Festival Focus: Pukkelpop, Belgium
The European Festival Report (EFR) 2024, a packed annual summary of the biggest trends, happenings, and initiatives on the continent’s festival scene, was published last month.
In this excerpt from this indispensable guide, Pukkelpop promoter Chokri Mahassine discusses speedy sell-outs, major challenges, sustainable choices and the integration of technology into the festival experience.
How was the festival season 2024 for you and Pukkelpop?
This year was a special one! Our combi-tickets (for the whole weekend) were sold out in 48 hours. Never in our history has this happened so fast. This led to a further rush on day tickets. We were used to spending months building a beautiful and well-thought-out promotional campaign, but suddenly, we were technically out of work – figuratively speaking. Something I hadn’t considered was that communication about the festival and the lineup would disappoint people who weren’t able to secure a ticket, instead of making those that did get one happy. Adjusting our communication to this conflict of interest was an interesting learning process.
The festival days were some of the best we’ve ever had: the energy of the crowd was amazing, the atmosphere was fantastic, the weather was good, and the lineup, with Fred again.., Sam Smith, and Charlotte de Witte, was nearly perfect. It’s always great to see people of all ages coming to Pukkelpop to enjoy music, culture, and adventure together. Next year marks our 40th anniversary, and of course, we’re going to make something special out of that, too.
“Our combi-tickets were sold out in 48 hours… never in our history has this happened so fast”
What are some of the challenges you face as a festival organisation, and how do you try to address them?
Increasing costs, artist fees, production costs, and employment costs remain a major issue in our scene. Additionally, you have to keep evolving in terms of mobility, safety, and impact on the local community. First of all, we try to work more efficiently and to form strategic partnerships. We also frequently consult with other Belgian [competitor-colleagues] both large and small.
In addition, we continue to programme new and emerging artists to offer an adventurous lineup without being entirely dependent on the most expensive headliners. However, even starting bands nowadays cost a fortune. It’s a delicate balance, especially since this directly affects ticket prices.
What measures are you taking to promote sustainability at Pukkelpop, and why is this important to you?
Sustainability is embedded in Pukkelpop’s DNA. For years, we’ve been working on initiatives such as reducing waste and using green energy. This year, we became the first major festival in Belgium to run all generators, forklifts, and site buggies entirely on Blue Diesel 100. We introduced a new project focused on recycling party tents, and for many years, public transportation has been included in our tickets. This is something we are fully committed to.
As a festival, we want to have a positive impact not only on our visitors but also on the environment and the local community. Festivals have a responsibility to raise awareness and encourage sustainable choices. It’s essential that we take the lead and continue investing in sustainability.
“I see a further integration of technology into the festival experience, such as AI, augmented reality, and interactive elements”
What role do you think festivals play in the cultural landscape of Europe?
Festivals are more than just places to experience music; they are meeting points for different cultures, generations, and beliefs. Pukkelpop has always aimed for diversity and inclusivity, both on stage and in the audience. We want to inspire and connect people, and we try to do this by providing a diverse lineup that goes beyond just music. There is no shortage of good food and drinks; Pukkelpop is also a culinary experience. The cultural and economic impact of festivals is significant, and we are happy to contribute to strengthening that cultural dynamic in Belgium and in Europe.
What are the biggest changes you have observed in the festival world since the pandemic?
The pandemic has shocked the industry into action. There has been a shift in the behaviour of the audience: people, especially the younger generation, have become more selective about the events they attend. They want value for their money and are looking for unique experiences. For us, this means that we must remain creative and keep innovative, in terms of experience, sustainability, and of course regarding the lineup.
What trends do you think will be decisive for festivals in the coming years?
I see a further integration of technology into the festival experience, such as AI, augmented reality, and interactive elements that make the experience even more intense. Additionally, sustainability will be more important. Festivals that do not evolve will face difficulties. The focus on health and safety remains important; people want to feel safe at an event, and we should take care of that. Pukkelpop consolidates all support related to well-being and safety in a separate zone. We are available day and night for festivalgoers, crew, and artists. Finally, I believe that festivals will focus on inclusivity and diversity, both in the lineup and the audience.
The third edition of the European Festival Report, from IQ and festival association Yourope, is available to read online for free.
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Live Nation Belgium chief toasts festival sales
Rock Werchter founder and Live Nation Belgium CEO Herman Schueremans says the festival has seen its fastest-ever ticket sales for next year’s edition.
With the Belgian festival turning 50 next year, Rock Werchter organisers have secured a blockbuster lineup headlined by Linkin Park, Green Day, Sam Fender and Olivia Rodrigo.
The anniversary event, slated for 3-6 July 2025 at Werchter Festival Park, will also feature performances from Deftones, Simple Minds, Raye, Noah Kahan, Fontaines DC, Girl in Red, Gracie Abrams and Maribou State.
The bill has been met with audience approval, with 89,000 tickets (combi and day) sold in 10 days and a further 11,500 sold last week after the 5 December lineup announcement.
“We are very pleased with the lineup as it is once more an eclectic mix of genres from artists at all levels – from top artists to mid-size and upcoming artists – all with the potential of a long-term career,” Schueremans tells IQ.
With strong sales across LN Belgium’s stable of events, the CEO believes that the secret to success in the festival world is evolution.
“An artist is only as good as his last show – that also applies to festival promotors and teams”
“There will be a continuation of the challenges we saw in previous years – rising costs and artists fees and there will be too many festivals,” he says. “So organisers need to renew the way festivals are experienced, from how audiences travel to how they recycle to their health and safety.
“An artist is only as good as his last show – that also applies to festival promotors and teams. Passion instead of routine – that’s what will determine whether a festival is successful or not.”
Another LN Belgium festival enjoying success is Rock Werchter’s sister event TW Classic, which sold out within 90 minutes of going on sale.
The one-day event saw 55,000 tickets priced at €133 snapped up, following the announcement of Robbie Williams and Bryan Adams as headliners.
Texas, Skunk Anansie, Lottery Winners and Portland are also set to perform at the festival, which takes place on 28 June 2025 at Werchter Festival Park, the weekend before Rock Werchter.
As Schueremans points out, the four top-billing artists for TW Classic 2025 all have a place within Rock Werchter’s legacy.
“Value for money is one of our key baselines”
Bryan Adams, Robbie Williams, Texas and Skunk Anansie performed on the same Rock Werchter bill 25 years ago, while Adams was featured on TW Classic’s first-ever line-up in 2002.
It’s not just the artists who will enjoy a homecoming at next year’s TW Classic but also the organisers, who cancelled the 2024 event after admitting they had failed to put together a top line-up for each of the day festivals.
“Our bar is high and we always aim for the best. Mediocrity is not an option,” they said in a statement at the time.
Werchter Boutique, another sister festival in the same location that takes place the weekend after Rock Werchter, was also called off this year and will return in 2025.
“The two headliners for Werchter Boutique 2024 decided not to tour, so we decided not to do it this year as we only want to deliver and present top-quality bills to our audiences,” explains Schueremans. “Value for money is one of our key baselines.”
Taking place on 12 July 2025, Werchter Boutique has so far confirmed Imagine Dragons for a headline set, with support from Declan McKenna. Ticket sales are currently up to 50,000 and with the final lineup announcement set for 11 December, the event is expected to sell out before Christmas.
“Our audiences are treated well as kings and queens and enjoy it and come back”
Both one-day festivals have been reduced from 60,000 capacity to 55,000 to “give the fans more comfort on the site and help the flow of cars, bicycles and public transport,” adds Schueremans.
Other Live Nation Belgium festivals Graspop Metal Meeting (est. 1996) and Dour (est. 1989) are also selling well, while Pukkelpop’s lineup will be announced in February.
Inclement weather at this year’s Graspop hasn’t put a dampener on demand for 2025, as the four-day metal festival in Dessel saw 40,000 tickets fly off the shelf within the first 48 hours of going on sale.
“It’s a top start, as in 2024,” comments Schueremans. “Graspop has a loyal and dedicated audience.”
Commenting on the promoter’s success across the board, Schueremans says: “Our audience likes going to our festivals as they get value for money, are treated well as kings and queens and enjoy it and come back. Not only artists want to stay forever young but also music lovers. Music unites.”
Read the IQ feature on Schueremans’ 50 years in the business here.
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What’s in store at European festivals this weekend
In our latest European festival preview, IQ rounds up the biggest events taking place across the continent this weekend.
Pukkelpop, which runs from 15-18 August, will star acts such as Fred Again.., Sam Smith, The Offspring, Stormzy, Goldband, Charlotte de Witte and Inhaler. Royal Blood have replaced Queens of the Stone Age on the bill due to the latter’s frontman Josh Homme requiring “continued medical care” at home in the US.
Held near Hasselt, Belgium, the lineup also features the likes of Sugababes, The Vaccines, Skrillex, Jorja Smith, The Smile, Marc Rebillet, Denzel Curry and Loverman, who is stepping in for Rachel Chinouriri.
In the Netherlands, A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise(16-18 August) sold out within 15 minutes of going on sale back in February. The Mojo-promoted event will welcome acts to Biddinghuizen including Fred Again.., Air, Justice, Skrillex, Peggy Gou, Froukje, Idles, Nas, The Smile, Nas, Denzel Curry, Jorja Smith, Sugababes, Big Thief and Wargasm.
Dutch metal festival Dynamo Metalfest (16-18 August) will take place in Eindhoven, topped by Dimmu Borgir, Saxon, Amaranthe, Igorrr, Clutch, Skindred and Forbidden.
Set for Stradbally Hall in Stradbally, County Laois, Ireland’s Electric Picnic (16-18 August) will be headlined by Noah Kahan, Calvin Harris and Kylie Minogue. The sold-out festival will also host Gerry Cinnamon, Kodaline, Raye, CMAT, Faithless, J Hus, Kasabian, Lankum, Nas, Peggy Gou, Teddy Swims and Tom Grennan, among others.
All tickets have also been snapped up for Beautiful Days (16-18 August) in Escot Park, Devon, UK. Artists include Richard Ashcroft, The Saw Doctors, Levellers, Richard Hawley, Fat Freddy’s Drop, The Damned, Toyah & Robert, Fisherman’s Friends, Hard-Fi, Inspiral Carpets, Badly Drawn Boy and Utah Saints.
Family festival Camp Bestival (15-18 August) in Western Park, Shropshire, is headed by Faithless, Paloma Faith, McFly, Rick Astley, Orbital, Jake Shears, The Darkness, Hak Baker and Level 42, while Green Man (15-18 August) in Brecon Beacons, Wales, is topped by Big Thief, Sampha, Jon Hopkins, Sleaford Mods, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Explosions in the Sky, Arlo Parks, Black Country, New Road and Ezra Collective.
In St Giles, Dorset, Gilles Petersen Presents… We Out Here (15-18 August) will showcase performances from the likes of André 3000, Sampha, Floating Points, Kae Tempest, Dee Dee Bridgewater and Mount Kimbie.
Headlined by Becky Hill, Snow Patrol and Richard Ashcroft, the 10th anniversary of Hardwick Festival (16-18 August) will be held at Hardwick Hall, Sedgefield in County Durham. Other names include Jack Savoretti, The Charlatans, Blossoms, Soul II Soul, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Jamie Webster, Heaven 17 and Lightning Seeds.
Rock festival ArcTanGent (14-17 August) also celebrates its 10th birthday, returning to Bristol with a lineup topped by Explosions in the Sky, Spiritualized, Meshuggah, Animals as Leaders, Mogwai, Electric Wizard, And So I Watch You from Afar and Bossk.
Elsewhere, Hamburg, Germany-based music and arts festival MS Dockville (16-18 August) will host headliners Jeremias, Ashnikko and Meute, alongside acts such as Zoe Wees, The Vaccines, Mayberg, Bilderbuch, Disarstar, Makko and Mine.
Fekete Zaj Fesztivál (15-19 August) in Gyöngyös, Hungary, has booked acts including The Jesus and Mary Chain, Clan of Xymox, Unto Others, Whispering Sons and Author & Punisher.
Switzerland’s Open Air Gampel (15-18 August), meanwhile, boasts artists like The Offspring, Deichkind, Yungblud, Alan Walker, Milky Chance, Alligatoah, Tom Walker, Grandson, Less than Jake, Lany, Royel Otis and Kool Savas.
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Festival bills ’24: Paléo, Lolla Berlin, Pukkelpop
Switzerland’s Paléo and Lollapalooza Berlin in Germany head the latest festival lineup announcements for 2024, while Belgium’s Pukkelpop is celebrating a speedy sellout.
Paléo Festival Nyon returns from 23-28 July with a bill headed by Sam Smith, Burna Boy, Booba, Mika, Sean Paul, Major Lazer Soundsystem, Gazo & Tiakola, PLK, Nile Rodgers & Chic, Patti Smith, The Blaze, Paul Kalkbrenner, Aurora and Royal Blood.
Expanding its musical horizons with a mix of pop, rock, rap, dancehall, Afrobeats, reggae, electro, opera and funk, the event will welcome 130 artists in all. Its Village du Monde (Village of the World) will focus on the Balkans, featuring around 20 acts.
Set for 7-8 September at the German capital’s Olympic Stadium and Olympic Park, Lollapalooza Berlin will be headlined by Sam Smith, Martin Garrix, Burna Boy, Seventeen, The Chainsmokers, Niall Horan, Louis Tomlinson, Shirin David and CRO.
Other acts will include Loyle Carner, Nothing But Thieves, Meduza, Tom Grennan, Kenya Grace, Elderbrook, Joel Corry and Alok.
That same weekend will also see Goodlive’s Superbloom take place at the Olympic Park in Munich, which has unveiled its expanded lineup. Joining Calvin Harris on the bill are Burna Boy, Shirin David, Jorja Smith, Milky Chance, Loyle Carner, Loreen and Chappell Roan.
Previously confirmed acts included Sam Smith, The Chainsmokers, CRO, Louis Tomlinson, RIN, Provinz, Tokio Hotel, Nothing But Thieves, Kenya Grace and David Puentez. For the first time, there will also be readings by renowned authors, including Ilona Hartmann and Phia Quantius, with two crime podcasts also represented.
“Ticket sales are going well: we are certainly further ahead than this time last year”
Meanwhile, Pukkelpop, which will be held in Hasselt between 15-18 August, sold out all combination tickets in less than 48 hours, according to organisers.
The event will star the likes of Fred Again.., Stormzy, Sam Smith, Queens of the Stone Age, The Offspring, Charlotte de Witte, Goldband, Raye, Inhaler, Sugababes, The Vaccines, Skrillex, Jorja Smith, The Smile and Denzel Curry.
Also in Belgium, the resurgent Gent Jazz Festival is expanding from ten to 13 days and has confirmed André 3000 among this year’s performers. The 5,500-cap series runs from 5-20 July and will also feature names such as Diana Krall, Laufey, Jamie Cullum, Air, Alexis Ffrench, DJ Shadow, Nile Rodgers & Chic and Rodrigo y Gabriela.
Ghent-based promoter and booking agency Greenhouse Talent took over the international jazz festival last year after previous organiser – the non-profit Jazz en Muziek – went backrupt at the end of 2022.
“For us, the expansion is an essential intervention to guarantee our survival,” organiser Pascal Van De Velde tells De Standaard. “It is difficult for a festival in our niche and with our capacity to break even, and we did not want to save on costs. So we found the solution in extra days: this allows us to spread the basic costs of the festival.
“Ticket sales are going well: we are certainly further ahead than this time last year.”
AIF reports that 21 UK festivals have now announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024
Elsewhere, Smash’s Fuji Rock, which will grace Japan’s Naeba Ski Resort in Tokyo from 26-28 July, has added Peggy Gou and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds as headliners alongside Kraftwerk. Other new additions include Remi Wolf, Hiromi’s Sonic Wonder, Denki Groove, Kid Fresno, Man With a Mission, Sampha, Teddy Swims, Macaroni Empitsu, The Spellbound and Kim Gordon.
And AEG’s BST Hyde Park in London has revealed Morgan Wallen as its final 2024 headliner. The country music superstar will perform on 4 July, completing a lineup which also includes SZA (29 June), Kings of Leon (30 June), Andrea Bocelli (5 July), Robbie Williams (6 July), Shania Twain (7 July), Stevie Nicks (12 July), Kylie Minogue (13 July) and Stray Kids (14 July).
However, trade body the Association of Independent Festivals (AIF) reports that 21 UK festivals have now announced a postponement, cancellation or complete closure in 2024.
Cotswolds-based Nibley Festival has announced that this year’s event will be its last, shortly after Bradford’s Bingley Festival announced that its 2024 edition will not go ahead.
Promoters of both festivals have cited rapidly rising production costs as the reason why running their event is no longer viable. Portsmouth rock and metal festival Takedown also recently postponed to 2025, citing “challenging trading conditions” among other factors.
AIF warns that, without intervention, the UK could see over 100 festivals disappear in 2024 due to rising costs and has reiterated the need for temporary support from the UK government to lower VAT from 20% to 5% on ticket sales for the next three years.
“It’s with grave concern that we again sound the alarm to government upon passing this critical milestone,” says AIF CEO John Rostron. “UK festivals are disappearing at a worrying rate, and we as a nation are witnessing the erosion of one of our most successful and unique cultural industry sectors.
“We have done the research: a reduction of VAT to 5% on festival tickets over the next three years is a conservative, targeted and temporary measure that would save almost all of the festival businesses that are likely to fall by the wayside this year and many more over the years to come. We need this intervention now.”
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Pukkelpop cancels indie festival Hear Hear
Pukkelpop has announced that its one-day festival for fans of indie and alternative music will not return in 2023.
Hear Hear! was launched in August 2022, drawing 15,000 fans to Hasselt, Belgium, for performances from the likes of Editors, Pixies, Liam Gallagher, Future Islands, Wolf Alice and Anna Calvi.
At the time of the announcement, Pukkelpop organisers said rock and indie had “faded into the background” at the marquee Belgian festival and that Hear Hear would give those genres “a little more attention”.
A recent statement from the organisers says: “Hear Hear! was very positively received by the festival-goers present, as evidenced by the numerous reactions we received during and after the festival.
“As an organisation, we have to dare to make choices”
“Unfortunately, in these times, that is not always enough and as an organisation, we have to dare to make choices. In 2023 we are fully committed to a rock-solid Pukkelpop edition and Hear Hear! will stay in the fridge for a while. Next year we will gladly revisit this.”
In the past, Pukkelpop has tried several times to start an extra festival in addition to its flagship event.
Previous events run by Pukkelpop include Polsslag, Rimpelrock and the Summer Swing family festival.
Since 2018, Pukkelpop has also been organising techno and house festival Garnizoen.
Pukkelpop (cap. 66,000) will return this year between 17–20 August, with the line-up yet to be announced.
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Pukkelpop launches new festival for indie lovers
Pukkelpop, one of Belgium’s marquee festivals, has planned a new one-day event for fans of indie and alternative music.
Hear Hear! festival will take place in the Kiewit festival arena in Hasselt, Belgium, on Sunday 14 August.
Editors, Pixies, Liam Gallagher, Future Islands, Wolf Alice and Anna Calvi are among the acts booked for the inaugural event.
“Pukkelpop focuses on what is going on among young people, and in recent years that has mainly been hip-hop,” says spokesperson, Frederik Luyten. “As a result, rock and indie have faded into the background. We’ve been thinking about giving those genres a little more attention for a few years now. Now is the perfect time for that, especially because you see young bands reviving the guitar.”
Squid, Porridge Radio, Balthazar, Battles and Bill Nomates are also due to perform on one of the festival’s four stages.
“We’ve been thinking about giving those genres a little more attention for a few years now”
Hear Hear! is scheduled for the week before Pukkelpop, which also takes place in the Kiewit festival arena.
The 66,000-cap. flagship festival is due to take place for the first time in two years due to pandemic-related cancellations.
Arctic Monkeys, Tame Impala, Slipknot and Bring Me The Horizon are slated to perform across the four-day event, running between 18–21 August.
In the past, Pukkelpop has tried several times to start an extra festival in addition to its flagship event.
Previous events run by Pukkelpop include Polsslag, Rimpelrock and the Summer Swing family festival.
Since 2018, Pukkelpop has also been organising techno and house festival Garnizoen.
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Pukkelpop announces alternative event
Belgium’s Pukkelpop has announced an alternative event in lieu of the flagship festival, which was axed in late July due to new government Covid-19 regulations.
The event, dubbed Pukkelpop Kwartier, will take place between 19–22 August at the Muziekodroom site in Hasselt.
Pukkelpop Kwartier will comprise four separate outdoor events featuring several of the Belgium artists that were due to perform at the flagship festival.
Zwangere Guy, The Opposites, Whispering Sons, Bazart and Charlotte de Witte are among the repurposed acts.
A maximum of 1,500 attendees will be admitted to each of the four events. Aside from a valid festival ticket, festivalgoers will have to bring a form of ID and a valid Covid Safe Ticket, to prove they are fully vaccinated as of 14 days, recently tested negative or recently recovered from the virus.
The organisers have created a circulation plan with adapted walking routes to guide the public, however, there will be no social distancing once inside the festival and attendees are not required to wear a mask.
Day tickets for Pukkelpop Kwartier went on sale today and three of the four events have already sold out
Day tickets for Pukkelpop Kwartier (€35) went on sale today and three of the four events have already sold out. Friday tickets are still available here. See the full line-up here.
The 66,000-capacity flagship festival would have taken place near Hasselt between the same dates, with artists including Liam Gallagher, Editors, Future, Anne-Marie and Marshmello.
The festival was cancelled as a result of new government regulations that would have required it to almost triple its on-site testing capacity with less than a month to go until gates open.
Pukkelpop was the last remaining major international music festival in Belgium following the cancellation of Tomorrowland in June and Rock Werchter in March.
Rock Werchter, Live Nation Belgium’s marquee festival, also opted to hold an alternative event in lieu of its 88,000-capacity flagship event.
Werchter Parklife, the socially distanced open-air concert series, welcomed 63,000 fans to Werchter’s Festivalpark from 1 July to 1 August.
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Belgium PM: Indoor events could return in autumn
Large indoor events should be able to take place in Belgium this September, provided residents are “motivated” to get vaccinated, according to prime minister Alexander De Croo.
Belgium’s vaccination campaign has been relatively successful so far, with almost 70% of the total population having received one jab and more than 50% receiving two doses, according to Our World in Data.
“It remains a bit uncertain, but if you look at how fast our vaccination rollout is going, then by the beginning of September, those who should be fully vaccinated will be and so far, there is no reason to believe that the protection would not be good, so in autumn, those kinds of concerts and events where you are standing close to other people should be possible,” De Croo told Studio Brussels.
The statement follows the announcement that Pukkelpop – the last remaining major international music festival in Belgium following the cancellation last month of Tomorrowland – will not take place again this year.
“Multi-day festivals are more difficult, especially if you have a young audience [who] have not yet been fully vaccinated”
The cancellation was a result of new government regulations that would have required the festival to almost triple its on-site testing capacity with less than a month to go until gates open.
“Multi-day festivals are more difficult, especially if you have a young audience. Many 16-year-olds, for example, have not yet been fully vaccinated,” De Croo said.
The full reopening of Belgium’s live music sector will be facilitated by the Covid Safe Ticket (CTS), which was announced last week.
The domestic health pass, which will certify the Covid-19 status of attendees to major entertainment and sports events, will apply to outdoor events from 13 August and indoor events from 1 September.
The CTS eliminates the need for social distancing, promoters must implement a crowd management plan, as well as ensuring adequate ventilation (in the case of indoor shows) which is measured by a CO2 meter, according to the Belgian government.
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“Our heart bleeds”: Belgian government axes Pukkelpop 2021
There will be no Pukkelpop this year after all, the festival announced today, as a result of new government regulations that would have required it to almost triple its on-site testing capacity with less than a month to go until gates open.
Pukkelpop – the last remaining major international music festival in Belgium following the cancellation last month of Tomorrowland – has been told by the Belgian federal government it may not proceed this year its current form, according to a statement from organisers. The 66,000-cap. festival would have taken place near Hasselt between 19 and 22 August with artists including Liam Gallagher, Editors, Future, Anne-Marie and Marshmello.
Amid ongoing uncertainty over the political situation, the festival suspended ticket sales and halted its build yesterday before confirming its cancellation this afternoon (23 July).
“The current framework has made it impossible for us to organise Pukkelpop,” say organisers. “The additional demands in terms of testing would require us to almost triple the testing capacity at and in the run-up to the festival.”
The festival has initially planned for a daily Covid-19 testing capacity of 7,000. However, recent changes in the minimum time for festivalgoers to take rapid antigen (lateral-flow) and PCR tests ahead of the event, announced by the Belgian government on Monday, have finally rendered Pukkelpop 2021 unfeasible, the statement continues.
“The government finds itself in an unenviable position and so do we,” it explains. “Originally a negative PCR test carried out within 72 hours of arrival was enough but on Monday this was reduced to 48 hours. In addition, a negative antigen test was no longer sufficient for fans to be admitted to the festival. Since Thursday antigen testing is allowed again, but the initial validity of 48 hours has been reduced to 24 hours.
“For a multi-day mass event with such a young audience, daily testing is simply not feasible”
“Initially we planned for a capacity of up to 7,000 tests per day at the Pukkelpop site but the 24/48 hour limit for the validity of, respectively, a rapid antigen test or a PCR test means that we would have to triple this capacity. To put things into perspective: this is 21 times the capacity of the Park Spoor Noord testing village in Antwerp at the height of its activities. The 24/48 hour limit effectively means tripling the number of tests, but there is no way we could guarantee the government we can organise this under safe circumstances. This is simple [maths] and a healthy dose of common sense.”
Organisers say the limited vaccine take-up among its young-skewing audience meant 80% of festivalgoers would have had to take a test on site.
“Despite the best efforts of [Belgium’s] vaccination task force and the many vaccination centres in the province of Limburg and beyond, we are forced to conclude that the vaccination rate within our target demographic is not as we had hoped,” they explain. “Almost eight in ten of our young audience would have to submit to testing. For a multi-day mass event with such a young audience, many of which haven’t had the opportunity to get vaccinated, daily testing of so many youngsters is simply not feasible.
“Pukkelpop mainly targets youngsters. They are the DNA of Pukkelpop, our core audience. Their happiness, but also their safety, is one of our number one concerns.
“We deeply regret the fact that the authorities made this decision just one month before the start of the festival but the Covid measures were always going to be subject to the latest developments. As a result, Pukkelpop 2021 can no longer take place as planned.”
“Our heart bleeds, especially for all those youngsters who were so looking forward to Pukkelpop this year,” they add. “More than anything we were rooting for them, but in the end a favourable outcome wasn’t on the cards.”
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Belgium OKs 75,000-cap. open-air festivals
In what will be welcome news to Belgium’s remaining late-summer festivals, the country’s federal government has announced that large-scale events of up to 75,000 people may take place from 13 August.
In a press conference on Friday (4 June) afternoon, Belgian health minister Frank Vandenbroucke confirmed that mass events held in the open air, such as festivals like Pukkelpop (66,000-cap.), would be permitted from that date, providing attendees can present a ‘Covid safety ticket’ (proof of full vaccination) or a negative Covid-19 before entry.
The federal announcement follows the publication of the Flemish reopening roadmap – the so-called ‘Freedom Plan’, which advised that large events should be able to go ahead from the end of July – last month.
Speaking during the federal government’s press conference, Vandenbroucke suggested festival organisers could also offer their own on-site rapid antigen facilities, reports the Brussels Times.
In addition to Pukkelpop, large events which are now cleared to go ahead include another mega-festival, dance music event Tomorrowland (70,000-cap.), and the Formula 1 Belgian grand prix in Spa-Francorchamps. Both festivals have yet to announce a 2021 line-up.
“We look forward to organising a festival at the end of August”
In a statement, a spokesperson for Tomorrowland, which is scheduled for 27–29 August and 3–5 September, says: “We are very happy to receive this news, but we will wait for the conditions and rules before we will communicate about the organisation of the festival. We are very positive, and we look forward to organising a festival at the end of August.”
Pukkelpop (19–22 August) is aiming for “full capacity, 66,000 people a day,” organiser Chokri Mahassine tells radio station Studio Brussel, adding that the festival will be “without social distancing and without masks.” “You will be able to walk around and hug each other,” he says.
In a statement, Mahassine says the lifting of restrictions comes after months of lobbying by the industry. “These past few months our sector has made a deliberate choice to engage in constructive cooperation behind the scenes, and we would like to continue in the same vein, with expertise and equal input on all sides,” he comments.
“The safety of our visitors, artists, crew and local residents remains our top priority. Everything else will follow from there. Now it’s full speed ahead to a wonderful new edition of Pukkelpop.”
13 August ushers in the second-to-last stage of Belgium’s easing of lockdown, with the final restrictions planned to be lifted from 1 September.
As IQ reported last week, festival season is also on in Austria, with full-capacity events allowed to resume from 1 July.
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