“The key is evolution”: Inside the making of UNTOLD, one of Europe's biggest electronic festivals

With just four weeks to go until hundreds of thousands of eager music fans descend upon Cluj-Napoca, the capital of Romania's Transylvania region, final preparations for one of Europe's biggest music festivals are going full steam ahead. This is nothing new for the small army of staff tasked with bringing UNTOLD Festival together. "Organising a festival the size of UNTOLD requires year-round work," says Ioana Perța, Head of Operations for the UNTOLD Universe. "We begin preparing for the next edition as soon as we finish implementing the current one".

The ambitious scale of UNTOLD - with its 250 artists across eight stages and other miscellaneous music spots covering 235,000 square metres, with 420,0000 attendees from more than 100 countries - means everything has been to managed to the minute detail. For Perța, this means studying crowd behaviour, studying new legislation, meeting with institutions, suppliers and more. "It’s a continuous process, where each edition becomes the foundation for the next, from the creative concept, to line-up, fans, tickets, campaigns, production, safety, everything."

"We also need to constantly adapt and be flexible, whether to new legislation or shifts in attendee behaviour," she says. "In 2025, we’re celebrating the 10th edition of UNTOLD, and that experience gives us a significant advantage. Each year, we attract new fans worldwide, and we communicate on all channels and platforms everything you need to know about the festival - from the map, to hotels, how to get to, prices, schedules".

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The festival has persistently grown since its debut in 2015, with 2024 reaching a record-breaking 427,000 attendees, so from an operations perspective, managing and understanding the crowd is imperative. UNTOLD's Main Stage is located within the Cluj Arena, the home stadium of Universitatea Cluj football team, with the festival utilising the surrounding complex for a number of other festival areas. Its second biggest arena, The Galaxy Stage, is located within the nearby BTarena – a 10,000-capacity indoor sports facility that is transformed into an immense indoor dancefloor for the festival's run.  

"We’ve always embraced UNTOLD's complexity and pushed our limits and imagination," says Bogdan Buta, the CEO and co-founder of UNTOLD.  "UNTOLD is not just a music festival; it is a whole universe built within the heart of Cluj-Napoca, with up to 127,000 participants entering it in one full day and night". 

"The top live acts and superstar DJs we bring on the Main Stage always have a full stadium with up to 63,000 people, while the Galaxy stage, the only indoor stage at the festival, with house and techno masters, is always a full house," he adds. "There are always logistics and crowd management challenges, besides production and access, but we know what we have to do. These experiences and challenges push us to innovate in tech, safety, mobility, and even how we tell stories through the festival and connect with our fans, artists, and partners."

"The Cluj Arena itself is special because it’s not just a stadium, it becomes the heart of our mainstage, where some of the world’s biggest artists play to the best crowd in the world," says UNTOLD's co-founder Bogdan Rădulescu. "Surrounding it, we take over the entire Central Park, on 235,000 square meters. This is where we build the universe of UNTOLD: eight stages, secret music spots, brand activations, local designers, and all the magic that transforms Cluj into another world for four days and nights.

Perța estimates that around 15,000 crew members are hired to help bring UNTOLD to life, including production teams, technicians, suppliers, volunteers, security, medics, cleaning crews, foot vendors and more. "They’re all part of a complex system that operates like a finely tuned machine," she says. "We always prepare for the worst-case scenario, so nothing catches us off guard. That includes sizing access areas and wristband pickup points appropriately, and designing a security plan tailored to real-time conditions. Our top priority is the safety of our attendees. We work hard to make sure their experience isn’t affected by long queues or, even worse, a sense of insecurity".

"Every year we develop a detailed crowd management plan, especially since the Main Stage and one of the secondary stages are located in sports arenas with limited capacity," says Perța. "It’s crucial that we manage these crowds effectively and take action to regulate access if needed. We also monitor movement between stages during headline performances. Our systems are well-structured, and we even have rapid-response teams on standby for any unexpected crowd management issues."

"However, no matter how many challenges arise throughout the year, I find my motivation and reward on the first day when the gates open," Perța adds. "Without exception, every single year, that moment brings tears to my eyes. Seeing the festivalgoers coming in happy and full of excitement proves to me that all our effort was worth it".

While the festival's production and operations are an important and constantly evolving process, much of the work on UNTOLD's line-up and experience begins with deciding its ever-changing theme. Last year's edition had been based around the concept of "Human is Nature" with green-fingered stage designs that incorporated tree and plant motifs, while 2023's theme had been "Phoenix, the Protector of The World Capital of Night and Magic" which saw UNTOLD dedicate itself to a mystical, otherworldly atmosphere. For 2025,  the theme is "Self-Expression" in a bid to encourage "uniqueness and embrace diversity" with UNTOLD wanting attendees to be their  "best and most authentic selves" at the festival. "The theme isn't just aesthetics with a name on a new chapter," says Buta. "It comes from the very first feeling of pure joy and continues its journey through a narrative framework for all experiences in our UNTOLD Universe". 

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"Sometimes we are inspired by myths and legends, other times by future tech, human emotion, or imagination, and sometimes we blend them all," he adds. "Our creative team dives deep into visual worlds, archetypes, and stories that resonate with the UNTOLD spirit: bold, immersive, mystical and magical." The constant energetic shift of UNTOLD means stages are designed from scratch each year, including the main stage — while the secondary stages explore "a different fantasy realm of the UNTOLD Universe," says Florina Dascăl, Architecture, Design & Experience Manager UNTOLD Universe.

"UNTOLD is built around fantasy storytelling, but it always revolves around the context we want to explore each year," she adds. "The stages are the visual representation of that theme — the epitome of the story we want to tell. While the look is deeply rooted in fantasy, it’s also shaped by the values we care about and the message we want to share with the crowd. That gives each stage a strong identity, both emotionally and visually." From a technical standpoint, the Main Stage is the most time consuming and complex to get to completion, with the set-up taking three weeks – from first build to rehearsal and sound checks. 

For Dascăl, there's a sense of reward when the festival's stages are plastered across social media after it has commenced. "We design with that in mind – how it will look in photos and video," she says. "It’s great to see how people connect with it and how the story keeps evolving even after the festival ends."

"It’s a big collaborative effort,"  says Dascăl, who oversees teams of creative directors, production managers, 3D and technical designers, lighting experts, video teams, rigging scaffolding, decorators and more. "Keeping the story consistent across every touchpoint is important," she continues. "From pre-festival teasers to on-site and post-festival media – is a big one. Plus the usual race against time, balancing production with space for creativity and exploration".

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This dedication to consistency and storytelling is also a key part of building UNTOLD's eye-watering line-up - which this year features Martin Garrix, Anyma, Tiësto, Becky Hill, Alok, and many more. "For me, it’s always about the journey," says Marwan Dua, the festival's senior booking manager and programmer.  "I’m not just booking names, I’m building a mood, a story for every stage, from Main Stage to Alchemy or Galaxy. Tempo matters, but energy matters more. Sometimes, a slower set with deep emotion can hit harder than a peak-time banger. I look for artists who understand the vibe, not just the slot".

While curating the mood is important for Dua, he similarly notes the importance to managing crowd flow in relation to the festival's bookings. "You can have the best line-up in the world, but if the crowd isn’t breathing with you, it’s wasted," he says. "Crowd flow affects everything, from the first warmup DJ to the closing act. At a festival like UNTOLD, people float between stages, so you have to create a space that pulls them in and gives them a reason to stay. A good stage has gravity. You build that by curating the line-up like a long-format mix".

While the festival has consistently attracted superstar electronic headliners to Romania - with past years seeing performances from David Guetta, Carl Cox, Swedish House Mafia, Black Coffee, Lenny Kravitz and Burna Boy - Dua insists the balance of international and local acts is at the heart of UNTOLD's appeal. "We have incredible talent in Romania; producers and DJs who deserve big stages like the Main Stage, but also up-and-coming acts that fit perfectly in one of the other stages," he says. "I always try to place them in the right slots, alongside international artists, not just as warm-up acts. That’s how you build a scene". 

"When someone like Rampue or Satori plays after a local name and the energy holds or when they close after artists such as Solomun, Fisher, or Carl Cox. That’s a win for everyone. Plus, the crowd can tell when it’s genuine," Dua says. Building a connection between the acts on the line-up and the beautiful, medieval city within which it takes place is another important step, with the festival encouraging musicians to discover what Cluj-Napoca has to offer. "More often than not, they’re blown away," he adds. "UNTOLD really leaves an impression. I’ve had agents and artists tell me it’s one of the best organised events they’ve experienced. And that means a lot, coming from people who’ve seen it all. We try to make it not just professional, but memorable".

UNTOLD is intrinsically tied to Cluj-Napoca, having first started out when the city was designated the European Youth Capital in 2015. "The city has grown with us over the years," says founder Buta. "We all grew up together. We have always benefited from local and national support to organise and manage a large-scale event in a living, breathing city during August. We have built trust and a shared long-term vision. In 2018, UNTOLD was the first brand to receive the title of ambassador of Romanian tourism. We’re now preparing to host 100,000+ participants daily for four days and nights for our 10th anniversary edition".

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Buta believes "unique memories and pure emotions" are what attract hundreds of thousands of people to Cluj-Napoca year-on-year for UNTOLD.  "It is about what you feel at the festival besides the line-up, stages, mesmerising shows, lights and fireworks, dancers or magicians surrounding you in the festival," he says. "People come for the headliners, but they return for how UNTOLD makes them feel". 

"You’ll see students dancing next to 30+ couples, singles, families with children or teenagers, 40+ and even 50+ who celebrate life dancing and listening to music, enjoying different kinds of experiences," says Buta, adding that 2025's edition will have a dedicated UNTOLD kids' area that offers the chance for children to meet-and-greet with artists. "We know lots of couples who met at our festival and even got married and now have kids, friends who became friends, or new gangs of friends. They’re here not just for the music, but for the feeling of being part of something bigger and unique. UNTOLD is a community," he adds. 

Fellow UNTOLD founder Rădulescu echos Buta's sentiments: "What makes UNTOLD special is that it’s not just a festival, it’s a community. Artists tell me they feel a unique energy here. Many of them stay after their shows just to hang out and soak it all in. Seeing how UNTOLD has inspired trust, friendships, and even families is what keeps me going".

So what else can audiences expect from the 10th anniversary of UNTOLD? While the line-up will feature the only European show from Metro Boomin and Post Malone opening his European Tour, there will also be surprise acts, unexpected collaborations and "first-time world exclusives". 

"There’s a sense of magic, transformation and uniqueness. Every year, you have the chance to relive a version of yourself or discover a new you entirely," Buta continues. "That kind of experience and connection with your most authentic self is rare. UNTOLD is about that. You have to come and feel it, and you’ll want to come back again."

For more information and tickets for UNTOLD Festival 2025, click here.