The first festival – teen time! Beats for Love celebrates with a spectacular program and revolutionary changes
The largest Czech music festival entering into the second decade of its existence. The eleventh year of Beats for Love, which starts in Ostrava today, July 2, offers a packed program full of worldwide stars and a magnificently improved festival area. The start of festival puberty will be far away from annoyed looks, arguments with parents and difficulties with adolescence. No way – only an appropriate level of audacity remains.
The well-known proverb says “better to stop at the best” is definitely nothing for the organizers of the largest electronic dance music event in Central Europe. On the contrary – after last year’s hugely successful event, they stepped on the gas even more. “Last year we already announced that we were looking to the future. During the prep for the 11th year, in addition to a stellar program, we also focused on absolutely unique work with the festival area in the Czech Republic,” says Beats for Love director Kamil Rudolf.
Beats for Love Universe
The work with the area is the Beats for Love Universe project. The new festival universe will divide the area into four areas: LOVE, SPACE, INDUSTRIAL and PULSE.
These are not four random English words. Each part has its own design, installations and artistic decorations. Visitors should notice the change literally after a few steps. “We used our own ideas, but we also approached a number of designers and companies from the area. We want our fans’ experience to be not only musical, but also visual,” says production manager Jakub Šenkeřík. And visitors should be amazed. “We worked hard on it for almost a year and invested a significant amount of money in the Beats for Love Universe project. We believe that it will come back to us through our fans. We are really looking forward to what they will say about it,” adds the man who, together with the team of designers, is responsible for the appearance of the area.
The motifs of the individual spheres are shown directly in the names. The INDUSTRIAL sphere will focus on light and fire in the blast furnace area, the SPACE sphere will offer space motifs including specially made entrance gates, the LOVE sphere will stay with love. And the PULSE will connect all areas as a some kind of festival artery. Thanks to the general partners of the festival, the ČSOB bank and Proud beer, the main festival stages, the Love stage by ČSOB and the Techno Dome by Proud, have also been improved. “We have further enhanced and modified the design of the most striking Love stage – it now resembles a heart in the palm of your hand. “But at the Techno Dome, a revolution is coming in the form of a 360-degree stage located in a giant tent, the size and design of which are unparalleled at Beats for Love. The stage will be right in the crowd among the fans,” Kamil Rudolf explains.
Big music stars and special performances
The music program will put Ostrava on the world cultural map in golden letters. The legendary Dutchman Armin van Buuren is returning, and Australian showman Timmy Trumpet will also be coming. The organizers have also managed to attract the famous Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, and Axwell – one third of the legendary Swedish House Mafia – will also arrive from Scandinavia. “While last year the highlight was David Guetta’s performance, this year our line-up is evenly spread. We want our fans to experience their best four days of the year,” says program director Jiří Ramík.
In total, over 550 artists will perform on 18 stages in Ostrava, including 160 foreign headliners.
Among them will be artists whose show is subtitled Beats for Love Special. Along with a large brass band, the Belgian creator of mostly film music, Apashe, will arrive, and his compatriot, producer Used, will also perform live. And many fans are heading to Dolní Vítkovice to experiece the collaboration of the partner duo A.M.C and Koven. “A.M.C. is one of the best representatives of the drum and bass genre in the world, while Koven has kicked her career to stellar heights here. I’m glad we’ll see them on stage together. It will be a performance that no one except the visitors of our festival will see this year,” says Kamil Rudolf.
Very interesting will be the third Talking Beats conference, again in the “koksovna” control room. A variety of topics are prepared: from the differences between male and female DJs, through solving crisis situations and curious mishaps, to “grilling” the festival’s director Kamil Rudolf. Fans will be able to ask him anything they want. “Talking Beats will also bring together our festival, the NHL hockey team and the Oktagon organization. And there will be some really star guests,” suggests one of the conference moderators, Miroslav Ecker, also known under the pseudonym DJ EKG.
Cashless, radio and charity
Just like last year, there will be no extra coins rattling around in fans’ pockets. The cashless payment system, which was appreciated by visitors themselves in the questionnaires, continues.
This will include refreshments, where the organizers have once again prepared their own hotdogs and hamburgers, as well as a store with festival merchandising, this year inspired mainly by the street wear style. “But we have much more, thanks to the brand new e-shop. You can also find a unique collection of underwear there… It’s an exaggeration to say that we couldn’t be closer to our fans, and that the relationship with Beats is now really serious,” smiles production manager Barbora Kocubová, who is in charge of this year’s collection.
The attraction was also prepared by the festival’s general media partner, radio Evropa 2. For the first time ever, it will broadcast directly from the festival grounds, including with the participation of selected star presenters. Visitors to Beats for Love can also find all the details in the festival newspaper, which will be available not only at the entrance to the Dolní Vítkovice area.
They will also read about the next year of the charity project Beats for Charity. Visitors will once again help two selected families: grandparents from the Přerov region, who, after the death of their daughter, are taking care of their grandchildren and little Eliška from Karviná. The bar is set: last year and the year before, 600 thousand crowns went to charity.
The last tickets – including VIP ones – can be purchased in advance and on site
The gates of the 11th edition of the largest domestic festival and the most prominent electronic dance music event in Central Europe will open on Wednesday, July 2 at 4 p.m. While the organizers warn against buying “second-hand” tickets, the last tickets remain in the official pre-sale. Both festival-wide and one-day tickets are available (and will also be available at the box office).
According to estimates, a total of 160,000 people should arrive at the Dolní Vítkovice area this year.
Dear visitors and fans, enjoy the start of the new decade of the festival. The Beats for Love “eleven” is planning to perform a breathtaking performance on the field in Dolní Vítkovice.
