Ready to rock the island? Exclusive Interview with Vaida Rickute on BEON1X
Hi Vaida! Tell us, what makes Cyprus so special as a music destination?
Vaida Rickute: "We live in Cyprus and we know all pros of this place. In fall it’s already cold in Europe, but here’s still sunny and warm. This is an incredible opportunity to extend your summer, relax at the beach, and bathe in sunlight. Cyprus has many European tourists who think of it as a European paradise island. It also has airlines with almost every European country, so it’s easy to get here. You can just chill at the beach and listen to the coolest DJs at the same time."
The lineup looks impressive! How long took the organization?
Vaida Rickute: "Well, we booked the majority of the artists in the spring, but due to some circumstances, the promo campaign started only in July. Right now we’re finishing the last preparations, building stages, making zones, and art installations. We want to make an unforgettable atmosphere here. This is our first experience with organizations of such a huge music event, but we believe that we got it."
Why did you choose to debut the festival across 2 weekends?
Vaida Rickute: "When we started to forming lineup it turns out that we have so much great names that we wanted to show to people and 3 days just weren’t enough. That’s why we decided to make it up to two weeks. Friday and Saturday are most powerful and Sunday feels more like an after-party, because it’s a shortened day, but it still has so much great names in the schedule. Tomorrowland and Coachella also have 2-weekends festivals, so it’s pretty common in the festival industry. The more the better, right?"
What do you want BEON1X to stand for in the electronic music festival scene?
Vaida Rickute: "We want BEON1X to become the main event of electronic music. The festival itself is a part of the major art-cluster project called BEON1X which is supposed to reorganize Cyprus into the most creative space in Europe. The music festival supposes to be the starting point of this project and also annually it will be a reporting event. We want to make Cyprus a magnetic place for artists, musicians, sports, blogging, ecology, etc. Our team believes we have a perfect synergy of location, vibe, and atmosphere here. BEON1X Open Mind Music Festival has strong chances to become a must-visit place for all fans of electronic music."
Does BEON1X have anything special planned for their first event on Cyprus?
Vaida Rickute: "World-class lineup, ambitious plans, art installations across the festival and on stages, TopCreators conference that’s going to be held between the weekends. We invited speakers all around the world to join us to speak about creativity in all different spheres: IT, Cryptocurrency, urbanism, etc. You can dance to your beloved DJs and meet creative people from different countries, learn something new, and make new friends all within only two weekends."
What can we expect from the stage design and festival atmosphere?
Vaida Rickute: "We have two stages: main and organic. The main stage is for headliners and organic for local DJs and some of our special guests abroad. Both stages made in hightech style, you’ll see two giant hands on the main stage, a lot of neon lines across the whole festival territory. Organic stage is built on the sand, so you can chill, swim in the sea, and play beach football while listening to great music without the necessity of leaving the festival."
Tell us a secret of one of the performing acts!
Vaida Rickute: "16 of our DJs will play their new tracks for the first time at the festival: Carl Cox, MoBlack, Christian Smith, Marco Bailey, Deborah De Luca, Drunken Kong, etc. Prior to the event, the playlist will be uploaded onto all major music platforms and will be available online".
Your personal message to the BEON1X guests!
Vaida Rickute: "In the name of the festival, we have two words: “open mind”. That’s our most important and the only rule. We ask all our guests to be open-minded and respect each other. There’s no place for restriction or stereotypes at BEON1X. It’s a territory of freedom, diversity, acceptance, and respect. It’s really important for us that our guests could be themselves, show their true colors, and not be judged by anyone. When you let something new in your life, magic things can happen and we want BEON1X to be that place where you can rediscover yourself."
