With the news settling on Suncebeat’s new location for 2024 being Portugal’s Costa Da Caparica, founder Alex Lowes has spoken up about the move.
Moving away from the lush backdrop of the Garden Tisno, Croatia was always going to be difficult for Alex Lowes and the team at Suncebeat. The intimate and joyous festival had found a long term home in the Dalmatian coast for fourteen years and over the years names like Prosumer, Larry Heard, Black Coffee and the mythical creature DJ Harvey have all become figureheads for the Suncebeat family who also run the evergreen Southport Weekender back in the UK.
So with the announcement that Suncebeat was moving away from Croatia and heading for pastures new, many were left to ponder the decision and luckily the team have an army of loyal followers who have greeted the message with open arms. But what was behind the move away from Tisno? Who better to ask than Suncebeat founder Alex Lowes. Here’s what he had to say:
“We’re incredibly happy that we’ve sold half the tickets already for SunceBeat New Horizons in summer 2024. The response has been overwhelming and to be honest we’ve had literally no idea how it would go down. But given we’ve not even released any artists yet, it’s genuinely heart-warming and affirming we are actually doing this and next year going to Portugal and how much people want this change from us. We believe that it’s not just a new chapter but a return to our roots in the most real sense – an intimate gathering, some topline names with lots of next generation and undiscovered talent, and the emphasis fully on a holiday and festival as one. It’s a truly beautiful environment along this remarkable golden beach as far as you can see, with the Atlantic lapping onto the shores of the Costa Da Caparica. And Lisbon, one of the world’s greatest cities, is a 15 – 20 min drive away. It’s spectacular and not really on many people’s radars and that’s exactly why we love it. We’d felt for a while the need to change and go back to basics, to channel the origins of SunceBeat through a new filter – somewhere fresh and new and with all of our familiar elements. Nick and I saw a lot of lovely locations on our search for a new home this year, but we knew this was the one when we saw it.
Making this move and leaving Croatia was not easy, in fact it was awfully hard. We’d had 14 lovely years there and been a part of the festival story there since the very early days in Petrcane. Lots of great years and amazing moments. But in parallel to this, we’d felt how tough the market has now become, especially in Croatia for festivals since the pandemic. Everyone knows how arts, music and culture have all been impacted deeply and the scene in Croatia, with so many festivals from UK promoters, has similar issues; an erosion of customer confidence, followed by a cost of living crisis and numerous other ongoing challenges. So for us, myself and Nick and the team, Croatia had become untenable for those reasons and more. Crucially, our costs had gone through the roof just as everyone else’s had too, literally everything was way more expensive for us and guests alike, so we knew it was time to change what we were doing and where we were doing it. So for us, this really is a new chapter.
So now, to set up in this truly beautiful location, is a brand-new chapter and the beginning of SunceBeat Horizons. Portugal has got a great heritage for festivals and we plan to add to that. Everything we’ve learnt over the years is going to be distilled into this new adventure. And it has it all. By day we will be taking over the stunning Praia Irmao, or as the locals say: Place Of Happiness – for our daytime parties. It’s a beach club renowned for its magical atmosphere. Then by night and all the way to dawn, we go to the Magic Yard a few miles inland, an incredible mansion-like location with its own ballroom and outside chill out area in the orange grove and pool area. This stays open until 6am. The Principe Do Tejo will host a series boat parties up the estuary of the River Tagus and under the Ponte 25 de Abril which connects the two sides of Portugal together. All of the original SunceBeat elements are there and we can’t wait to show everyone this new chapter we are embracing.”
I think we all can agree this summer is shaping up to be one hell of a summer already and fingers crossed you’ll see us under the stars in Portugal for Suncebeat 2024. Get all the info and tickets here.
SunceBeat New Horizons
Thursday 18th – Sunday 21st July 2024
Praia Irmao Estr. da Praia do Castelo, 2825-308 Costa da Caparica, Portugal
Lineup to be revealed in January 2024
Tickets from: £149 super early bird sign ups
Boat party tickets are extra
www.suncebeat.com / @suncebeat
