June marks the start of the peak festival season in Europe: with 660 festivals on the calendar, the month sees the first major outdoor stages come alive after spring. Long summer evenings begin to provide the perfect setting for open-air musical experiences, blending artistic discovery with collective fervour.
The month is dominated by a handful of giants: Hellfest stands as the unmissable destination for rock and metal with 204 artists in the Vendée, Primavera A La Ciutat brings together 171 artists on Barcelona's Parc del Fòrum, and Primavera Sound Porto gathers 167 artists in Portugal. Hive Festival in Germany rounds out the picture with 149 artists. The dominant genres are Rock (293 festivals), Pop (287 festivals) and Electro (233 festivals).
Geographically, France and the United States co-lead with 128 festivals each, followed by Germany (82), the United Kingdom (54) and Spain (38). Southern Europe comes into its own, with the Iberian scene taking centre stage in June.