B’Estfest Rocks Bucharest

The Romanian festival market isn’t so strong that it can cope with two in Bucharest over the same weekend, although Emagic’s revamped B’Estfest clearly fared better than D&D East Entertainment’s Rock The City.

After skipping 2010 because an overcrowded Balkan market would make it hard to move tickets, Emagic chief Laura Coroianu moved her renamed B’Estfest Summer Camp from the 30,000-capacity Romexpo site near the centre of the Romanian capital to a greenfield site on the edge of Lake Pasarea.

It also became a camping festival for the first time and the fans appear to have approved the changes as there were about 13,000 of them per day for a lineup that included Skunk Anansie, Mika and Pendulum.

Emagic’s Dragos Chiscoci says the event was a success and a solid platform for future years, but it’s unclear if it turned a profit.

Also happening July 1-3 was D&D East’s Rock The City at Piata Constitutiei, a site that has previously staged shows by AC/DC, Sting, and Sabaton.

It struggled to do 5,000 per day for a lineup that included The Prodigy, Mike & The Mechanics, and Judas Priest.