Bludfest 2026: A BLUD-Worthy village, tears of emotion, and hands “Fuckin’” in the air

The moment Yungblud fans had been waiting for since last autumn was finally here. When he last performed in the Czech Republic in October 2025, he announced that he had decided to make the next edition of his festival, Bludfest, international, with the following year's event taking place right here. Although no further details had been revealed at the time, we already knew the singer would be returning the following year. In February, the Rock For People organizers officially announced that Bludfest would take place at Park 360 in Hradec Králové, shortly after the 31st edition of Rock For People. Exactly two weeks later, on June 27, 2026, the gates of Hradec's airport grounds opened once again to music fans, this time in a slightly smaller area.

The biggest challenge of the event was undoubtedly the weather. During Rock For People, we dealt with light rain and slippery mud, but that turned out to be much easier than the extreme heat, which caused many people to skip the festival altogether. With temperatures reaching as high as 40°C, every performer, organizer, and festival-goer deserves to be called an absolute hero. The visitor regulations were even adjusted—people were allowed (and actually encouraged) to bring their own water, umbrellas, and cooling sprays into the venue.

The first visitors began arriving at the campsite on Friday evening, with many more joining on Saturday morning. Yungblud himself was thrilled that his festival had reached another level—fans could arrive a day early, stay overnight, spend the entire next day partying from morning until night, sleep again afterward, and only head home the following day. The festival gates officially opened on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Compared to the previous festival, the site had been significantly reduced in size, creating a more intimate atmosphere. However, much of what remained had already been prepared during Rock For People. The venue consisted of three stages: the Main Stage (formerly the RFP Stage), Stage 2 inside a tent (formerly ČT Art), and the Gibson Stage (formerly the Conference Tent). The main drawback of the latter two was that they were covered by tents—but visitors entered them smiling, fans in hand, ready to enjoy their own private little inferno with each performer.

The BLUD creative village

The Ferris wheel, the festival shop, the food court, and apparently some of the vendor stalls from the previous festival remained on site. And, of course, the hangars but those had been completely transformed by the Bludfest team. Around the stages, visitors could escape the worst of the heat in dedicated chill zones such as The Chill Out or the Blud Beer Hall.

Further back was a quieter area dominated by an inflatable Yungblud figure. Various clothing brands were selling merchandise there, alongside the War Child stand, a charity supporting children affected by war. Festival-goers could donate directly to the cause. The hangars also housed several unique attractions.

The first was Make A Friend a place designed to bring people together. Visitors could simply relax, meet new people, make friendship bracelets, or even create a candle skull together with Cementum something we tried ourselves. The process involved preparing the material and pouring it into a skull-shaped mold. Since the candle needed time to dry, it would later be given to another visitor, while you took home one that had already been completed by someone else. In other words, you prepared one for the next person. There was also one of several photo booths, allowing you to leave with a physical memory of friends you came with or those you had just made.

The neighboring area housed the special exhibition Inside The Worlds of Idols. Here, fans could admire props connected with Yungblud's current Idols era. The most striking exhibit was undoubtedly the angel wings worn by actress Florence Pugh in the Zombie music video. Also on display were Yungblud's cross pendant, his Gretsch drum kit, and his leather trousers. The exhibition was complemented by numerous mostly live photographs, many of them taken by his photographer Tom Pallant.

Next to the Stage 2 tent stood another section of the Blud village. Here visitors found the Bludfest Train a specially decorated railway carriage covered with skulls where tarot cards were read. Right beside it stood a cemetery where negative traits, emotions, and struggles such as anxiety, fake friends, bad vibes, or loneliness had symbolically been buried. In essence, it carried the message: "This is not something you should feel here." Two colorful coffins and a small chapel stood nearby, where visitors could leave written affirmations in a special box. Behind the cemetery was a large tent with two separate entrances one leading to a merchandise customization area where fans could personalize items with prints, patches, and dyes, while the other led into a kind of sanctuary featuring Yungblud's books, seating areas, and another photo booth.

The music begins

Just before noon, Czech artist Pam Rabbit opened the Main Stage. Her style is quite unique, blending Czech and English lyrics with catchy melodies, melancholic themes, and heavier musical elements. Although opinions about her remain divided among some listeners, she gave everything she had and launched the festival in spectacular fashion.

Meanwhile, the Gibson Stage tent, decorated as expected with Gibson guitars, was opened by British alternative rock musician Daland (also known as the frontman of Lion Machine 23) and his backing band. Despite the early time slot and the intense heat, his performance was wild, energetic, and packed with raw intensity.

In the larger Stage 2 tent, British indie garage rock band The Velvet Hands truly ignited the atmosphere. Their set was so energetic that even if the mosh pit hadn't literally been on fire, their performance would have lit it anyway.

Musical returns

After a quick walk around the venue, we visited the Merch Hangar. Long queues remained there throughout the day, as almost everyone wanted to take home a souvenir. Several different festival T-shirt designs were available (seven or eight, if memory serves), along with a parasol bearing the festival logo a surprisingly original and, given the weather, extremely practical piece of merchandise. Afterwards, we returned to the music, mostly moving back and forth between the two larger stages.

Manchester rock band Pale Waves arrived on Stage 2. They returned to the Czech Republic quite quickly after opening for Louis Tomlinson in April. Their performance was met with enthusiastic reactions, delivering an energetic set packed with their best-known indie rock and pop-punk songs, including Television Romance.

The Main Stage was then completely taken over by American rockers Palaye Royale. They are incredibly popular in the Czech Republic and return here frequently. They genuinely love the country, often speak about it, and even filmed parts of some of their music videos in Prague years ago. Their previous Czech appearance was alongside Yungblud himself in October. As always, they stayed incredibly close to the audience especially frontman Remington Leith. And, as tradition now dictates, he once again crowd-surfed across the audience in an inflatable boat.

One year after their appearance at Rock For People, British rock band Leap returned to Park 360. Blending alternative and indie rock with touches of pop and grunge, they have built a loyal Czech fanbase. The tent was packed far beyond capacity, stretching well outside, yet nobody seemed to mind the unbearable heat. Fans and industrial blowers somehow kept everyone going.

We briefly visited the Gibson Stage once more to catch Czech representatives RUWORR!ED. Most Yungblud fans probably remember when he invited then-unknown Šimon onto the Rock For People stage to play fleabag with him, even gifting him a guitar afterward. The tent was packed, temperatures kept rising, and the energy flowed endlessly between stage and audience. Fans sang along and eagerly tried to start mosh pits. The frontman clearly proved both the band's potential and how much he has grown as a vocalist. As a tribute to Yungblud, he even played the guitar he had once received from him.

Just before Yungblud himself, Scottish rockers Biffy Clyro took over the Main Stage. Returning for the second consecutive year, once again as sub-headliners, they certainly didn't disappoint. Fans thoroughly enjoyed both the band's energy and classics such as Many of Horror and Bubbles, while also welcoming the new song A Little Love from their latest album Futique.

There was just enough time to catch one final act before the evening's climax—another Scottish rock band, Primal Scream. Although they had visited the Czech Republic on a club tour the previous year, the band has otherwise rarely performed here. That made their return especially exciting for fans gathered in the front rows. Having existed for more than forty years, the band is famous for constantly reinventing its sound, blending alternative rock with electronic, psychedelic, and dance influences.

The space in front of the Main Stage quickly filled as everyone waited for the festival's founder himself the younger, modern-day version of Ozzy Osbourne. It was also obvious that many more fans had arrived during the evening, apparently postponing their visit until the temperatures became slightly more bearable and the headliner finally took the stage.

I Love You, tears of emotion, and hands "Fuckin'" up

And then it happened. Everything went dark. The stage and giant screens lit up, displaying greetings in multiple languages—including Czech. The intro was accompanied by thunderous applause from the impatient audience. Then Dominic, better known as Yungblud, burst onto the stage. He ran in, leaped into the air, and welcomed the crowd with the opening notes of Hello Heaven, Hello. He didn't forget to shout the Czech phrase "ruce nahoru" ("hands up"), which he has clearly grown fond of, sending the crowd into raptures. With the very first chorus came an explosion of confetti, and the energy instantly spread in every direction. Even though it was already evening, the heat remained overwhelming, making his leather outfit all the more impressive. He quickly threw off his jacket and performed shirtless as he often does but by then sweat was pouring off all of us.

His set lasted nearly two hours, during which he performed around fifteen songs. Just before fleabag, countless signs suddenly appeared throughout the audience from fans hoping to join him on stage to play guitar. In the end, he invited a young boy named Alex, wearing a Nirvana T-shirt. Although Alex barely spoke English and mostly answered Dominic's questions with "I don't speak English," he performed the song brilliantly. Not only Alex, but probably everyone at Bludfest, will remember that moment with a smile for years to come.

Several times throughout the concert Yungblud climbed down from the stage to greet fans—especially the girls in the front rows. He repeatedly tried speaking Czech, most often using the phrases "ruce nahoru" ("hands up") and "miluju vás" ("I love you"). Eventually, the phrase "ruce fuckin' nahoru" became something of an inside joke among the crowd. There was also an emotional tribute to Ozzy with Changes, during which tears could be seen streaming down many faces.

Afterwards, he addressed the audience with an emotional speech. He admitted that he had recently felt disconnected, that everything had become much harder for him. But every time he looked at our faces, he knew he belonged somewhere. He said that feeling safe with us, protected from the outside world, was something he could never thank us enough for. Still, he promised that we are all one family and that he will always be there for us, just as we are for him. He himself was visibly moved, and before long the entire festival was crying. Even many men, from whom nobody would have expected it, couldn't hold back their tears.

The encore featured Ghosts, Zombie, and Suburban Requiem. With fireworks and another shower of confetti, Bludfest came to its spectacular conclusion.

In conclusion...

Our heartfelt thanks go to Yungblud for choosing the Czech Republic to host the third edition of Bludfest, bringing it to Park 360 in Hradec Králové and returning as its headliner. We also thank his team and the Rock For People crew for their outstanding organization and incredible management of the extreme heat. Drinking water was easily accessible throughout the venue, while water trucks and firefighters continuously cooled down visitors—certainly no easy task under those conditions.

Šári