NIBIRU’s first season is drawing to a close, leaving behind a summer that changed the rules of entertainment on the Romanian coast and brought 2.6 million visitors to the newest resort. Festivals with international artists such as Playboi Carti, Future, Don Toliver, Tyla, Yeat and Quavo at Beach, Please!, Ozuna, DJ Snake, Nicky Jam, Farruko, Clean Bandit, Timmy Trumpet, Olly Alexander, Moojo, Gordo, Salvatore Ganacci, Lucenzo and HUGEL at GALAXIA, Black Coffee, John Summit, Charlotte de Witte, Marco Carola and The Martinez Brothers at NEBULA X, Taemin, Jeon Somi, WHIB and EVERGLOW at K-POP DAYS, Haddaway, Snap, Corona, Nana, ATC, Jenny (Ace of Base), Eric Martin (Technotronic), The Mad Stuntman and Garcia at STARDUST, Timbaland, EVE, Fat Joe, Keri Hilson and Busta Rhymes at RETROGRADE, alongside the festival dedicated to Romanian rock music ROCKDAYS, where IRIS, Phoenix, Subcarpați, Direcția 5, Vița de Vie, Vama, Bosquito and many others performed, and the Center Stage evenings with artists such as Smiley, Delia, INNA, Carla’s Dreams, Irina Rimes, Alex Velea, Theo Rose, Antonia, The Motans and Connect-R, family experiences, themed activations and a community that grew alongside the project turned NIBIRU into an example of how entertainment can rewrite a destination’s calendar.

A summer that started from zero

NIBIRU’s first season started from an ambitious idea: to create new reasons for people to choose the Romanian coast. At the start of the summer, the project was a promise, a new resort that was to appear in Costinești and bring something that had never existed before in Romania.

Throughout June, July and August, NIBIRU transformed from a concept into a real destination, with festivals, concerts, family experiences, food areas and parties that brought hundreds of thousands of people to Costinești. This season showed that the model is viable and that the Romanian coast can become a highly attractive destination, capable of generating consistent visitor flows even beyond the traditional peak periods of the summer season.

NIBIRU brought a shift in perspective on what can be built in Romania:

“For a long time, in Romania, we’ve had the conversation about what exists in other countries and what we’re missing. This summer we proved that we can build something here that deserves to be seen from outside Romania too. That Romania has something to say in entertainment.

The next stage is for NIBIRU to become a reason to travel for international audiences too: for someone to discover an artist or a festival in the lineup, buy a ticket, book a few days of accommodation and come to Romania for the experience here.” – Andrei Șelaru, CEO and co-founder NIBIRU

Economic impact: 2.6 million visitors and 400 million euros in the local economy

NIBIRU’s first season ended with figures that exceed any initial estimate. Over 2,000,000 visitors passed through NIBIRU, and including the Beach, Please! festival, the total traffic figure exceeds 2,600,000 visits. The team behind the project organized 300 events this year, with over 500 Romanian and international artists present. These visits generated approximately 400 million euros in the local economy of Constanța County this summer. NIBIRU recorded an average of 42,000 visitors per day, and with the 5 days of Beach, Please!, the average rises to 50,000 visitors per day, the equivalent of an entire city temporarily relocating to Costinești.

Festivals that defined summer 2026

NIBIRU’s first festival calendar included events that covered multiple generations and musical communities. Summer 2026 began with BEACH, PLEASE!, the festival that opened the NIBIRU resort and brought names like Playboi Carti, Future, Don Toliver, Tyla, Yeat and Quavo to Costinești, marking its fifth anniversary edition and confirming the audience’s appetite for trap and urban music internationally.

GALAXIA followed, the Latino music festival on the Romanian coast, with artists like Ozuna, Nicky Jam, Farruko and HUGEL, confirming the region’s potential as a destination for this musical genre.

NEBULA X brought electronic music at the highest level, across four nights dedicated to house, techno and EDM genres, with Black Coffee, John Summit, Charlotte de Witte, Marco Carola and The Martinez Brothers, consolidating the coast’s position on the map of genre-specific festivals.

K-POP DAYS marked a unique moment for genre music and for the region: the first experience dedicated to the K-POP community in Romania, with Taemin (SHINee), JEON SOMI, EVERGLOW and WHIB, which discovered how passionate the fans are and how strong this community is.

Popcorn Days celebrated the Romanian musical phenomenon that dominated international playlists in the early 2000s, reuniting iconic names of that generation, such as INNA, Edward Maya, DJ Sava and Fly Project.

RETROGRADE marked the last major event at NIBIRU Arena this year and a strong finale for the first season of festivals, bringing to Costinești artists who defined 2000s music: Timbaland, EVE, Fat Joe, Keri Hilson, Busta Rhymes and La Familia, some of whom, like Timbaland, came to Romania for the first time.

Entertainment that changes a destination’s calendar

The impact of NIBIRU’s first season was not limited to the stages within the resort. Costinești recorded heavy traffic, tourists, full restaurants, occupied accommodation and tens of thousands of people who came for NIBIRU.

For Selly, one of the most important conclusions of the first season is that entertainment can change a destination’s calendar.

NIBIRU on the international map: “the pink planet by the Black Sea”

For a long time, in Romania, the conversation about entertainment revolved around what exists in other countries and what is missing here. This summer, NIBIRU began to change that perspective.

The international artists who came to NIBIRU met the Romanian audience, filmed, posted and talked about their experience. They carried the images from Costinești to communities that, together, add up to hundreds of millions of people around the world.

For the first season of a destination built from scratch, this had a very significant impact. The next stage is for NIBIRU to become a reason to travel for international audiences too: for someone to discover an artist or a festival in the lineup, buy a ticket, book a few days of accommodation and come to Romania for the experience here.

A community that grew alongside the project

NIBIRU set out to develop an approach in which the audience has a real role in the destination’s evolution. Throughout the summer, the organizers adjusted the program for families, changed flows, worked on transportation and implemented ideas that came directly from the community.

Selly explained that the audience must have a real role in the evolution of this place and that NIBIRU aims to develop an approach in which the community actively participates in what is being built.

The organizers changed the program when they saw that families wanted to come earlier, adjusted experiences, worked on transportation, modified flows, read feedback and criticism, and implemented ideas that came directly from the community. For the NIBIRU team, this is a real form of inclusion: people participate, through their ideas, in what is being built.

Accessibility became one of the central themes of the first season. Accessibility means price, but it also means diversity of experiences, generations, tastes and communities.

Music has the extraordinary capacity to bring people together. This summer, at NIBIRU, people of completely different ages and interests were seen singing the same song. Young audiences discovered their parents’ artists, and parents came to their children’s concerts.

Performance and role models for new generations

Throughout the first season, NIBIRU also hosted 32 national Olympians, who took the stage and were applauded by thousands of people. NIBIRU also featured personalities representing Romanian achievement in completely different fields, from Dumitru Prunariu, Ilie Năstase and Rică Răducanu to Florian Munteanu.

NIBIRU wanted to offer new generations role models and examples of achievement: people and stories that deserve to be known or brought back into the NIBIRU audience’s attention.

An ecosystem built around a new destination

The same openness exists on the economic side too. In its first season, NIBIRU meant a market for many businesses. The organizers worked with restaurants, suppliers, producers, services, artists, craftspeople and local vendors, with the goal of creating opportunities around the project as well.

During the press conference, Selly announced that an initiative is being prepared together with one of the partners who was part of the first season and a new strategic partner. Through this initiative, the organizers want to support development projects in the area. Details on how it will work will be announced in the coming period.

Selly stated that NIBIRU wants ideas, entrepreneurs, solutions and people who see things the organizers may not yet see.

According to Selly, a project of this size grows much better when an ecosystem grows around it. And the same principle applies to Costinești as a whole.

The organizers believe that NIBIRU has contributed to bringing Costinești and the southern coast back into the spotlight. But the project never set out to replace restaurants, clubs, terraces, events or other forms of leisure.

NIBIRU coexists with restaurants, clubs, terraces, events and other forms of leisure, and contributes to the growth of a destination in which every operator has its own audience and its own identity. NIBIRU proposes a different concept, and it is precisely this diversity that makes the coast stronger. The more reasons people have to come to the coast and the more experiences they can choose from, the more everyone benefits.

NIBIRU 2027: 74 days of season

During the press conference, the organizers announced the first details for the 2027 season:

Opening: June 24, 2027
Closing: September 5, 2027
Duration: 74 days

Selly stated that in 2027 NIBIRU aims to generate, over the course of the 74 days, reasons for people to choose the coast, stay longer and return.

According to Selly, in the first season NIBIRU built and tested a model, and in the second season it will develop it further: with better infrastructure, simpler access, new experiences and artists, new communities, more opportunities for businesses and a much stronger international component.

“Christmas in September”: a finale with its own story

For the last week of the season, NIBIRU prepared an experience inspired by the atmosphere of the winter holidays. The “Christmas in September” concept came directly from the community’s messages, who wanted NIBIRU to host a Christmas event in Costinești.

In the last week of the season, the NIBIRU promenade is decorated with a giant Christmas tree, a few hundred meters from the sea, along with lights, decorations and themed experiences. The atmosphere is completed by activities for children, concerts, parties at the Berărie, food areas and open-air cinema.

“Home Alone” at the open-air cinema, in collaboration with Cinema Europa

One of the special moments prepared for the last week is the screening of the film “Home Alone,” organized in collaboration with Cinema Europa.

The film will be screened outdoors, at NIBIRU, in a setting that combines the nostalgia of one of the most beloved family films with the unusual atmosphere of early September, by the seaside.

The screening is part of the “Christmas in September” program and is aimed at audiences of all ages: families who want to spend time together, those looking for a relaxed evening outdoors, and everyone who associates the film with the winter holiday season.

Thus, at NIBIRU, “Home Alone” comes to the cinema, at the seaside, in September, in an experience that reinterprets a winter ritual in a summer setting.

The final days of the first NIBIRU edition: the last week’s program

During the last week, NIBIRU remains open starting at 5:00 PM.

The program includes:

• Concerts at Center Stage every evening
• Parties at Berăria NIBIRU, with music and DJ sets
• An active promenade, with activities for children, shows and relaxation areas
• “Christmas in September” decorations and themed experiences, including the giant tree and light installations
• Open-air cinema, with the screening of the film “Home Alone,” in collaboration with Cinema Europa
• Food, walking and relaxation areas for families and groups of friends

This is the last chance in 2026 to experience the first NIBIRU edition, and the first edition will always have something special. In 20 or 30 years there will be people who can say they were here in the year it all began, that they saw the first season, the first festivals, the first Center Stage evenings and the first summer when the pink planet appeared in Costinești.

The last week is also aimed at residents of Constanța and nearby towns, for whom a visit to NIBIRU can mean a few hours of entertainment, without needing a full vacation. At the same time, the organizers specifically invite those who worked in tourism, HoReCa, services, retail, production and events throughout the summer.

The first NIBIRU edition is still being lived

The last week marks the end of the first season, but not the end of the NIBIRU project.

The audience, the artists, the teams, the partners, the vendors and the people who contributed to the first edition form the community that grew this summer in Costinești.

According to Selly, at the beginning of the summer NIBIRU said it wanted to build a place that brings people together, and now it knows that place exists. The summer is lived together, and the first NIBIRU edition is still being lived.

Selly invites the audience to close out NIBIRU’s first season together.