Cluj-Napoca’s summer of Youth, Music and Count Dracula!

The European Youth Capital for 2015, Cluj-Napoca, this weekend hosted their major project of the year, the massively successful Untold Festival.

The music festival was held over four days from 30th of July – 2nd of August, with more than 170 national and international artists, 8 main stages and a packed programme of fun activities during the day. An estimated 53,000 people gathered to enjoy the music and the atmosphere on the first day alone.

The European Youth Capital also did not miss a chance to add a unique and innovative twist to the Untold Festival, by allowing people to pay the entrance to the festival through blood donations. The ‘Pay with Blood’ campaign combined Transylvania’s internationally famous links with the legend of Count Dracula with raising awareness of Romania’s blood shortages. Romania currently ranks as one of the worst European countries for blood donation, with only 1.7 percent of the Romanian population as blood donors, and organisers hope that Untold will help to encourage more to continue donating in the future.

The Untold Festival has been just one of over a thousand events and activities that have taken place in Cluj-Napoca and the surrounding region so far, aiming to reach as many young people as possible. These have ranged from major public events, such as Cluj Never Sleeps, involving 24 hours of fun and culture, to projects promoting community participation and international communication and partnerships.

The European Youth Capital title is awarded for one year, giving the winning city the opportunity to showcase its cultural, social and political youth-related development and encourages the implementation of new ideas and projects to foster youth participation. As Cluj-Napoca is still only half way through their year as the European Youth Capital, there is much more to come in the exciting agenda of activities and events!

See what’s coming up by following the Facebook page Youth@Cluj-Napoca 2015 or learn more about how Cluj-Napoca aims to support and engage with young people here.