In summer 2019, INSTITUTE OF PROMOTION turned Magio Beach, Slovak Telekom’s city beach in Bratislava, into a zero waste event. Over 80 days it welcomed 250,000 visitors and generated about 9,000 kWh of electricity from bio-waste. The project was shortlisted for the EFFIE Awards Slovakia 2019, received an honourable mention in the Golden Ant (Zlatý mravec) waste management awards, and was presented at a UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) conference in Geneva.

The brief was to create an attractive public space under the Magio brand while strengthening Telekom’s position as a trusted innovator. The beach ran from 14 June to 1 September 2019 on Tyršovo nábrežie, on the bank of the Danube.

Painting the beach green

After twelve seasons, people saw Magio Beach as a commercial spot by the river. We proposed a bold shift to the client: make it green.

We wanted to turn a place built for fun into a place for responsible leisure, one that would encourage people to live more sustainably at home and at work.

We started from the 2018 numbers: 250,000 disposable cups, 70,000 straws, 15,000 PET bottles and 10 tonnes of construction waste.

Waste that never happened

We banned single-use plastics. Deposit cups replaced 189,381 disposable ones, and serving drinks without straws saved 70,000 straws. We used 19,600 fewer PET bottles. 

Food came on compostable tableware, and the catering followed green procurement rules with a focus on package-free products. Mixed municipal waste fell by 50%, and twice as much paper was collected for recycling.

Power from bio-waste

We were the only event in Slovakia to turn its bio-waste into electricity. We collected 18.4 tonnes of bio-waste, which a biogas plant converted into roughly 9,000 kWh. Part of it was composted on site.

Solar panels supplied power and solar collectors heated the water. The back-of-house facilities were built from shipping containers that can be reused in future seasons. A new layout and recycled materials cut construction waste by 10 tonnes.

Less visual noise

Roll-ups and beach flags gave way to wooden structures with consistent monochrome and green branding. Partners contributed products and activities to the concept, not just their logos.

Programme and coworking

The beach hosted 21 concerts, 42 film screenings and 95 events, plus more than 500 hours of sports training.

New this year was a coworking space with a library that served as a summer office. It hosted 34 talks and panel discussions and 26 workshops on ecology, business, personal development and innovation.

Results

In a representative survey, 70% of respondents said the beach’s environmental focus made them see Slovak Telekom as a responsible operator. 51% said it had a positive impact on their own lives.

The new concept also brought in a new audience. Drink sales rose by 28.6% and food sales by 50%. The best-selling dish was no longer the hot dog but gyoza.

Awards

Magio Beach 2019 was shortlisted for the EFFIE Awards Slovakia 2019. At the Waste Management Day conference, it received an honourable mention in the Golden Ant competition for an outstanding solution and contribution to waste management.

The project was also presented abroad, at a UNECE conference in Geneva focused on the waste challenge.

What we take forward

We keep building on what we learned at Magio Beach in every event we produce. We believe sustainable events will become the norm.