The 10th anniversary of Beats for Love announces news: the best program in history and a return to the roots!

In addition to a star-studded programme and a wide range of accompanying activities, the anniversary of the Beats for Love festival will also bring a number of improvements. One of the main changes is the introduction of cashless payments. Visitors can look forward not only to their favourite world-class performers, improved design of zones and stages, a more spacious venue, but also greater financial comfort and safety during the festival days.

More than 500 performers at one place, this is how one could describe the popular open-air dance music marathon. However, the Beats for Love festival does not only break records in the number of artists performing. “We are the most visited music festival in the Czech Republic and the largest open air genre festival in Central Europe and we take this as a commitment to all our fans. Thanks to this, we made it into the Top 10 most important festivals in Europe last year,” explains festival director Kamil Rudolf.

“We are not resting on our laurels and are constantly moving forward thanks to feedback”

Festival organizers promise a leap forward from previous years. They are responding to the wishes of the fans themselves resulting from an extensive questionnaire survey in previous years. For example, the festival venue will be enlarged, which ultimately means more space, comfort and rest areas for visitors.

The festival line-up has also undergone minor changes. “This year we have focused on the roots of dance music, which is also reflected in the name of the new stage Captain Morgan The Roots. It will feature purely vinyl records and mostly music from the 1990s and the turn of the millennium, when dance music experienced its biggest boom,” says Jiří Ramík, the festival’s programme director. Another new feature will be a shift in the design and sophistication of the individual genre stages. “We don’t want to reveal everything at the moment, but the new design of our stages will certainly be a surprise. For example, the Zion Stage will certainly leave no one untouched this year,” he adds.

News in the festival area is also brought by the festival’s general partner Proud beer, which is held by Plzeňský Prazdroj.”The Proud zone will be unique in its concept. It completely meets the needs of visitors. Besides music, they also want a pleasant, cosy and well-designed place to chill out, i.e. relax with friends,” Rudolf explains.

“Visitors can also expect an advanced accompanying programme and conferences.”

The festival museum will be unique, where the organisers want to remind all the past years and their unforgettable moments. It is also worth mentioning the first ever real wedding of Beats for Love fans, which will take place right at the festival.

The popular Talking Beats conference, which will have its second edition this year, will also attract attention in the programme. The conference will be attended by popular national and international artists, organizers of the biggest Czech festivals and other experienced players not only in the music industry. The conference will discuss, for example, the beginnings of DJing in the Czech Republic, the mental health of artists, the organization of music events or combining DJ career and family life. “Visitors from both the Czech Republic and abroad will be able to enjoy the conference, as the entire conference will be simultaneously translated into English. In addition to the above-mentioned areas, this year we have decided to focus on current topics such as the prevention of sexual violence, which will be interactively guided by lecturers from Moderní sebeobrana and ladies from the popular podcast Vyhonit ďábla,” says the marketing director of the festival, Matyáš Ožana.

Visitors can also look forward to exceptional performances that will take place in various parts of the venue, in front of the Love stage by ČSOB and in the alleys between the zones. “Many performers from the local area and various parts of the world will visit us. Whether it is a dance exhibition, a fireshow, performances by street artists or a completely unique parade with a mobile and moving statue of a giant mythical creature, which we do not want to specify yet,” says the production manager Marcela Kučová.

This year’s exclusive collection of merch, i.e. clothing and fashion accessories for all festival fans, will also be improved. “We want to please even the most demanding visitors, which is why we have bet on novel cuts, pleasant and high-quality materials and practical design. Our goal was to create pieces that will catch the eye, but at the same time you will want to reach for them even when wearing them every day,” says Barbora Kocubová, the production manager.

The festival has been proving that Beats for Love is not just about entertainment for many years with its Beats for Charity fundraising event. This year will be no exception. In addition, each year the festival organisers raise the amount collected with their own generous contribution, and all the money goes to where it will help the most – to selected fighters against the unpleasant fate. This year, the collection will be aimed at helping nine-year-old Isabel Kavalová and six-month-old Dorian Příborský. “The money will help both children with the necessary care, rehabilitation aids and generally to improve their quality of life. We will soon be introducing our visitors to Dorian and Isabel and their stories, and we will be launching the fundraiser. We are happy that our festival can help a good cause,” explains Gabriela Rudolfová from the Beats for Love production team.

“Cashless is one of the trends that resonate among our visitors”

The entire festival will be strictly cashless for the first time this year. “It’s a big change and one we decided to make because more than 80% of our fans have continuously asked for it. Moreover, it’s great that our general partner is the bank ČSOB, which will give the cashless project the hallmark of quality, safety and unconditional functionality“, Rudolf explained. For visitors to the festival, this means more time for culture and entertainment and less hassle with paying. The cashless system aims to speed up the payment process and therefore also the queuing at refreshments or ATMs.

“Visitors can leave all their cash at home and don’t have to think about withdrawing from an ATM or carrying change in their pockets. At the festival, they can pay with Visa or Mastercard, mobile phones and watches, just as they are used to. Generally speaking, we know that nowadays the majority of people prefer to pay cashless, with two thirds of young people preferring to pay by mobile phone or watch. We therefore want to meet them and let them focus only on the festival experience,” says Martin Jarolím, Chief Executive Officer and Member of the Board of Directors of ČSOB responsible for retail. “We want to reward our clients, for example, with a special VIP zone, from which they can see directly onto the Love Stage.” During the festival, the virtual assistant Kate, who ČSOB clients can get to know from their mobile app, will also be helpful.

Visitors can also use special anonymous prepaid cards for payments, which can be purchased on site for CZK 100. These cards will be as practical as regular payment cards. It will be possible to continuously recharge them with cash and credit card. However, they can only be used for payment at the festival.

All necessary information regarding news, merch, charity and cashless is available on the festival website http://www.b4l.cz  and answers to the most frequently asked questions of visitors will be added over time. Fans can also find there all the types of festival tickets available.