“June started with International Children’s Day and each shopping mall in the network organised events catering to the little ones. In the endless stream of fun, merriment, creativity and energy, children enjoyed a programme catering to all preferences: workshops, inflatable slides, drawing on asphalt, theater shows, meeting their favourite characters, face painting, team games, disco and many other surprises.

During the European Football Championship, all roads led to the mall. We wanted to surprise our football fanatic clients and supporters of the Romanian team, especially as our national team played in this championship after an eight-year hiatus. Therefore, we invited them to watch the matches in specially fitted outdoor venues in Iulius Mall Cluj, Iulius Mall Suceava and Iulius Town, on the food court terraces, where we installed giant screens. At the same time, the restaurants that would broadcast our national team’s matches were full to the brim and had very good sales, many of them even selling out their entire inventory of beer prepared for the events. The diverse public included young people, students, families, regular clients, as well as football fans who came as organised groups and decked out in football T-shirts or face painting. The vast majority comprised Gen-Z youth, major mall consumers, who experienced the thrill of Romania participating in the EURO2024 for the first time and their joy with each victory was nothing short of contagious.

We love movies and it shows every weekend at the Movie Nights event in Iulius Mall Cluj, as well as at the Flight Cinema in my Town in Iulius Town Timișoara, where the park lawn draws movie aficionados who want to enjoy a summer night to the tune of Hollywood stories. Furthermore, the TIFF Caravan (the most important film festival in Romania) stops by Iulius Town this month, turning the Iulius Gardens into the epicenter of some of the most acclaimed productions. Admission to all movies is free.

Iulius Town Timișoara also accommodates the most beautiful outdoor parties. More than 50 artists performed on stage at the Timișoara Music Awards this June, an event dedicated to local artists and geared towards recognising and raising the profile of local talents. Then, the Silent Disco challenged the guests to try a different kind of party. Each guest was provided with wireless headphones and danced to their liking, each listening to their favourite music genre.

The Outdoor Office Day was yet another relaxing event. Employees from 14 of the companies operating in Iulius Town met up in Iulius Gardens, where they spent a whole day’s work in the co-working area specially fitted out on the Lake Plaza. The benefits of such a day include networking sessions, motivation, ingenious ideas, as well as connection with nature.

In late July, the Urban Playfield festival invited Timișoara locals to remember how it feels to play and enjoy the simple things in life. The event promotes the idea that play is a universal right, regardless of one’s age or social status, encouraging everyone to rediscover the joy of exercising and sports in a fun and relaxing setting.

Across the country, in Iulius Mall Iași, this summer was all about sports. From April to June, we organised Iulius High Ballers, an extensive basketball championship attended by the most important high schools in Iași and that we intend to repeat. More than 80 high schoolers enjoyed a basketball championship dedicated to them, a competition that set out to encourage the development of young people and to promote the values of team sports. Basketball took centre stage once again in July. The 3×3 BCR Sports Arena national basketball circuit energised the shopping centre parking lot. Hundreds of participants, sports event fans and others all came to attend the matches and activations on the three courts and in the fan zone. The next phase of the championship took place in Iulius Town Timișoara, between the 10^th and 11^th of August.

Iulius Mall Cluj and Iulius Park were also very animated this summer. The highly anticipated Street Food Festival in the park got the party season started with good music, delicious food and a relaxing vibe. A third edition of the festival, that is sure to delight foodies, is scheduled in early autumn.

Summer in Cluj is all about some of the largest festivals in Romania. July started with Electric Castle (EC) and the EC Offers campaign, which offered exclusive discounts in the shopping mall stores based on the festival wristband. The mall also accommodated the ticket booth and the bus station for the bus line to the festival location. August then brought UNTOLD, which ranked 3^rd in the top 100 largest festivals in the world. Because the vibe of festivalgoers always fills us with positive energy and creative ideas, those who picked up their festival wristband at the mall earned points in the Fidelity app, which they can use for shopping in their favourite stores.

Outdoor cinema weekends continue in Iulius Town Timișoara. In August, Saturday mornings are dedicated to children, who will paint or create various objects and get to enjoy face painting.

In early August, the Super Rally National Championship, one of the most highly anticipated motorsport events in Romania, reached the heart of Iulius Town. This spectacular event brought together the best rally pilots in the country, high-performance automobiles and motorsports fanatics.

By the end of summer, we are getting ready for school and will reward our clients with prizes in the “Back to School” campaign. Intense preparations are also underway for a premiering cultural project in Timișoara, set to open this October. The project in question is the itinerant edition of the Museum of Immersive New Art (MINA), the first immersive space in Romania, located in Bucharest, and the largest new media art center in South-East Europe. MINA Pop-Up will be a 450 square metre tent, with 360 projections, where art and technology combine to create an immersive space for people of all ages. Timișoara locals will be able to enjoy three premiering immersive shows: “Van Gogh”, the mythology inspired “Inner Constellations”, and the “Underwater World” interactive projection for children. The itinerant exhibition started its cross-country journey in April, at Iulius Mall Cluj.

Movie Nights in Iulius Park continue in Iulius Mall Cluj. Also here, every Thursday until September, we have Kids Thursday – Puppet Theatre, where children can enjoy free-of-charge puppet theatre performances. Yogis are also invited in Iulius Park, on the 31^st of August, to attend a now long-standing event here, namely Wanderlust 108 Cluj-Napoca.

Dinosaurs took over Iulius Mall Suceava! Until the 18^th of August, the Dinos and Sea Monsters exhibition brought together 40 giant sea creatures and large animatronic dinosaurs. The project was equal parts entertaining and educational, drawing substantial footfall, especially children. The children could even climb on the dinosaurs that make funny and fascinating moves and sounds.

Summer is a very busy time for our marketing teams across the network, but also very beautiful and rewarding.