Belgrade Beer Fest. Photo: Belgrade Beer Fest

Belgrade Beer Fest, which opens on Wednesday evening at USCE Park in New Belgrade, offers visitors the chance to try a wide range of beers while watching live shows by a series of bands, with no entrance fee.

More than half a million people are expected over five days at what is one of the largest beer events in south-east Europe, according to the organisers.

This year’s festival will present 50 different domestic and international beer brands, as well as showcasing the latest trends in the production of craft beer in its Craft Land zone.

Bands appearing on stage include Stereo MCs, Goblini, Atheist Rap, Van Gogh, Kiril Djaikovski, Asian Dub Foundation, S.A.R.S, Del Arno Band, and many others.

“For 14 years in a row, we have made a significant contribution to the development of event tourism in Serbia,” one of the founders of the festival, Dejan Grastic, says on its official website.

“Due to the fantastic atmosphere at our festival, both performers and tourists carry a universal message – Serbia is a hospitable country, and people are eager to socialise and interact with the world,” he adds.

Belgrade Beer Fest was founded in 2003, and according to its website, more than seven million visitors have had the chance so far to see more than 600 musical performances and taste more than 330 beer brands.

The organisers say they are also proud of its “don’t drink and drive” campaigns and awareness-raising about recycling.

Visitors will be provided with free transport from the city to the festival, as well from the event to four key points in Belgrade. There will also be organised transportation from the Serbian cities of Novi Sad, Nis, and Kragujevac.

Revellers will also be able to recycle beverage cans at several points inside the festival.

To mark the 15th birthday of the Belgrade Beer Fest, the organisers are placing a two-metre-high installation in the form of 3D letters which will be filled with empty cans every day.

The Belgrade Beer Fest has received numerous awards, such as the Serbian Chamber of Commerce’s Best of Serbia award in 2014.

It was also praised by US marketing and PR expert Dennis Wilcox in his book ‘Public Relations Strategies & Tactics’.

“Big festivals like the Guca brass festival, EXIT festival, Nisville jazz festival and Belgrade Beer Fest are creating images that people nowadays associate your country with. They contribute greatly to the fast improving image of Serbia in the world,” Wilcox told the Serbia.com website in 2012.