Events and Festivals in Romania - 2023

Have you ever attended a festival or occasion in Romania?

 

If not, you're missing out on an experience that can tick items off your bucket lists. We excel in creating memorable experiences, especially for our guests. From traditional Romanian festivities to the pulse of electronic music festivals, we add a unique touch, but it's something you need to discover firsthand.

 

Romania, set against the backdrop of the Carpathian Mountains, is rich in variety, and that's why we host numerous events and festivals catering to diverse preferences, both local and international.

 

Music Festivals

• UNTOLD

 

Untold Festival is the biggest and most unmissable music event in Romania. It takes place every year at Cluj Arena in Cluj Napoca.

 

Even from its first edition, Untold draws attention through its marketing campaign "Pay with Blood", through which blood donors received free tickets at the festival. This clever idea to associate Transylvania, Vlad Tepes, vampires, and blood donation made Untold a big success from its first edition.

 

Drawing a mix of music lovers from various genres, it has featured stars like David Guetta. In these 4 editions, Untold managed to bring names like Armin van Buuren, Avicii, David Guetta, ATB, Tom Odell, Afrojack, Tiesto, Martin Garrix, Jason Derulo, The Prodigy, Black Eyed Peas, etc.

 

Awards: Untold won the "Best Major European Festival" award in 2015

Location: Cluj-Napoca

Date: 03 August – 06 August 2023

Website: https://untold.com

 

 

• Electric Castle

Photo source: Radio Romania Actualitati

 

Electric Castle is a music festival in Romania that takes place every year at Bánffy Castle in Transylvania, Cluj county. This festival combines genres from rock to electronic music, capturing both traditional and modern vibes.

 

Bánffy Castle was damaged in World War II and neglected during communism. The organizers have raised money for the Bánffy Castle's restoration through their campaign, Give me a Brick. Every participant can donate during the event at the festival bars.

 

Big names at Electric Castle: Damian Marley, Morcheeba, Pendulum DJ Set, Thievery Corporation, Die Antwoord, Gramatik, Fatboy Slim, Paul Kalkbrenner, Twenty One Pilots, Foals, Alec Benjamin, etc. 

 

Location: Cluj-Napoca

Date: 19 – 23 July 2023

Website: https://electriccastle.ro/

 

• Summer Well Festival

Photo credit: Horia Ghibutiu

 

Summer Well Festival is an alternative, multi-genre music festival in Buftea, Romania, just outside Bucharest. In 2019, the festival celebrates the 9th edition.

 

The festival site is surrounded by forest and next to a lake, offering festival-goers the option to recharge and enjoy the peaceful nature before continuing to have fun.

 

Big names at Summer Well Festival: Hurts, John Newman, Tom Odell, The Chemical Brothers, Birdy, Cigarettes after sex, etc.

 

Location: Domeniul Știrbey, Buftea

Date: 11-13  August 2023

Website: https://summerwell.ro

 

• Neversea Festival

Photo source: Neversea.com 

 

Situated near the Black Sea, Neversea is a beacon for electronic music lovers. With international festival standards, it promotes diversity and unity through music.

 

Neversea is a summer festival that lasts for 4 days and 4 nights, an event that brings together musicians, DJs and world-class artists with unique performances and scenes around the world. The inversion promotes the diversity of music and the idea of connecting the public through its power, by trusting in a positive global future and, of course, by the natural magic of the Black Sea.

 

Big names at Neversea: Armin Van Buuren, John Newman, Kungs, Axwell, Ingrosso, Hardwell, Steve Angello etc.

 

Location: Constanta

Date:  6-9 July 2023

Website: https://www.neversea.com

 

• Rocanotherworld

Photo source: Rocanotherworld Facebook Page

 

Roca coordinated Klaus Iohannis’s online campaign for the presidency. He founded Argo, an award-winning design agency in Iași, Romania. He made Thailand famous in Romania. He created Doamne Ferește (God Forbid), the first Romanian hot sauce brand. He saved hundreds of stray dogs. With only a few words and a big warm hug, he influenced and changed the lives of friends and random people.

 

Unfortunately, he passed away on the 2nd of June 2016 in a car crash at only 37 years old. Some of his friends couldn't let him go, so they put together in only a few days a festival in his memory: Rocanotherworld.

 

Rocanotherworld is a Music, art, and gastronomy festival that was born in 2016 to celebrate the life and spirit of Ioan Dan Niculescu, also known as ‘Roca’.

 

Location: Iași

Date: 22-25 June 2023

Website: http://www.rocanotherworld.com

 

• Bucharest International Jazz Competition

Photo source: Romania Insider

 

Bucharest International Jazz Competition is ranked as the second jazz contest in Europe and the third in the world. Dedicated to professional musicians, the event successfully debuted in 2007, registering unexpected participation for the first edition – 30 bands from 25 countries. 

 

The 17th Edition will start on the 8th of July gathering twenty-one bands from 18 countries. Bucharest International Jazz Competition will be until July 14, the event, ranked by the BBC in the top 3 worldwide, brings to the Romanian capital quality jazz from the world's most famous music markets.

 

Artists from South Africa, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, China, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, the US, and Ukraine will perform at the event this year.

 

Location: Bucharest

Date: 8-14 July 2023

Website: https://www.jazzinthepark.ro

 

• ARTmania Festival

Photo source: Youtube

 

The ARTmania Festival is a music and art festival in Sibiu, Romania. Its main attraction is the music: rock and metal bands perform in the Main Square during the first two days weekend of the festival.

 

The festival includes cultural activities like museum exhibitions, visual art exhibitions, classical music performances, film screenings, lectures, and workshops.

 

Location: Sibiu

Date:  28-30 July 2023

Website: https://artmaniafestival.ro

 

• Awake Festival

Photo source: Radio 3Net

 

Awake Festival is an electronic, pop and alternative music festival set amongst picturesque woodlands on the banks of the Mureș River. The eclectic lineup unites names from a diverse mix of genres. Drum & bass and electro sit alongside indie, rock and punk – as established global acts join exciting local artists in a melting pot of whimsical sounds. Come along and get immersed in the music blasting on our 3 stages: The Cube, The River Stage and Castle Lounge.

 

Nestled in the heart of Transylvania, Teleki Estate encompasses 16 acres of spectacular land. It hosts the 18th-century baroque castle and its lush English park with old trees, serene meadows, and a charming little pond, all peacefully guarded by the river Mureș.

 

AWAKE is a festival that aims to promote art in as many forms as possible. In its first edition, it will bring together musicians from different corners of the world, actors, artists, and creative people, all in an atmosphere of relaxation and energy-filled parties.

 

At the first edition, held between 1 and 3 September 2017, over 20,000 visitors aged 16 to 40 participated. The most recent edition was in 2022.

 

Location: Teleki Estate, Gornesti, Mures

Date: 8 - 10 July 2023

Website: https://www.awakefestival.ro

 

• Rockstadt Extreme Fest

Photo source: Adevarul

 

Rockstadt Extreme Fest has become one of the most important metal events in Southeast Europe.

 

A decade after its first edition, Rockstadt Extreme Fest became Romania's biggest metal festival. More than any other festival of its kind, Rockstadt Extreme Fest has given crucial exposure to many awesome bands while simultaneously showcasing legends and handling a diversity of metal and rock-related genres.

 

Guarded by the Rasnov Fortress on the nearby hill, Rockstadt Extreme Fest 2023 will take place between August 2 and 6, 2023, just 30 minutes from Brasov, in the town of Rasnov. The festival site will host 3 stages and no less than 70 bands over the 5 days. Of the 70 bands, several stand out: Anthrax, Arch Enemy, In Flames, Trivium, Mayhem.

 

Location: Rasnov

Date: 2 August – 6 August 2023

Website: http://rockstadtextremefest.ro/

 

• Jazz in Church

Photo source: Festivalier

 

After the pandemic forced the cancellation of its last edition and a three-year break, the jazz and contemporary music festival Jazz in Church returns with another edition between May 11th and May 14th in Bucharest. As always, the event will take place in the Lutheran Church, a good place to enjoy a perfect acoustic.

 

Fifteen artists are scheduled to perform at the event, which promises a mix of jazz rhythms, medieval music, contemporary music compositions and improvisation.

 

Location: The Lutheran Church, Bucharest

Date: 11 – 14 May 2023

Website: http://jazz.ro/en

 

• Jazz in the Park

Photo source: Montreux Jazz

 

Enjoy 11 days of jazz, 100 concerts and an infinite number of good vibes. In 2018, names like Nouvelle Vague, Richard Bona, Afro-Cuban All-Stars, The Herbaliser, Bill Laurance Quartet, Fanfare Ciocârlia, Nik Bartsch’s Ronin, Forq, Moonlight Breakfast, and Silent Strike created the perfect atmosphere in Central Park.

 

The Jazz in the Park festival brings this year The Cinematic Orchestra, Mulatu Astatke, Billy Cobham, Fun Lovin' Criminals, and Martina Topley-Bird to the heart of Transylvania. The event takes place at the "Romulus Vuia" Ethnographic Park between September 1 and September 3

 

Location: Cluj-Napoca

Date: 1 - 3 September 2023

Website: https://www.jazzinthepark.ro/

 

• SAGA Music Festival

SAGA Music Festival is one of Bucharest's premier electronic music events. The festival typically showcases a lineup packed with big-name international DJs, talented up-and-comers, and a range of genres from EDM to techno and beyond.

 

Hosting over 150 artists, the SAGA festival in Bucharest blends international and Romanian music talents, ensuring an unforgettable experience.

 

Saga Music Festival Bucharest brought an impressive guest list and musical experience. More than 150 artists performed on 5 stages of the festival. Some of the guests were Disclosure, Don Diablo, Marshmello, Meduza, Alan Walker, and more. 

 

The dates for the 2024 edition have already been confirmed. It will take place on july 5, 6 and 7.

 

Location: Bucharest

Date: 23-25 June 2023

Website: https://sagafestival.com/

 

Cultural Festivals

• East European Comic Con

Photo source: East European Comic Con

 

East European Comic Con is a celebration of science fiction, horror, and fantasy, as enjoyed through many venues, including film and TV, books and comics, toys, collectables, cards, video games, and of course, online games.

 

East European Comic Con (EECC) is a speculative fiction Fan convention held annually in Bucharest, Romania. It is East Europe's most important event dedicated to fans of comics, animations, video games, as well as TV series and movies.[2]

 

Visitors can attend and participate in contests, video screenings, and special sessions with movie and comic celebrities, as well as purchase products specific to this type of event.

 

The most well-known contests are the Cosplay costume contest and a Quiz contest. The Cosplay costume contest has participants performing a short play while wearing the costume of a character from a comic, video game, animation or movie while they imitate the character's gestures and behaviours. The quiz contest is focused on anime, manga, TV series, comics and video games. An important part of the event is represented by the PC and console video game exhibitors and competitions. EECC is the largest gaming event in Romania

 

Location: Bucharest

Date: 1- 3 September 2023

 

• ASTRA FILM FESTIVAL

 

Astra Film Festival is a major event in the European film community. It is an annual international documentary film and visual anthropology festival organised by the Astra Film Foundation. 

 

Taking place in Sibiu, this is more than just a film festival. It showcases art installations and traditional Romanian stories, making it a must-visit for those on a budget. Besides the four AFF Competition Sections, it offers a variety of programs showing the diversity and current tendencies of documentary film. 

 

 AFF SIBIU is the place to see great documentaries, feel the pulse of Romanian and Eastern European documentary film production, meet fellow filmmakers from around the world, debate major issues faced by documentarists while exposing real life and real people on the big screen, and interact with professionals and an enthusiastic audience. Masterclasses, panels, concerts, and other parallel events complete the AFF SIBIU program.

 

Starting in 1993, the Astra Film Fest enjoyed an enthusiastic explosion. Today, it is recognized as one of the most prestigious and exciting film festivals in Europe. This year was the 30th edition of the festival.

 

Location: Sibiu

Date: 15 - 22 October 2023

Website: https://www.astrafilm.ro

 

• White Night of the Art Galleries

Photo source: Roevents

 

The White Night of Galleries is a project initiated by the Ephemair Association in 2007, which aims to promote contemporary culture in Romania and contribute to increasing its visibility among the general public. The event was initiated in 2007, in Bucharest, by the Ephemair Association and developed in Romanian cities in partnership with local organizations.In 2016, the project has been extended to other cities in Romania in partnership with other local organizations.

 

The White Night of the Art Galleries was the first nocturnal cultural event in Romania after the White Night of the Museums and the first event in the country to draw the general public's attention to contemporary art and young artists. It proposes a complex and dynamic program featuring a variety of art forms: painting, drawing, sculpture, graphics or new media, photography, video, performance, music, dance, theatre, design, etc. 

 

The art map of Bucharest, generated each year by the White Night of the Art Galleries, has made visible the dynamic infrastructure of contemporary art venues in the city. Throughout the ten editions held until now, the White Night of the Art Galleries established a platform that promotes contemporary art and young Romanian artists by encouraging contact between artists and galleries or other contemporary art spaces and by introducing the artists to an extended audience that has the opportunity to discover each year the art of its generation. 

 

Location: Arad, Brașov, Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Iași, Miercurea Ciuc, Pietrila, Reșița, Sfântu Gheorghe, Sibiu, Târgu Mureș, Timișoara

Website: https://noapteagaleriilor.ro/

 

• Transylvania International Film Festival 

Photo source: tiff.ro

 

Transilvania International Film Festival is presented Romanian Film Promotion. It is the first international feature film festival in Romania and one of the most important film festivals in Eastern Europe. It has a competition for 1st and 2nd time directors. 

 

Transilvania IFF’s main goal is to promote cinematic art by presenting some of the most innovative and spectacular films of the moment. These films feature both originality and independence of expression, reflect unusual cinematic language forms, or focus on current trends in youth culture.

 

The 22nd edition of the Transilvania International Film Festival will take place in June 2023 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Filmmakers can submit films for three competitive programs –Official Competition, What’s Up, Doc?, and Romanian Days—and three non-competitive programs: Full Moon, Supernova, and No Limit. The Official Competition is dedicated to first —and second-time directors and their fiction films.

 

Location: Cluj-Napoca

Date: 9 - 18 June 2023

Website: http://tiff.ro/en

 

• Bucharest International Film Festival

Photo source: Gratuitor

 

Co-founded by Golden Bear winning director Adina Pintilie in 2010, Bucharest International Experimental Film Festival is an annual event dedicated to experimental films and visual arts. BIEFF aims to promote highly innovative films and filmmakers with strong personal views on contemporary reality, which also daringly explore the boundaries of cinematic language.

 

The festival program includes two short film competitions (International Competition and National Competition), special short and feature film programs, exhibitions, and installations featuring more than 80 short films and 10 feature films each year.

The festival aims to create a space for dialogue between filmmakers and their audience through Q&A sessions held after the screenings, special director’s talks, and thematic panels. The 13th edition will take place in Bucharest from September 26 to October 1, 2023.

 

Location: Bucharest

Date: 26 September – 1 October 2023

Website: https://www.biff.com.ro

 

• Sighisoara Medieval Festival 

Photo source: sighisoaraonline.com

 

Sighisoara Medieval Festival is an annual festival held in the last weekend of July. It celebrates old times by traveling through them. The festival has 10 sections: theatre, music, art, exhibition, film, dance, book exhibition, concerts for the youth, and conferences on different subjects. Naturally, there will also be street clambakes, night concerts, choir music, a middle-age dress exhibition, and a middle-age dance competition.

 

Here, you can experience not only music but also traditional food and crafts, including intricate Easter egg art. Located close to the fortified church of Sibiu county, it's a plunge into Romania's past.

 

The City Hall of Sighișoara announced that the Medieval Festival would not be organized this year after the local council voted against it. For the first time, the Medieval Festival in Sighișoara cannot be organized because the majority of local councilors did not vote in favor of this event. But the event usually takes place at the end of July.

 

Location: Sighisoara

Website: https://www.welcometoromania.eu/Sighisoara/Sighisoara_Festivalul_Medieval_e.htm

 

• George Enescu Festival

Photo source: Ziarul Lumina

 

George Enescu Festival is an internationally prestigious Romanian musical event, initiated in 1958. Over the years, at the festival organized at the Romanian Athenaeum and at the Radio Hall, great orchestras and musicians, such as the Vienna Philharmonic, the Stockholm Philharmonic, and the London Philharmonic, participated.

 

Other world musical personalities who have participated throughout the years at the festival were Joseph Palnciek, Claudio Arrau, Arthur Rubinstein, David Oistrah, Kurt Masur, Boris Berezovsky, Antonio Menses, Jose Van Dam, Lawrence Foster.emory of George Enescu, the great Romanian violinist-composer and violinist.

 

This is a classic music festival dedicated to the Romanian composer George Enescu. The festival is known as the greatest and most qualify music event in East Europe. 

 

The concerts are held in several halls in Bucharest (BucureÅŸti) and the competitors compete in three categories: composition, piano and violin. In addition, concerts are held in open air and films about the composer are shown.

 

Location: Bucharest

Date: 27 August - 24 September 2023

 

• Targul de fete de pe Muntele Gaina (The Girls Fair at Mountain Hen)

Photo source: Active News

 

A traditional festival that takes place in the Maramures region. A highlight is the "hora de," a traditional dance which brings together communities in vibrant traditional costumes. This event encapsulates the spirit of Romania's cultural maiden fair.

 

Is the largest popular celebration of moți (the inhabitants of the central part of the Apuseni Mountains) organized in the open and dates back nearly two centuries, being organized at the very close of the weekend of St. Elias's day. The event was first mentioned in documents in 1816. The event is actually an opportunity for young girls to find their chosen one.

 

Date: The weekend of St. Elias's Day

Location: Mountain Hen, Apuseni Mountains

 

• "Long Road to Merry Cemetery" 

Photo source: Graiul Maramuresului

 

A festival organized by Peter Hurley, an Irish man who fell in love with Romania in 1994 and lived here since there. A festival of culture, music and traditional dances, held in Săpânţa to celebrate the essence of life and simplicity in the countryside.

 

For arts festival lovers, the Bucharest Art Film Festival and the Bucharest International Jazz Competition can't be missed. If rock festival or dance festival is more your style, Rockstadt Extreme Fest and Jazz in the Park are top picks. And if you're looking to dive deep into Romanian culture, events like the Hora de la Prislop or exploring Peles Castle during a Romania tour offer unique experiences.

 

Whatever your preference, from the Sunwaves Festival on the Black Sea's shores to the arts in the heart of Alba Iulia, visiting Romania during one of these festivals and events guarantees memories to last a lifetime. Whether you’re a fan of traditional music, rock, jazz, or electronic music festival vibes, there's an event in Romania just for you.

 

In conclusion, Romania stands as a cultural epicenter, boasting a rich tapestry of festivals that celebrate its deep-rooted traditions, vibrant music scenes, and eclectic arts. From the rhythmic beats of the SAGA Music Festival in Bucharest to the historic reenactments in Transylvania, these events are a testament to Romania's commitment to preserving its heritage while also embracing contemporary art forms. Travelers and locals alike flock annually to partake in these unique festivities, ensuring that Romania remains a must-visit destination for festival enthusiasts worldwide.