# Untold Festival

Untold Festival is the largest electronic music festival held in Romania, taking place in Cluj-Napoca at the Cluj Arena. It is held annually and has been designated Best Major Festival in the European Festival Awards 2015. Guests come from a vast range of European countries, as well as Asia and North America. Untold has other versions of the festival special concepted for different places: Neversea, a beach-dedicated festival which takes place in Constanța since 2017, Massif, a mountain-dedicated festival which takes place in Poiana Brașov since 2023 and Untold Dubai, an international version of the festival which takes place in Dubai from 2024.

## History

Untold's official website refers to editions as chapters.

### Untold: Chapter 1

The first edition of the festival took place in 2015 mainly on Cluj Arena, when Cluj-Napoca was appointed the European Youth Capital. The main artists that performed were: Armin van Buuren, Avicii, David Guetta, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and ATB. Other performing artists were: Duke Dumont, Fedde Le Grand, Lost Frequencies, Sasha, Sunnery James & Ryan Marciano, Tinie Tempah, Tom Odell, John Newman, Fatman Scoop, Tujamo, John Digweed, Patrice, Boney M, Culture Beat and East 17, among others. During the four days of the festival, more than 240,000 people attended the concerts held on several stages in the centre of Cluj-Napoca. It pulled in €20 million in revenue.

### Untold: Chapter 2

The second edition of Untold took place in 2016, from 4 to 7 August mainly on Cluj Arena. It welcomed the top 5 DJ's of the world polled by DJ Mag that year: Tiësto, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike and Armin van Buuren, along with Afrojack. Other performing live artists were: Dannic, Fedde Le Grand, Naughty Boy, Lost Frequencies, Faithless, Parov Stellar, Scooter, Ella Eyre, James Arthur, Kwabs, Labrinth, John Digweed, Sasha, Nneka and Tujamo. It took place during four days in the centre of Cluj-Napoca and involved 10 stages. Over 30,000 foreigners attended the 2016 edition. The festival itself attracted a crowd of 300,000 over four days.

### Untold: Chapter 3

The third edition of the festival took place from 3 to 6 August 2017 on Cluj Arena. There were seven DJ headliners who were announced in January 2017: Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Axwell Λ Ingrosso, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Hardwell, Martin Garrix, Marshmello and Steve Aoki. In March the live acts were announced, these being: Ellie Goulding, Example, Hurts, Jasmine Thompson, MØ, John Newman and Tinie Tempah. The festival took place during four days in the centre of Cluj-Napoca and involved 10 stages. Other performing artists were: Alan Walker, Don Diablo, Dillon Francis, Charli XCX, Redfoo, Era Istrefi, The Avener, Dannic, Lost Frequencies, Sander van Doorn, Dubfire, Kadebostany, Jamie Jones, Loco Dice, Solomun, Sven Väth, Andy C, Borgore, Pendulum, Chase & Status and GTA, among others. It sold over 330,000 tickets for the four days of Untold and reported record profit (more than in 2015). Untold organisers invested more than €10 million in the festival.

### Untold: Chapter 4

The fourth edition of the Untold festival was held from 2 to 5 August 2018. The first artists announced for the 2018 edition are: Black Eyed Peas, KSHMR, The Prodigy, Bonobo, Afrojack, Armin van Buuren, Alesso, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Diplo, Kygo, The Chainsmokers, Jason Derulo, Tiësto, Fedde Le Grand and Steve Aoki.

### Untold: Chapter 5

The fifth edition of the Untold festival was held from 1 to 4 August 2019. The first two rounds of ticket sales sold out within respectively 3 and 10 minutes, each having 15,000 festival tickets available. Amongst the first artists announced for the 2019 edition were: Robbie Williams, Martin Garrix, David Guetta, Bastille, James Arthur, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Timmy Trumpet, Boris Brejcha, Silenzio and Tale Of Us. Armin van Buuren released the official anthem of Untold Chapter 5, "Something Real", on 12 July 2019.
The festival, in conjunction with YouTube Music, officially released 6 playlists exclusive to the service, which are the UNTOLD Main Stage, UNTOLD Alchemy, UNTOLD Fortune, UNTOLD Forest, Daydreaming Experience and UNTOLD Galaxy
This edition gathered a crowd of 370,000 over four days, making it the most successful chapter in history.

### Untold: Chapter 6

The sixth edition of Untold is planned to take place in 2021, 9–12 September, event was postponed due to COVID-19 outbreak. Announcement on the 2021 festival will be posted December 15, 2020, Refunds and tickets to the next 3 festivals are available to 2020 ticket holders.https://untold.com/faqpostponement

### Untold: Chapter 7

The seventh edition of the festival took place between 4 and 7 August 2022. The main headliners were J Balvin, Anne-Marie and a wide range of DJs: Kygo, Lost Frequencies, David Guetta, Steve Aoki, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Tujamo, Paul Kalkbrenner, Kasia Sobczyk.

### Untold: Chapter 8

The eighth edition of the festival took place between 3 and 6 August 2023. The edition surpassed the 5th edition in attendance numbers, with over 420,000 people in four days. The main headliners included major acts like Imagine Dragons, Ava Max and Bebe Rexha and it marked also the return of Armin van Buuren after 4 years at Untold. Other artists were Martin Garrix, Eric Prydz, Alok, David Guetta, Topic and Steve Aoki. After this edition, the festival took 6th position on DJ Mag Top 100 Festivals.

### Untold: Chapter 9

The ninth edition of the festival took place between 8 and 11 August 2024. On 7th December 2023, it was revealed the first 2 major acts of the festival: Swedish House Mafia and Sam Smith. On 21st March 2024 new artists were revealed including Alok, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, Lost Frequencies, Martin Garrix, Purple Disco Machine, Timmy Trumpet, Carl Cox, Fisher and Solomun. On 4th April 2024, a new major act was revealed: Lenny Kravitz. Other artists include Louis Tomlinson, Steve Aoki, Jax Jones, Burna Boy, Zerb, Tujamo, Nicky Romero, Milky Chance, Mahmut Orhan, Tom Grennan, Blasterjaxx and Salvatore Ganacci. In 2024, the festival took 3rd position on DJ Mag Top 100 Festivals. Over 427.000 persons attended at this edition.

### Untold X: Chapter 10

The tenth edition of the festival will mark the 10th anniversary of Untold. The first tickets were put on sale on 10th August 2024, been sold over 40.000 tickets. It will take place between 7 and 10 August 2025.

## Awards

| Year | Awards | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
| 2015 | European Festival Awards | Best Major Festival | Untold Festival | Won | |
| 2015 | International Advertising Association Romania | Brand of the Year | Untold Festival | Won | |

## Tourism

In a bid to support local tourism, 2016 festival goers benefitted from a 50% discount on the admission price for several tourist attractions from the historic region of Transylvania. The festival bracelet allowed visitors to visit at a discounted rate a series of major sights such as Bran Castle, Corvin Castle, the Merry Cemetery, the Mocănița Steam Train, the Turda Salt Mines.

## Gallery

* Bebe Rexha at UNTOLD 2023
* UNTOLD 2023 stage
* Delia Matache at UNTOLD 2023
* Ava Max at UNTOLD 2023
* Imagine Dragons at UNTOLD 2023
* UNTOLD 2023 Main stage
* UNTOLD 2024 Main stage
* Lenny Kravitz at UNTOLD 2024
* Lenny Kravitz at UNTOLD 2024
* Lenny Kravitz at UNTOLD 2024
* Martin Garrix at UNTOLD 2024