French strike disrupts Ostrava joy. Beats for Love festival compensates fans after Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike’s cancelled show

One of the most challenging situations in the eleven-year history of Beats for Love resulted in a unique gesture by the organizers to the fans. Even though Ostrava is over 1000 kilometers away from the French border, a strike by French air traffic controllers prevented the arrival of the headliners of the entire event – ​​the Belgian duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. The organizers and musicians apologized to the fans for the problems caused by a third party, and Beats for Love representatives also prepared a program replacement and compensation in the form of an extension of the validity of one-day Thursday tickets to Friday. Although it was the fans who helped the festival to enter the Czech and world cultural map, such helpful gestures are a rarity.

The festival has already experienced some cancelled performances in previous years, whether for logistical or health reasons. But never before have such prominent stars been cancelled. “We are as shocked as our fans. Just a few minutes after the artists’ management informed us, we announced it directly from the stage to the visitors. It was not something we said easily,” added Beats for Love director Kamil Rudolf. 

Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike were traveling to Ostrava after Wednesday’s concert in Ibiza, having a stopover in France. The Belgian DJs themselves apologized to their fans in a video that the organizers of Beats for Love shared. “We stood on the runway for several hours waiting for the promised departure. In the end, they didn’t let us in the air and then we had to give up. We’re very sorry, I hope we can make it up to you soon,” said Vegas. “It’s not our fault, nor is it the fault of the performers. This makes it even more difficult… We’re honestly upset that someone hundreds of kilometers away ruined our experience,” Rudolf lamented.

MUSIC REPLACEMENT AND TICKET COMPENSATION

Since Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike are playing festivals in Romania and Finland on Friday and Saturday, it was not possible to reschedule their show. The Beats for Love organizers, who value cooperation and fair communication with visitors, quickly found a replacement in the form of Brennan Heart.

“Right on stage, we let the fans vote whether they would rather listen to Brennan or the king of house style Clapton. And the Dutchman won,” said festival director Kamil Rudolf. However, the entire change in the program had to be discussed with the management and the artist himself. They had nothing against it, so for the first time in history, a DJ dedicated to the hardstyle genre took the Love stage. “I want to thank the Brennan Heart team for the quick and positive communication. Together we resolved a very unpleasant situation,” said Beats for Love program director Jiří Ramík. 

The organizers also met the needs of fans who had long wanted a hardstyle representative on the biggest stage. And judging by the reactions in the Dolní Vítkovice area and on social networks, it was a good move.

The organizers have prepared another band-aid for the fans who were anxiously awaiting the show by the duo Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. Although they have the right to change the program in the event of unexpected events, they have prepared an absolutely unique gesture for Czech festival conditions. Thursday’s one-day tickets will now also be valid on Friday. “Even though we couldn’t do anything about it, we understand the feelings of our fans. We are doing Beats for Love for them with love, which is, after all, also in the name. Our visitors are extremely important to us and we wanted to make it up to them at least a little. It’s not a common festival practice, but we are also extremely sorry about the whole situation… Especially because of the thousands of fans who were looking forward to Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike. We won’t be able to arrange their show for them this year, so we hope that we can lift their spirits a little with this gesture,” Kamil Rudolf claimed.

In addition, the management of Beats for Love immediately began negotiating with the management of the famous Belgian duo about an alternative performance date.

TECHNO FROM ALL SIDES

On Thursday, 38,000 people arrived at the Dolní Vítkovice area, which is about two thousand more than on Wednesday. The greater attendance was noticeable, for example, at the techno stage, officially called Techno Dome by Proud. The stage underwent a complete renovation before this year’s 11th edition: it is 360 degrees, so fans surround the musicians directly on stage. “Even though Techno Dome by Proud is in a tent the size of a small football field, the artists can feel like they are in a club thanks to the modified stage. In addition, we have a new lighting design… I have only heard praise from the performers so far,” said Marek Hankovszki, stage manager. 

Techno Dome by Proud also includes an accompanying program. This is provided by acrobats in special gold-plated costumes, who are suspended from the ceiling of a large-capacity tent. They act like living disco balls. “And of course we hear enthusiastic reactions to the Dolní Vítkovice area. Especially those who come to Beats for Love for the first time are absolutely blown away,” added Hankovszki.

Thursday’s program of the largest Czech festival was initially accompanied by temperatures over 36 degrees Celsius. Fears of possible storms were as vain as seventh-grade soups in elementary school cooking classes: two light showers, on the contrary, rather pleased the heated crowd.

They should be happy with the expected drop in temperatures below 30 degrees and the program of the third day of Beats for Love 2025. On Friday, the world-famous D&B duo Sigma will perform in Ostrava with the famous hit Nobody To Love, fans can also look forward to the comet of recent years by John Summit, and the highlight will be the show of the famous Dutchman Armin van Buuren, who will return to the festival after three years. “We thank all visitors for their support. We will work even harder so that people leave our festival enthusiastic,” concluded Beats for Love director Kamil Rudolf.

Pořadatelé zároveň připomínají, že v pátek nově platí i čtvrteční jednodenní vstupenky. Poslední lístky na pátek a sobotu jsou stále v prodeji na festivalovém webu.