Music festival Exit in Novi Sad it could soon become history - at least in Serbia, writes a German newspaper. "The Serbian state is taking measures against that great event since its leadership took a stand against the increasingly autocratic rule of President Aleksandar Vučić. And the situation is similar for publishers, theaters and other cultural institutions, which, according to those in power, represent the wrong political line," he reminds Deutsche says.
"The case of the Exit festival is, however, the most famous - and it could probably be the most financially significant," says the text signed by journalist Michael Martens. He explains that more than sixty percent of festival visitors come from abroad. "This means that a lot of money flows into the coffers of the second largest city in Serbia."
According to the author, the loss of reputation for Serbia could be greater than the economic damage. The article reminds us that the festival, where hundreds of artists and bands perform every July, received numerous international awards and brought to Serbia promising outsiders as well as established names from pop, rock, punk, techno and other musical styles.
Support for protests
The year 2000, when Exit was founded, was, as the newspaper from Frankfurt writes, "the last year of the reign of the Serbian autocrat and warmonger Slobodan Milosevic, whose propaganda minister at one time was the young Vučić. A few months before Milosevic's overthrow on October 5, 2000, when there was hope that his paralyzing rule would come to an end, although it was not yet in sight, rebellious young people founded a festival whose name was programmatic." "Exit" was supposed to mark Serbia's exit from the times of war, nationalism, isolation, corruption, manipulated media reporting and economic decline."
This year's 25th festival is dedicated to those beginnings, it says. "Under the motto 'State of exit', organizers say the event aims to mark its origins as a 'student movement for democracy and freedom' in 2000. Given the months of mass protests against Vučić's rule, it is anything but a retrospective slogan."
Protests in front of the headquarters of the ruling SNS in Novi Sad on June 9, 2025. Protests in front of the headquarters of the ruling SNS in Novi Sad on June 9, 2025.
Protests in front of the headquarters of the ruling SNS in Novi Sad on June 9, 2025. Photo: Maxim Konankov/NurPhoto/picture alliance
In today's Serbia, the German newspaper writes, "the generation of children who took to the streets against Milosevic a quarter of a century ago are now rebelling against Vučić. He has completely undermined democracy in the country, which functioned quite well before he came to power more than a decade ago."
The pattern is clear.
Solidarity with the students comes at a price: the state withdrew its support for the festival. The article reports a warning from the Exit team: It is entirely possible "that the festival will be moved to another country starting next year due to this undemocratic pressure."
But, as the author states, the example of the festival in Novi Sad is just one of many. He points to the example of the publishing house "Akademska knjiga" from Novi Sad: "The publisher supported the student protests on Facebook, and also publishes books by Serbian academics who criticize the government. The publisher Boro Babić has now received a bill for this: his requests for financing literary projects have been rejected."
"Not every reduction in funding has to be a political punitive measure (the authorities cite a lack of funds as the reason), but the pattern is clear: cultural institutions that have shown solidarity with the protests are denied state funding. They are received by actors close to the government," writes the Frankfurt paper.
"Tax money for a murderer"
At the same time, the article mentions what the state supports: the editions of Milorad Ulemek's books. "A multiple murderer who was sentenced to forty years in prison and who, as a major figure in the Serbian underground, also planned and carried out contract killings, Ulemek was the driving force behind the assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic in 2003."
Milorad Ulemek (right) was sentenced to forty years in prison Milorad Ulemek (right) was sentenced to forty years in prison
Milorad Ulemek (right) was sentenced to forty years in prison Photo: AP
"While he was in prison, he developed scribal tendencies. The distribution of his books, imbued with nationalism and pathos, with titles like 'The Iron Trench' and 'For Honor and Glory', in today's Serbia is financed by taxpayers' money. The government's library acquisition program includes nine titles of that prolific multiple murderer. This illustrates the deterioration of the political reality in Serbia," the author assesses and concludes:
"If Exit were to leave Novi Sad (probably there are many cities in Southeast Europe that would gladly offer themselves as an alternative location), it would have a historical consequence: the festival was created when the Milošević autocracy was in its final phase - and it could disappear with the Vučić autocracy."
