Huge festival in Graz: Usi festival after four years at the start!

Huge festival in Graz: Usi festival after four years at the start!

Next Friday, June 9, 2025, the 38th USI festival will take place in Graz on the Rosenhain University Sports site. After a four -year break due to the pandemic and construction work in the area, the largest student festival in Europe is starting again. . Kleine Zeitung reports that this event with over 20,000 expected visitors not only is a return to celebrate, but also a way for students to finally meet and exchange ideas.

Behind the USI festival is Hannes Schalk, who has organized the festival since 1998. He made a name for himself in the almost three decades as managing director of Uni-Events GmbH. "The attraction of the festival is that it is a place of encounter for our students," says Schalk and is optimistic about the return of the event.

a well -oiled team

With a core team of five people and over 300 volunteers, the organization is a huge challenge. The festival is planned for months and also includes around 15 university -related festivals per year. Hannes Schalk and his team have always enthusiastically faced the challenge and bring in an abundance of experiences.

The organizers pay particular attention to the safety of the participants. For this purpose, two different security systems were set up. While the outdoor protection is supervised by a team that is also used in Formula 1 in Spielberg, another team takes over the interior fuse in the Liebenau stadium. According to My District , security has gained in importance in recent years, which is also underlined by a specially developed sound system to control the sound waves.

The festival in numbers

Another important aspect is the financing of the USI festival. Since Uni-Events GmbH acts independently, sponsors must be used to secure the necessary funds. There are no subsidies, which increases the pressure to achieve a positive result.

quality and sustainability in focus

Hannes Schalk has experienced many ups and downs in the course of his career. Despite the growing success of the festival, the maximum size of which has now been reached, the focus is on improving quality and sustainability. This includes, among other things, deposit systems that should make a contribution to the environmentally friendly design of the festival. My district emphasizes that in addition to the musical performances on five stages, dealing with resources is also a central concern.

The USI festival remains not only a place of celebration, but also responsibility. The students can look forward to a great event and at the same time make their contribution to sustainability. Hannes Schalk will coordinate the security chains during the festival and do not celebrate himself, because his commitment to the students comes first.