Northern Quarter<\/a> in October and began approaching strangers. For three hours, nobody agreed to go on a date with her.<\/p>\n\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter how confident you are, it is scary… If you watch the first video, there are loads of rejections,\u201d she laughed. \u201cPeople weren\u2019t rejecting me because it was me, they were confused because it was not normal anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n
Eventually, one stranger agreed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just sat down and started asking random questions,\u201d she said. \u201cBut afterwards I realised I\u2019d just had the opportunity to really learn about someone\u2019s life and I felt like I hadn\u2019t done that in a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n
That moment convinced her to keep going. Andrea believes many young people now feel trapped in a dating culture they do not actually enjoy, but continue participating in it because it feels unavoidable.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think as a generation, people are fed up with dating apps,\u201d she said. \u201cBut everybody’s on them, so it becomes hard to break away.\u201d<\/p>\n
She says modern dating has created a generation increasingly uncomfortable with direct interaction.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been out with friends and they\u2019ll see someone attractive, but instead of speaking to them, they want to go home and look them up on Instagram,\u201d she said. \u201cThe person is right in front of you. This is unfathomable to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
Andrea also believes social media has encouraged people to treat relationships as disposable, with appearances becoming more important than personality.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cWe\u2019ve lost the value of character. There\u2019s always this idea that somebody better looking is around the corner. But humans aren\u2019t replaceable.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Andrea](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/1_Andrea-on-streetdatesjpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Andrea on a date with a stranger at a rooftop bar for Day 32 of streetdates<\/p>\n
She argues dating apps encourage users to make instant decisions based almost entirely on physical appearance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf relationships become entirely based on looks, then everybody starts to feel replaceable,\u201d she said. She says many young people simultaneously crave connection while fearing genuine interactions.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing mysterious and not talking to people is almost a flex now,\u201d she said. \u201cBut people crave human connection.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s strange because everybody wants connection, but when somebody actually tries to speak to you, everybody gets uncomfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n
One of the strongest reactions to her videos, Andrea says, has been the number of messages she receives from viewers describing feelings of loneliness.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cYou\u2019d be surprised how many people message me saying they feel really lonely. People tell me they relate to what I\u2019m doing because they miss genuine interaction.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the humour that often appear in her videos, Andrea insists the project has always been genuine.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese dates are very serious to me,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen I go on them, I genuinely think this could be my person.\u201d<\/p>\n
At one point she believed she may have actually found him.<\/p>\n
One date developed into something far more serious than a filmed interaction. The pair continued seeing each other privately and built what she thought could become a long-term relationship.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely thought I was ready to quit Streetdates,\u201d she said. The relationship eventually ended, but Andrea said the experience only strengthened her belief in what the project represents.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe really showed me that if it’s not with him, it could still happen,\u201d she said. \u201cIt reassured me that I have to keep on going because I\u2019m so close.\u201d<\/p>\n
Earlier this year, Andrea took the concept even further when she invited a stranger to fly to Paris with her for Valentine\u2019s Day after meeting him on campus.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe sat down for five minutes, put our passport details in and then met at the airport the next morning,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
While the trip did not lead to romance, Andrea said it reflected exactly what Streetdates is about, openness, spontaneity and genuine connection.<\/p>\n
The project has also unexpectedly led to friendships.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome of my best friends came from Streetdates,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople think strangers are really strangers, but everybody is connected somehow.\u201d<\/p>\n
Now preparing to graduate, Andrea hopes to take Streetdates internationally this summer while continuing to create spaces where young people can reconnect away from screens.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have big plans for this generation,\u201d she said. \u201cI think people are longing for something more real.\u201d<\/p>\n
But despite the growing audience and ambitious plans, Andrea insists the goal of Streetdates has never changed. One day, she hopes it ends.<\/p>\n
Behind every awkward approach, every filmed rejection and every conversation with a stranger is still the same belief that inspired the project in the first place: that one real conversation could still change your life.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I find someone,\u201d she said, \u201cI\u2019m ready to quit Streetdates because that\u2019s why I started the project.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Andrea](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_Andrea-Giro-Adeleye-22jpeg.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Valentine's](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/0_Screenshot-2026-05-20-174804.png\")
<\/p>\n