festivals, Pukkelpop is an extremely well run event with eight stages and plenty of room for the 150,000 attendees. One word of warning though, the main stage is separated from the campsite by a pretty busy road; so if you've had a few drinks make sure to look both ways!

Hostels in Belgium

Lollapalooza, USA

Three Days, 7 - 9 August

Lollapalooza has been having something of a rebirth in recent years after suffering some dark years at the end of the nineties. Since it's rebirth as a three day, weekend long, standalone festival the crowds have started to flock back and the big acts starting to roll in. This festival became famous for unearthing the best in alternative music talent when it first started and that tradition continues with many unknown bands, dance acts and comedians sharing the stage with some of the worlds biggest acts.

Hostels in Chicago

The Burning Man, Nevada, USA

Eight Days, Starts the last Monday in August

The Burning Man is an annual event held, lasting 8 days in the Black Rock Desert, in Northern Nevada. It gets its unique name from the ritual burning of a large wooden effigy on Saturday evening. It started out as friends burnt a wooden man on the summer solstice in 1986 and has since turned into arguably the world's most unique festival. Those who wish to attend need to have an open mind and be ready to experience anything from music, artwork, spiritual exploration, street theatre and self expression in the most bizarre forms.

Hostels in Nevada

Street Scene, San Diego, USA

Two Days, 28 - 29 August

This street festival is celebrating its 25th year in Downtown San Diego with a hip and intriguing lineup that's sure to satisfy any music lover! Street Scene dates back to the early eighties and has always attracted the biggest names in rock, hip hop, and all other genres of music to the city. This year's event will be held in San Diego's East Village neighborhood. The venue site will include Tailgate Park, which is located adjacent to Petco Park, and will incorporate 14th Street as the main thoroughfare.

Hostels in San Diego

September

Electric Picnic, Ireland

Three Days, 4 - 6 September

Electric Picnic is, wait for it, a boutique arts and music festival. Don't let that fool you though, this festival is extremely popular in Ireland and caters to a slightly older crowd who enjoy the extra comfort compared to the madness of Irelands biggest festival, Oxygen. The picnic has won international acclaim as one of the best festivals in the world and each year it just gets better!

Hostels in Ireland

Electric Zoo, NYC, USA

2 Days, 5 - 6 September

Wondering what to do over Labor Day weekend? Living in or going to be in New York at the beginning September? Well, if the answer to either one is yes then get your skates on and pop over to Randall's Island Park to celebrate 2 days of fun filled music. Starting at noon until late, Electric Zoo is a popular open-air electronic music festival located a short distance from Manhattan. In addition to the 4 stages there will be outdoor tents where the entertainment will be provided by over 50 artists. If dance is your thing get a move on to Electric Zoo!

Hostels in New York

October

Austin City Limits Music Festival, Texas, USA

Three Days, 2 - 4 October

Come the start of October there is only one place to be for music lovers. That place is Zilker Park in Austin, Texas which plays host to the annual Austin City Limits Music Festival. This award winning concert series is currently in its 35th season and year 2009 is surely one not to be missed. ACL Music Festival is a three-day music bonanza taking place over eight stages event with up 130 bands playing. It is one of the biggest and best collections of musical talent and diversity in the world while it embraces a wide range of musical styles, the primary focus is rock. So come on down to Austin this October, you won't be disappointed!

Hostels in Austin

By: Eóin White

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