The organisers of Romania’s Beach, Please! have opened up on how they developed the event into one of the biggest hip-hop festivals in the world in the space of just three years.
A$AP Rocky, 21 Savage, Young Thug, Ken Carson, Yeat, Lil Baby, NLE Choppa and Denzel Curry head the stacked lineup for the 150,000-cap extravaganza in Costinești, on the shore of the Black Sea, from 9-13 July.
Co-founder/CEO Andrei “Selly” Selaru, an influencer with more than two million followers on both Instagram and TikTok, explains the genesis of the event.
“Back in 2022, when we founded the Beach, Please! brand, there were no festivals in Romania specifically targeted at the 18-25 demographic,” he says. “Being in this demographic myself, I knew that such an event would definitely generate interest.
“We differentiated ourselves by being laser-focused on Gen-Z, and this was a huge factor in our rapid growth. We do not consider ourselves to be a hip-hop festival, but a festival who is loyal to the music taste of Gen-Z, which today happens to be mostly hip-hop.”
“We managed to sell 50,000 tickets one year in advance – without any lineup announcements
Beach, Please has grown exponentially since attracting 25,000 daily attendees to its debut edition. In 2023, it pulled in 70,000 a day, while last year – headlined by Travis Scott, Wiz Khalifa, Don Toliver and Yeat – it reported crowds in excess of 125,000 after moving to a bigger site.
“As the Costinești beach was becoming to small for the size of the event, last year we moved to a 50-acre field in Costinești,” says Selaru, who names Travis Scott’s “out of this world” performance at the 2024 festival as his biggest highlight to date.
“I think that was the moment that truly set us apart as one of the major music festivals in the world,” he says. “The most important thing is listening to our audience. We always do polls asking them what artists they would like to see for the next edition. We pride ourselves on being the #1 music festival in Europe by number of attendees.”
A full festival pass costs 1,099 lei (€220), with one-day tickets on sale from 549-699 lei (€110-140). Golden circle access, VIP and camping options are also available.
“Another major advantage in booking an amazing lineup are our pre-sale numbers, because that provides us with cashflow to be used for paying advances,” adds Selaru. “For example, for this year’s edition, we managed to sell 50,000 tickets in July 2024 – one year in advance – without any lineup announcements. Therefore, we had plenty of cash on disposal to be able to pay advances to artists in order to confirm them.
“For this year, we think we have managed to match, maybe even surpass, our audience’s expectations.”
“This year, we’re ready to host up to 150,000 people per day”
Despite his huge social media following, Selaru opted against targeting his personal fanbase to promote the festival during its first two years – preferring to let the brand grow organically and gain its own dedicated audience. However, with the festival now established, he decided to reverse course.
“The biggest platform for Beach, Please! is TikTok,” he says. Over the years we have mastered authentic communication and real-time marketing, quickly seizing on trends and current events to generate buzz. The recent results on TikTok are stunning, with some of them gaining over 200k likes in just 24 hours.”
And the promoting team say that Beach, Please’s 2025 edition, which got underway on Wednesday, is on course to be its biggest yet.
“This year, we’re ready to host up to 150,000 people per day, with a total capacity of over 600,000 across the entire festival,” says co-founder and event organiser George Carabelea. “Last year we had 510,000 attendees, and we’re already seeing even more demand in 2025 — we’ve had waiting lists and early-bird phases sell out in record time.
“One of the biggest challenges now is managing the scale while keeping the vibe intimate and fun — so we’re rethinking everything from entry systems to on-site transportation to ensure the best experience possible.”
“It’s time the global scene took Romania seriously”
Carabelea explains that Romania has become a festival destination in its own right.
“For electronic music or mainstream pop, the scene was already well-established. But hip-hop didn’t have a dedicated festival, despite having a massive and loyal fanbase,” he says. “That’s the gap Beach, Please! stepped in to fill. We didn’t have to ‘convince’ artists as much as offer them the right stage — and once they saw the energy, the crowd, and the production, they were in.
“Now, more and more international stars are reaching out to us directly. They’ve seen the impact, the buzz, and the way our audience shows up — and they want to be part of that.”
Moreover, Carabelea is happy to set the record straight on some of the biggest misconceptions regarding the country.
“One major misconception is that Romania is a ‘secondary market’ with low spending power or limited interest in music experiences,” he says. “That’s just not true anymore — especially with Gen-Z. This generation wants premium content, international talent, and immersive experiences. And they’re willing to invest in that.
“Another misconception is that festivals here can’t meet international production standards. We’ve proven that wrong: from logistics to tech and creative direction, we match or surpass major European festivals. It’s time the global scene took Romania seriously.”
Indeed, as Selaru is at pains to point out, Beach, Please! has no intention of standing still.
“In the future, we want to remain the #1 option for young people in Europe to have a complete entertainment experience,” he concludes. “We will continue to expand our production, learn from our mistakes, and grow our team to keep being the best. A festival means way more that the sum of artists performing on-stage. It’s a space for creative expression, for freedom and diversity. We want to be an enabler for young people to express themselves and make their voices heard.”
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