Study: Large events, big-name concerts bring Romanian festival market to over EUR 126 mln

The local market of festivals is expected to reach a value of over RON 600 million (EUR 126.3 million) against a string of big-name concerts and large events and over 1 million spectators this season, according to a study by consultancy company Frames, quoted by News.ro.

After such events as the Neversea and Electric Castle festivals, and the concerts of Ed Sheeran and Bon Jovi, which attracted a public of several hundreds of thousands, the season of festivals continues with festivals such as Untold, AfterHills, George Enescu and a Metallica concert.

Last year, the market reached RON 472.6 million (almost EUR 99.5 million), over RON 80 million (EUR 16.8 million) more than in 2017, according to the same source.

Compared to 2010, the evolution is even more significant.

“In 2010, the 366 companies in this sector, which includes the needed logistics, reported a turnover of RON 77.9 million (EUR 16.4 million). As the sector developed, the number of companies increased significantly, and reached 1,196 companies in 2017 and 1,238 companies in 2018,” the Frames analysis shows. The players on this market had a profit of RON 5.8 million (EUR 1.2 million) in 2010, RON 62.2 (EUR 13 million) million in 2017, and RON 87.9 million (EUR 18.5 million) in 2018.

The western Romania city of Cluj, where the Untold festival takes place, is considered a landmark in this sector. “Beyond increasing the tourism potential, Untold is a horizontal business, with tens if not hundreds of connected companies from which the entire city profits, from tourism operators to transporters, the food sector, and the authorities, from the taxes,” the Frames analysts say.

Untold SRL continues to be the main player on this market, with a turnover of RON 68.3 million (EUR 14.3 million) in 2018, up over RON 9 million (EUR 1.8 million) against 2017. The organizer of the Untold festival ended 2018 with a profit of RON 7 million (EUR 1.4 million), almost double compared to the previous year.

The second spot is taken by Constanţa-based company Global Records SRL, which had a turnover of RON 45.8 million (EUR 9.6 million) in 2018, up 13 million (EUR 2.7 million) against 2017, and a profit of RON 3.7 million (EUR 778,947). Another Cluj company, Festival Tickets Management SRL, ranks next, with a turnover of RON 26.9 million (EUR 5.6 million) and a profit of RON 2.3 million (EUR 484,210) in 2018.

At the same time, the turnover of the Neversea festival in Constanţa also increased to reach RON 25.2 million last year, up RON 7.4 million compared to 2017.