Ultra Europe celebrated after 3 years of absence its eighth edition in Park Mladeži with more than 160.000 attendees from 141 different countries.
Ultra Worldwide continues to unlock all of its events around the world. After Ultra Miami, the brand traveled to Croatia, more specifically Split, for one of its star events. Ultra Europe celebrated its 8th edition with the announcement of several of the most established artists on the international scene: Martin Garrix, Alesso or Hardwell's surprise confirmation with their 'Rebels Never Die' tour.
This edition couldn't have started better, since once the mainstage was leaked, reviews were entirely positive. Many people spoke as one of the best stages of Ultra, above Miami. It's not for less, since the central part gave a sensation of depth (It remembered the stage from Ultra Miami 2018) and all their screens were together, further perfecting the visuals.
We arrived on the first day of Ultra Europe for the opening and thus tour the entire venue. Park Mladezi has its advantages, as it has a easy accessibility for those arriving from other cities as the station is just 5 minutes away. As we talked about before, the biggest surprise was the mainstage. It could hardly be improved more, although the wind played against the first day and didn't allow us to enjoy it as much.
Just like in Ultra Miami, Frank Walker was in charge of opening, followed by Sam Feldt and Sofi Tukker. Attendees were arriving at the festival, surprising us that many of them were from Spain. Variety of genres on this first day with Vini Vici, Afrojack, Marshmello and finally Armin van Buuren, who extended his set to 2 hours. Armin moved between genres on this set, both mainstream, like trance, like techno, influenced by his new partnership with Reinier Zonneveld.
We started the second day with the sisters Krewella. We attended their set at Ultra Miami and again in Croatia. On a visual level, Ultra is perfect for them. They've specially worked on their sets for this type of stages and it's one more positive point for their set. They played over 50 tracks, including quite a few of their classics and that 'Lay It Down' so powerful track with SLANDER and Illenium. Highlight from this day to Alesso, who pleasantly surprised us. Several nods to the past, his next collab with Sick Individuals and a new ID. Timmy Trumpet, as in recent months, has oriented his sets a little more towards hardstyle, even hardcore. A delight for those of us who are lovers of the genre.
All eyes were on the last day. Martin Garrix and Hardwell monopolized all the lights and isn't for less. Also highlight Above & Beyond like the calm before the storm. Quality music, that you don't want to dance more than listen and enjoy. Hardwell was performing for the third time (second on Ultra) for his tour 'Rebels Never Die' and Martin Garrix, is already known from his Ultra sets. He reminded us a lot of those sets from the Amsterdam Dance Event, since they have been longer than in other festivals. He included many more classics than he usually plays, in addition to some of his tracks from Sentio, his recent album. Also, one of the IDs from his set, possibly to be released soon.
Finally, the most expected set of the day. Hardwell closed the festival and personally, he improved his set compared to the one he played at Ultra Miami. He introduced several of his new IDs as 'Twisted' with Will Sparks and 'Revolution' with Maddix and Timmy Trumpet. Special mention for 'Judgement Day', his new track with Sub Zero Project. We missed Hardwell not playing hardstyle at Ultra Miami, since he loves this genre. Finally, he not only played one, but 3 tracks. He heated with 'Power' vs 'Patience' (Mashup), followed by this collab and finally with the D-Block & S-te-Fan edit 'Godd is a DJ'.
As a personal opinion, proud to have attended a new edition of Ultra. After attending in Miami and Tokyo, we can finally say that we're 'Ultranauts' in Split. If after reading this chronicle, you want to attend the next edition, Ultra Europe has already announced the dates it will be held. Keeping the same place, its 9th edition will be held on July 7, 8 and 9. Soon we will add a guide on how to attend from Spain, so stay tuned for future updates. You can buy your tickets here.
