The Mediterranean's flagship summer gay festival: a week of open-air parties across Mykonos that draws tens of thousands from around the world.
About the event
XLSIOR turned Mykonos, already a magnet for gay travellers, into a fixture of the global circuit calendar. Each August the island fills with a week of daytime and night-time parties staged across beach clubs, open-air terraces and seafront venues, soundtracked by big-name circuit DJs and built around the easy glamour of the Cyclades.
The crowd is emphatically international, with strong contingents from Italy, Spain, France, Brazil, the United States and beyond. The mood leans toward sun, sea and a polished, high-energy circuit aesthetic rather than a single mega-club, and much of the experience is the island itself: whitewashed lanes, long lunches and the well-worn ritual of pacing yourself across several days.
The organisers also run satellite events, including an Amsterdam edition and a world tour, but Mykonos in late summer remains the heart of the brand. Check the official site for exact dates, passes and the full party programme.
What to do
- Week-long programme of open-air day and night parties
- Beach clubs and seafront venues across Mykonos
- Big-name international circuit DJs
- One of the largest gay summer festivals in the Mediterranean
- Strongly international crowd and Cycladic island setting
- Who it's for
- For circuit lovers who want a multi-day island festival combining big parties with beach, sun and a glamorous international scene.
- When to go
- Late August, when the flagship Mykonos festival takes place; confirm exact dates on the official site.
- Getting there from Switzerland
- Fly from Zurich, Geneva or Basel to Athens and connect to Mykonos by short flight or ferry; direct seasonal flights to Mykonos also operate in summer.
Sources
We summarise public information; final dates and tickets are always on the organiser's official site.
Updated: 2026-06-22
