Tough times for festivals!

Climate change is increasingly making its presence felt at festivals and has led to the first cancellations in Belgium.

By increasing the number of stages over the past fifteen years—six at Dour and five at Rock Werchter, to name two Belgian examples—music festivals have already turned the experience into an exhausting marathon for the bravest—or the most stubborn, depending on your point of view. To paraphrase Asterix, the Gallic hero born of the imagination of the duo Uderzo and Goscinny, the rural lover of loud music fears above all that “the sky will fall on his head.” The heat wave can indeed be alleviated by firefighters’ hoses (as has been seen more than once at Werchter) or even by a few mugs of lukewarm beer, but fighting the torrential downpours proves impossible. And stoicism quickly reaches its limits.

On July 5, 1986, the Torhout festival (then held in conjunction with the Werchter festival) took place amid relentless downpours. The slightly sloping grounds thus turned, over the course of the day, into a mandatory mud bath for thousands of spectators. Tractors from local farmers were even called in the middle of the night to pull dozens of cars out of the mud. An experience you never forget! 

In August 2023, torrential rains also turned the site into a muddy field, but the soaked and mud-covered attendees had to arm themselves with patience in order to make their way home. Most of the parking lots had turned into vast swampy expanses, and the narrow roads around the site struggled to keep traffic moving smoothly as people left the festival. The Hainaut festival has since redesigned the event grounds and tried to improve mobility as much as possible. Against all odds, one might say!

In recent years, climate change and its accompanying extreme weather events have inevitably impacted major summer gatherings. The alarm bells started ringing as early as last summer. First, in the face of increased risks, insurers are raising premiums related to weather-related hazards, forcing some independent organizers to throw in the towel due to unbearable additional costs. Artists, such as The Steve Miller Band in 2025, simply chose to stay home. The performers of Fly Like An Eagle and Abracadabra canceled a 31-concert tour, citing “risks of heat waves, wildfires, and tornadoes” that could endanger the public’s safety. Last year, some 30 American festivals were forced to scale back (at best) or even shut down. The most high-profile example was the cancellation of the Bonnaroo Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, due to violent storms and major flooding. The 65,000 spectators expected each day were asked not to travel to the festival or to return home, as were the headliners on the lineup, such as Olivia Rodrigo, Queens of the Stage, and Justice.

In the United States, this year has already seen its share of emergency evacuations and precautionary cancellations. As early as April, the famous Stagecoach country music festival ordered an emergency evacuation on its second day due to wind gusts exceeding 110 km/h. Other events, such as Welcome To Rockville (in Florida in May), Rock The South (in Alabama in June), Electric Forest (in Michigan in late June), and the ROMP Festival in Kentucky, have been partially suspended, evacuated, postponed, or even canceled due to the weather's caprices. And summer has only just begun!

In Belgium, in the wake of a historic heat wave, the country has also just experienced its first cancellations due to red alerts for thunderstorms. The charming Tournai Jazz Festival thus decided to pack up its stage last Friday. On the evening of Saturday, June 27, Couleur Café in Osseghem Park at the foot of the Atomium, as well as Werchter Boutique—headlined by American star Katy Perry—were both forced to evacuate their audiences by authorities anticipating extremely violent thunderstorms. The DJs at Paradise City in Perk, Flemish Brabant, were also forced to pack up their records and turntables to seek shelter from the storm.

As usual, as part of Live Is Live that same evening, Robbie Williams used his “immunity token.” The heat was certainly oppressive at Middenvijver Park in Antwerp, but no rain dared to disrupt the performance of the former Take That member.

While event organizers have always compulsively checked the weather forecast, they now do so with an added sense of anxiety…

Photo: Katy Perry