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Sold-out Sportpaleis raises €50,000 for live biz

Fundraising initiative Lights for Live has raised more than €50,000 for Belgium’s live music industry after selling out the Antwerp Sportpaleis for the first time in 2021.

Over 5,000 people booked one or more virtual ‘seats’ at €2 each in the 18,400-seat arena to raise money for Live2020, a solidarity fund to support the industry during the Covid-19 pandemic. Previous fundraising events for Live2020 include the Live2020 Auction in November and last year’s Rock Werchter for Live2020.

The money raised by Lights for Live was handed over to Live2020 on Sunday (14 February), while at at the same time each seat in the Sportpaleis was illuminated to represent the fans who couldn’t be present.

“You can feel that people are really starting to look forward to concerts again”

“It is great to see so many people showing their solidarity with the live music sector through this action,” says Clouseau singer Koen Wauters. “You can feel that people are really starting to look forward to concerts again. It’s something I miss a lot myself at the moment.”

“I am genuinely touched by so much light and warmth,” comments musician and composer Miguel Wiels. “It sounds strange, but despite the fact that no one is here, you can still feel a kind of presence from the audience. Hopefully more actions like this will follow soon so that together we can lead the music sector through this crisis and we can make a new start without too much damage.”

According to Niels Destadsbader, another regular at the Sportpaleis, “I must say that I have mixed feelings being here today. On the one hand, it makes me a bit unhappy to see this beautiful concert hall empty, especially because I know from experience how this – in usual circumstances – is an insanely magical place. But on the other hand, I am very happy with the support of our fans and of everyone who supports and cares about music.”

 


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Rock Werchter’s Covid-safe Summer Bar attracts 15,000

Over the past three weeks, the Rock Werchter team has welcomed over 15,000 guests to its Live2020 Summer Bar, an open-air entertainment space raising money for the Belgian live industry.

The Summer Bar was in place from 2 to 26 July at the Festivalpark in Werchter, Belgium, hosting 36 concerts, two comedy performances and one live TV show.

The Rock Werchter team is wrapping up its Summer Bar as the Belgian government announces it is lowering the maximum capacity limits at events – from 400 to 200 for open-air shows and 200 to 100 for indoor events – instead of doubling them, as was previously planned for August, due to a recent spike in infection rates.

Almost 40 local clubs and associations worked in collaboration with the Rock Werchter team, with approximately 1,300 volunteers overseeing operations at the Summer Bar site over the period.

The initiative also offered respite for performers and crews, production staff, audio, light and video technicians, agents, caterers and event security, with all proceeds from Rock Werchter merchandise sales and the Summer Bar also being donated to the Belgian live music sector’s solidarity fund, Live2020, which supports those who are struggling financially.

“Being able to enjoy live music again was an absolute delight in these strange times”

“We would like to thank everyone who was a part of the Rock Werchter Summer Bar (Zomerbar), these past couple of weeks,” reads a post by the Rock Werchter team. “Our amazing crew, hard-working volunteers, artists, staff and of course some 15,000 fans who attended one or more of the 36 live concerts and 2 comedy nights! Being able to enjoy live music again was an absolute delight in these strange times.”

Although the team states the Summer Bar was “most definitely a success”, they add that is is “not a viable model” for the future and was only possible through the help of sponsors and suppliers, support of the local authority and efforts of volunteers.

Live Nation-owned Rock Werchter, one among many major Belgium festivals to be called off due to a summer-long large event ban, is returning from 1 to 4 July 2021, with already confirmed acts including Pearl Jam, Gorillaz, Twenty One Pilots, the Lumineers, Thom Yorke Tomorrow’s Modern Boxes, the Streets, Cigarettes After Sex and Miles Kane, and more names to be added soon.

Tickets for Rock Werchter 2021 are available here, priced at €243 for a four-day combi ticket and €110 for a day ticket.

 


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Rock Werchter announces Live2020 event

Rock Werchter has announced plans for ‘Rock Werchter for Live2020’, an intimate concert event set to take place on the Werchter festival site on 2–5 July, the original dates of the 2020 festival.

Featuring three days of concerts at a new ‘summer bar’ (Zomerbar) at the festival park’s North West Walls, Rock Werchter for Live2020 will raise funds for Live2020, a solidarity fund to support the Belgian live music industry during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Zomerbar concerts feature Selah Sue on Thursday 2 July, Tourist LeMC on Friday 3 July and Bazart on Saturday 4 July, with just 200 tickets available for each all patrons seated at tables of four. Tickets go on sale tomorrow (20 June) via ticketmaster.be.

On Sunday, a larger virtual event, with Emma Bale, Glints, Sons, Eefje de Visser and Arno, will be broadcast live on CanvasProximus Pickx and rockwerchter.be.

All proceeds from the event go towards the Live2020 fund

The event will also include a quiz on Saturday night, while a Live2020 merchandise range is available from Rock Werchter’s web shop, with all proceeds going towards the Live2020 fund.

The physical edition of Rock Werchter 2020 was called off, along with Belgium’s other major festivals, on 15 April.

For more information about Rock Werchter for Live2020, visit rockwerchter.be/en/live2020.

 


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