UNTOLD Festival is set to commence on August 3, and we’re traveling back in time to honor the stages that make the event a beauty to behold!
Since its inaugural event back in 2015, UNTOLD Festival has developed into one of the most beloved events this planet has to offer, even winning the European Festival Award for Best Major Festival in its first chapter. UNTOLD is held in Cluj-Napoca in Romania at the Cluj Arena, and this year, the festivities run from August 3-6. As with each chapter, this year’s edition of UNTOLD has invited the biggest artists in the industry to shape the mood and take attendees on the ride of their lives, including Alesso, Andrew Rayel, Armin Van Buuren, Borgore, CamelPhat, Dubfire, Markus Schulz, Tale Of Us, and so many more!
Related: Explore the sounds of UNTOLD Festival 2023 with our curated playlist!
As a multi-genre extravaganza, any electronic dance music seeker will find exactly what they’re looking for on the grounds of UNTOLD, boasting eight unique stages, with the mainstage offering the most intense visual stimulation. Its location is exactly where it belongs, inside the sprawling arena, surrounded by the side stages on the grounds beyond the massive walls. Throughout the years, UNTOLD has brought forth some pretty epic mainstage stage designs, and so we’re traveling back to take a look at the metamorphosis.
UNTOLD Festival Stages Throughout The Years
In 2015, UNTOLD officially arrived, and while it was in its infancy, the mainstage that was provided was nothing short of spectacular.
That year, the mainstage was a massive structure featuring a wide stage platform around the DJ booth for dancers and special guests, with five screens to entice the masses. The deep glow added to the mysterious ambiance and wasn’t short on lighting effects. The vast array of moving heads stole the show and swept through the crowd, ensuring that festival-goers left dazed, dazzled, and desperate for the following year!
Chapter Two unfolded in 2016, and with it came an eerie stage upgrade.
UNTOLD definitely had the itch to incorporate mystical characters into the mix, and they nailed it with a watchful owl and a nightmarish ghoul perched atop the roof, glaring down at its prey. The eyes were extra daunting as they glowed along with the bright lights that shot out of the stage, captivating the audience as the beats did. This stage was not short of all the extra bells and whistles, bringing out everything you need to stimulate the senses, including a piercing laser system, confetti canons, fireworks, fire, and CO2 cannons.
In 2017, UNTOLD pushed its imagination to the next level.
Of all the stages they’ve designed, this may have been the coolest. It was as if the entire mainstage was under attack from a dragon. The choice to paint it gold and blue made the creature really stand out (as if it needed any help). The extreme attention to detail was unlike anything presented thus far, and I can only imagine how breathtaking it was to look up at it as the bass boomed through the speakers. When it came to lighting production, they boasted everything from previous years but bumped the intensity to full tilt.
The mainstage structure in 2018 was a close rival to the 2017 stage design regarding elite creativity.
The dragon was replaced by not one but two ravenous wolves, biding time before pouncing on attendees. The colors took turns switching from blue, red, purple, and green throughout the experience, setting the perfect ambiance for the late-night debauchery. Even the side screens had a bit of an upgrade, morphing from the previous year’s rectangles into circles. All in all, this stage had a more futuristic vibe while remaining true to the fairytale effect. When it came to the fireworks, you could find them shooting out in streams around the circumference of the arena for maximum reaction.
In 2019 UNTOLD made it to Chapter Five, and to celebrate, they decided to build a structure meant for gods and kings.
The majestic entity held his position front and center, keeping his eyes on attendees as they cheered and danced under the guidance of the rhythm. There was even an extended walkway for the artist to mingle with the citizens of their domain. The screens saw a major facelift this year as well, turning into cathedral-sized stained glass windows with a unique shape on the bottom left and right. In tradition, UNTOLD pulled out all the stops when it came to the fireworks, lighting up the sky in a sea of color, while placing a cherry on top with the most lasers they’ve ever unleashed.
After a year hiatus due to the pandemic that stopped the world in its tracks, UNTOLD was officially back in 2021 with another fantastic mainstage.
They were determined to return with a bang, and their delivery hit the mark well enough. The god’s face had been removed, and in his place was the full moon, injecting a bit of ethereal wonder into the fray. While the rest of the structure closely mimicked the previous year, UNTOLD was sure to jazz things up with a fresh color spread. Throughout the night, the stage would morph between blue, gold, silver, green, and multicolor as the deep ocean of lasers and lights left attendees with memories to last a lifetime.
Last year’s iteration is still stamped deep in the memory bank as the world prepares to step back through the gates in just under a week.
Surprisingly, there wasn’t much as far as an update on the general shape of the mainstage. But where structural design remained tight, UNTOLD definitely came correct with the no-holds-barred lighting production, rivaling every year past. Festival-goers were left with the colors of the rainbow dancing through their brainwaves as the stage’s color wash morphed to match the vibes of each moment while fireworks and confetti dominated the sky.
Only time will tell what UNTOLD Festival will have in store this year.
While it seems they are leaning on the familiar as of late, one can only hope and speculate that they will unveil something fresh and more eye-popping than ever before. But, they’ve 100% proven that no matter what the design, the journey to UNTOLD will be worth your while with the lushest and unyielding first-class production elements waiting just beyond the gates. If you want to be part of the adventure, you must act quickly!
Three-day GA passes are already sold out (waitlist available), but VIP and single-day options are still available. Head to UNTOLD’s website for tickets and more information.
