"For the time being, we don't see the reality of international tourism returning to earlier levels by mid-summer across Europe, and the safety and health of our Hungarian festival-goers is our priority. That's why we've had to make the difficult decision of opening Balaton Sound's gates in 2022 at the earliest" festival director Zoltán Fülöp said.

VOLT founder Norbert Lobenwein said the organizers were forced to postpone the festival, originally slated for June, because of the degree of uncertainty as Hungary goes through its third wave of the pandemic.

Tickets purchased for the 2021 festivals will be honored in 2022 or refunded. VOLT and Balaton Sound draw tens of thousands of festival-goers under ordinary circumstances.