Serbia’s EXIT music festival plans homecoming after student election victory

Founded by protesting students in Serbia in 2000, the EXIT festival has become one of Europe's leading music events. It is now preparing a “special edition” next year to mark a homecoming made possible by a new generation of activists in the Balkan country.EXIT pulled out of Serbia last year, citing pressure from authorities over its support for a student movement behind a wave of anti-corruption protests. After students scored a stunning victory in the Oct. 25 parliamentary election, EXIT announced it was returning home. “We always said when freedom is back in Serbia, EXIT will be back as well,” founder and CEO Dusan Kovacevic told The Associated Press in an interview this week. “We are incredibly proud of them (students), and of the citizens and all of us (who) managed to win this fight.”Traditionally held every July at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia’s northern city of Novi Sad, EXIT has won several international awards and hosted hundreds of stars from the Pet Shop Boys and Bil