Ready for festivals?

In 2020, covid-19 wiped out most of the summer festival season. Only a handful of events were able to take place under strict social distancing guidelines. With a new green light from the government, organisers are more optimistic this summer and they’ve started to plan and announce new dates for their festivals.

By Oana Vasiliu

As the vaccination programme carries on, dozens of events are announcing their line-ups and placing tickets on sale, confident that fans would be allowed to come together again. To help you plan ahead, here's a guide to the events that have been announced so far.

TRANSILVANIA INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL JULY 23-31, CLUJ-NAPOCA

TIFF was the first major film festival to take place physically in Europe during the pandemic in the summer of 2020. The festival will celebrate its 20th anniversary with a new summer edition. Committed as always to its mission to promote and support Romanian cinema, the festival’s programme this year includes an impressive selection of 45 Romanian productions — 32 features and 13 shorts.

ELECTRIC CASTLE AUGUST 6-15, BONTIDA & CLUJ-NAPOCA

As a way to adapt to the times, EC_Special will span over more days – 10 in total – and will feature a higher number of venues and acts. Between August 6-15, the audience will experience a powerful festival feeling, both at the legendary Bontida castle as well as in the centre of Cluj. Festivalgoers can wander through 30 venues and attend more than 400 acts of live music, DJ gigs, and new media performances.

ANONIMUL FILM FESTIVAL AUGUST 9-15, SFANTU GHEORGHE, TULCEA

pares to the experience of actually being there, in the heart of one of Europe’s greatest natural areas, the Danube Delta, and watching movies under the clear sky.

SMIDA JAZZ FESTIVAL AUGUST 20-21, SMIDA, ALBA

Smida Jazz Festival is an international event dedicated to contemporary and avant-garde jazz, built on the unique concept of blending adventurous music with the raw beauty of the Apuseni Mountains. For this edition, participants can buy a blind pass, as the line-up has not yet been communicated.

SUMMERWELL AUGUST 12-15, BUFTEA, ILFOV

Summer Well is one of the most popular music festivals in Romania and it will celebrate its 10th anniversary this year, after it was canceled in 2020. Until now, Summer Well: The Limited Edition has confirmed the first international artists for this year’s edition: Woodkid, Balthazar, Modeselektor (live), L’Imperatrice, Lola Marsh, and Fatoumata Di-

awara. Moreover, local artists such as Golan, The Kryptonite Sparks, Dimitri’s Bats, and Hip Hop La Feminin have also joined the line-up.

SIBIU INTERNATIONAL THEATRE FESTIVAL AUGUST 20-29, SIBIU

The next edition of the Sibiu festival will take place between August 20-29, 2021 and it will have a double dimension: live and online. As a result of the incredible feedback of the international audience during FITS online 2020, they aim to continue this digital identity of the festival, giving theatre lovers around the world the opportunity to experience the outstanding performances of the contemporary international stage. If they can no longer get an entire city to come to the park, they will take the festival across the city and the spirit of Central Park with it. This year, the festival will take place in four main venues – the Ethnographic Park, Iulius Park, and the USAMV Campus, with the fourth to be announced soon. All these places will operate throughout the festival and each will have its own special concept, as well as jazzy music.

UNTOLD SEPTEMBER 9-12, CLUJ NAPOCA

As one of the largest music festivals in Europe, Untold announced part of their lineup in June, with Afrojack, Benny Benassi, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas, Martin Garrix, Parov Stelar, and many others coming to the stage. Tickets are still on sale. The public is invited to join a new, innovative three-day festival experience in the heart of Bucharest, with the biggest names in electronic music. Bucharest will thus have its own electro-festival from this year, and the lineup includes John Newman, Carl Cox, Nervo, Tiesto, Alan Walker, and many others. 50,000 tickets are available for this event.

ENESCU FESTIVAL AUGUST 28 - SEPTEMBER 26, BUCHAREST

The 2021 George Enescu International Festival will unfold in Bucharest and several cities across Romania, under the tagline “History Made with Love” to celebrate the extraordinary things people can create when they are inspired by their love for music. It will be a jubilee event and the longest in the Festival’s history, as it will celebrate 140 years since George Enescu’s birth and the 25th edition of the Festival.