Starlight by EXIT.
EXIT is one of Europe's major festivals - three times voted the continent's best - and in October 2026 it stages its first Egyptian edition: Starlight, a multi-day festival set against the Great Pyramids of Giza.
The dates
The festival runs 8 to 11 October 2026. The two main nights are Friday 9 and Saturday 10 October, staged at a designated site facing the plateau - the pyramids as backdrop, not as venue - with opening and closing events across Cairo either side.
Who plays
The first names announced: Charlotte de Witte (her first Egypt performance), Michael Bibi, Adriatique - returning to the plateau after their landmark show there - alongside Vintage Culture, Pete Tong, WhoMadeWho and Enrico Sangiuliano, with Indira Paganotto joining the 10 October bill - a first wave of forty-seven artists across three-plus stages.
Why it matters
EXIT announced in late 2025 that political pressure in Serbia was pushing it into a 2026 world tour; Giza is where that tour goes. Its Egyptian partner, P+US, staged Anyma’s Quantum Genesys at the same pyramids. Doors open at 5pm and close at midnight, so this is an evening festival rather than an all-night one, and passes start at €179. Festivals borrow their setting; almost none get this one. Two nights of electronic music under the oldest skyline on earth, in the week the desert is at its kindest - it is the closest thing to a once-only night the calendar offers this year.
Before you go
What is the weather like in Egypt in October?
Egypt in October is the best month of the year for it. Cairo runs 30 to 32 degrees in the day and drops to around 18 at night. Luxor is hotter, often 35 and dry. The Giza plateau after dark is genuinely cold once the sun is gone and the desert gives its heat back - people underdress for this every single time.
What should I wear to a festival at the pyramids?
Layers, and closed shoes. The plateau is sand and cut stone, and you will be on it for hours: trainers, not sandals. Bring something warm for the night sets, because a festival in the desert at 2am is not the same temperature as the afternoon you arrived in. Modest cover for the shoulders and knees is respectful at religious sites and makes museum days easier. Sunglasses and sunblock are not optional in Luxor.
How much water do you need in Egypt?
Egypt dehydrates people without warning because the air is dry enough that you do not feel yourself sweating. Carry water through every day, drink before you are thirsty, and treat the balloon morning and the Luxor temples as the two points where it matters most. Bottled water only.
How do you get around Cairo and Luxor?
Cairo traffic is its own weather system - allow twice the time any map suggests. Uber and Careem both work and are the straightforward option. Hurghada to Luxor is roughly four hours by road; Cairo to Luxor is an hour by air. Nothing about the distances is difficult, but the plateau, the museum and the airport are on opposite sides of a very large city.
How early should I arrive in Egypt?
A day ahead of the first main night. The festival runs late, the plateau is a long evening on your feet, and doing that on the back of a night flight is a waste of the ticket.
Do Indians need a visa for Egypt?
Indian passport holders need a visa for Egypt. A single-entry tourist visa can be obtained in advance through the Egyptian e-visa portal, or from the embassy. Processing is usually straightforward but not instant, so it is a document to start early rather than close to travel.
What is the festival site at Giza actually like?
It is open desert on the Giza plateau, with the pyramids behind the stage rather than beside it. The ground is sand and loose rubble, not grass, and it stretches. There is no roof, so the day heat and the night cold both arrive undiluted, and the scale of the site means real distances between stages.
How do festival tickets work at Starlight by EXIT?
Tickets sell as single-night passes and full-run passes, with a general entry tier and elevated or premium tiers nearer the stage. The premium tiers have their own entrance and go first. Access to the plateau is controlled separately from a normal Giza site ticket, so a festival pass is not a monument ticket.
The North Club's Egypt journey is built around both main nights.
VIP standing on the 9th and 10th, a hotel minutes from the venue - and the week after runs to the Red Sea and south to Luxor. Eight nights, one composed table, early bird from ₹2,25,000.
The Egypt journey →