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The biggest festivals in Belgium: 11 events you should know

The biggest festivals in Belgium: 11 events you should know

Belgium is small, densely populated and remarkably fond of a good festival. In a single summer the country hosts one of the world's most famous dance festivals, rock festivals with an international reputation and a ten-day street party that takes over the centre of Ghent. This guide covers the best-known ones: where and when they take place, what they feel like and what performers should know.

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Festivals are woven into Belgian summer life. The season starts in earnest in June with Graspop and Rock Werchter, runs through July with Tomorrowland, Dour, the Gentse Feesten and the Francofolies, and closes in August with Jazz Middelheim and Pukkelpop. Distances are short: almost every site in this guide is within an hour and a half of Brussels by train or car, which is why Belgian festivals draw so many visitors from the Netherlands, France, Germany and Britain.

The country's two language communities give the calendar a distinct flavour. Flanders is home to the big rock and dance events and to a strong tradition of free city festivals, while Wallonia and Brussels lean towards French-language chanson, hip-hop and world music, with Dour as the great alternative melting pot in between. Belgian audiences are known for being knowledgeable and good-natured, and for turning up whatever the weather, which in Belgium is never a given.

Beyond the headline events, nearly every town has its own summer festivities: a kermis, a street theatre weekend, a jazz evening on the market square or a beach festival on the coast. Those smaller stages are where most working musicians, DJs and street performers earn their living, and they are also where organisers most often book directly.

The festivals

Tomorrowland

Where Boom, Province of AntwerpWhen JulyGenre ElectronicSince 2005

Tomorrowland is the festival that put Belgium on the map for dance music fans across the globe. Every July the recreation park De Schorre in Boom is transformed into a fairytale landscape of enormous themed stages, fireworks and fantasy decor, built around a new story each year. The atmosphere is exuberant and international, with flags from all over the world waving in front of the main stage, and tickets are notoriously hard to get.

The site sits between Antwerp and Mechelen, a short drive from both. The programme spans the whole spectrum of electronic music, from mainstage EDM and trance to techno, house, drum and bass and hardstyle in the smaller stages and tents, while the camping village DreamVille turns the weekend into a small temporary town. Production values, from stage design to sound, are widely admired across the dance scene.

Tip: Register for the ticket sale well in advance and be online the moment it opens, because passes are typically gone very quickly.

Rock Werchter

Where Werchter (Rotselaar), Flemish BrabantWhen June–JulyGenre Rock & pop

Rock Werchter is the grand old institution of Belgian rock. For four days around the turn of June and July, the Festivalpark in the village of Werchter, north of Leuven, hosts the biggest names in rock, pop, hip-hop and electronic music alongside acts on their way up. It has been running since the 1970s, has collected international industry awards along the way and is, for many Belgians, simply the festival.

The Festivalpark is a permanent site with wide fields, a main stage facing a gentle slope and large tents for the more alternative side of the bill. The crowd is broad and relaxed, from teenagers on their first camping trip to parents who have come every year since their own. The same site also hosts the one-day events TW Classic and Werchter Boutique.

Tip: Day tickets are usually easier to find than the four-day combi ticket, and the festival buses from Leuven station are the simplest way in.

Pukkelpop

Where Kiewit (Hasselt), LimburgWhen AugustGenre Alternative & mixedSince 1985

Pukkelpop is the alternative counterpart to Rock Werchter and the closing highlight of the Flemish summer. Held in the Hasselt district of Kiewit around the middle of August, it has built its reputation on adventurous programming: indie rock and punk next to hip-hop, techno, drum and bass and whatever is bubbling up from the underground. The crowd is young, loud and loyal, and the camping site has a lively life of its own.

The grounds on the edge of Hasselt hold a main stage, several large tents and a dedicated dance hall, plus smaller stages for new bands and DJs. Many acts play their first Belgian shows here, and bookers from across Europe come to see what works in front of an enthusiastic crowd. The city centre of Hasselt fills up with festivalgoers all week.

Tip: Extra trains and shuttle buses serve Hasselt and Kiewit during the festival, so leave the car at home.

Gentse Feesten

Where Gent, East FlandersWhen JulyGenre Street theatre & city festival

The Gentse Feesten are not one festival but ten days in which the whole historic centre of Ghent turns into a stage. Squares such as the Vlasmarkt, Korenmarkt and Sint-Jacobs and the Polé Polé stage on the Graslei host free concerts from the afternoon until deep into the night, while puppet theatre, street performers, parades and fireworks fill the streets between them. The tradition has roots in the nineteenth century and is, for locals, the undisputed high point of the year.

Each square has its own organiser and character: world music and Latin sounds in one, rock and pop in another, folk and cabaret in a third, and a more curated programme on the Kouter. Alongside the free events, ticketed festivals such as Gent Jazz share the same weeks, and the puppet and street theatre programmes draw performers from across Europe.

Tip: Everything on the squares is free, so arrive early for popular acts; street performers who want to take part should check the city's application procedures months ahead.

Graspop Metal Meeting

Where Dessel, Province of AntwerpWhen JuneGenre Rock & metalSince 1996

Graspop Metal Meeting is the Belgian gathering of the metal tribe and one of the best-known metal festivals on the continent. In June the small Kempen village of Dessel welcomes fans in black T-shirts from every corner of Europe for four days of heavy metal, hard rock, thrash, doom and everything in between. The atmosphere is famously friendly: the camping is a village of its own and the headbanging is good-humoured.

The festival grounds lie among the woods and canals of the Antwerp Kempen, not far from the Dutch border. The bill mixes legendary veterans with the current generation, spread over a main stage, large tents and a stage for newer names. Graspop is also one of the few Belgian festivals where the crowd is as international as the programme.

Tip: Dessel has no railway station of its own, so plan for the shuttle buses from nearby stations or the festival car parks.

Dour Festival

Where Dour, HainautWhen JulyGenre Electronic & alternativeSince 1989

Dour Festival is the wild card of the Belgian summer: five days in a former mining region of Hainaut, near the French border, where electronic music, hip-hop, rock, reggae, dub, drum and bass and noise sit side by side without hierarchy. Dour has a reputation as one of the most eclectic of the big festivals, with an unmistakably hedonistic edge, music running until the early hours and a camping site that never really sleeps.

The site is the Plaine de la Machine à Feu on the edge of the village, a wide open plain with several stages and tents. The crowd mixes French-speaking Belgians, Flemings and many visitors from northern France, and is loyal to the point of devotion. For underground DJs, producers and live acts the smaller stages are highly regarded bookings.

Tip: Bring earplugs, a good tent and sturdy shoes: Dour is a camping festival first and foremost, and the site is large.

Couleur Café

Where Brussel, Brussels-Capital RegionWhen June–JulyGenre World music & hip-hopSince 1990

Couleur Café is the festival that best reflects Brussels itself: a multicultural celebration of world music, hip-hop, reggae, Afrobeat, Latin and soul held at the end of June or the start of July. Founded in 1990, it grew from a small event into a three-day city festival with a strong social and ecological conscience, a sprawling food market and an audience as mixed as the capital.

Since leaving the Tour & Taxis warehouses, the festival has taken place in the Ossegem park in Laeken, in the shadow of the Atomium. Several stages sit among the trees, with the food village and craft market as the social heart. The programming favours artists with roots in Africa, the Caribbean and Latin America alongside urban acts from Brussels and Paris.

Tip: The site is a short metro ride from the city centre, so there is no need for a car or a tent.

Les Ardentes

Where Liège, Province of LiègeWhen JulyGenre Hip-hop & urbanSince 2006

Les Ardentes started as a broad rock and pop festival on the Coronmeuse site by the Meuse, but over the years it has reinvented itself as Belgium's leading hip-hop and urban music event. Held in July, it now attracts leading French-language rappers and international names of hip-hop, R&B and trap, and a young crowd from across Belgium, France and beyond. Its name refers to the Cité ardente, Liège's nickname.

The festival now takes place on the former Rocourt stadium grounds on the northern edge of Liège, with several stages, a camping area and the city's nightlife within easy reach. For urban acts and DJs the smaller stages are a real springboard: a strong showing here is noticed across the French-speaking scene.

Tip: Liège-Guillemins station is well connected to Brussels, Germany and Paris, and public transport and shuttles link it to the site during the festival.

Francofolies de Spa

Where Spa, Province of LiègeWhen JulyGenre French-language pop & chansonSince 1994

The Francofolies de Spa are the Belgian branch of the Francofolies family that began in La Rochelle, and the flagship festival for French-language music in the country. Every July, around the national holiday, the elegant spa town in the Ardennes fills with chanson, pop, rock, rap and electronic acts from Belgium, France, Switzerland and Quebec, on stages spread through the town centre and its parks.

Part of the charm is the setting: a small town of thermal baths, a casino and Belle Époque façades, with the main stage in a park and free stages on squares nearby. The festival has long been a launchpad for Belgian French-language artists and mixes big evening headliners with afternoon discoveries.

Tip: Spa is small and accommodation fills up early, so book a bed in Spa or nearby Liège well in advance.

Jazz Middelheim

Where Antwerpen, Province of AntwerpWhen AugustGenre JazzSince 1969

Jazz Middelheim is one of Belgium's oldest jazz festivals, held every August in Park Den Brandt on the southern edge of Antwerp. Since 1969 it has hosted legends of American and European jazz as well as the Belgian scene, and its combination of serious programming and relaxed garden atmosphere has made it a fixture for musicians and listeners alike.

Concerts take place in a large tent and on open-air stages set among lawns and old trees, with the audience on chairs and picnic blankets. The programme ranges from mainstream and big-band jazz to free improvisation and crossovers with electronic music and hip-hop, and special one-off collaborations are a regular feature.

Tip: The park is reachable by tram and bus from the city centre; bring a blanket and come early for the afternoon sets, which are often the most adventurous.

Cactusfestival

Where Brugge, West FlandersWhen JulyGenre Pop & mixed

Cactusfestival is the small, perfectly formed festival of Bruges, organised by the city's Cactus music centre in the Minnewaterpark on the edge of the medieval centre. For three days in July it presents a handpicked mix of pop, rock, soul, world music and singer-songwriters, with the emphasis on quality and discovery rather than size. The audience comes for the music rather than the spectacle.

The park setting is intimate: stages among the trees beside the Minnewater lake, a short walk from the Begijnhof and the historic centre. The relaxed, family-friendly atmosphere and the international but unpretentious programming draw many visitors from Ghent, Kortrijk and the coast, and it is a popular first festival for younger children.

Tip: Combine the festival with a stay in Bruges: the site is within walking distance of the station and the historic centre.

For artists and organisers

The major Belgian festivals are booked by a small circle of promoters and agencies, and most acts get there through a booking agent or after being spotted at a showcase or club night, not through cold applications. Smaller stages are a different matter: city festivals such as the Gentse Feesten, the free squares of the Francofolies, village fairs and the many summer events run by municipalities and volunteers book locally and directly. A clear EuroActs profile with video, prices and a contact form helps those bookers find DJs, bands, street performers and acts.

If you organise a smaller festival, a town fair, a company summer party or a beach event on the coast, you do not need an agency to fill the programme. On EuroActs you filter artists by category and region, watch their videos and contact them directly, with no commission for either side. Cover bands, DJs, fire performers, walking acts and children's entertainers are all there, in Flanders, Wallonia and Brussels.

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Frequently asked questions

Which is the biggest festival in Belgium?

It depends on how you count. By international reputation Tomorrowland in Boom is the one most people name, and it draws visitors from all over the world. Rock Werchter is one of the best known and longest running of the big rock festivals, while the Gentse Feesten, which are free and spread across a whole city centre, gather enormous crowds over ten days without selling a single ticket.

When is festival season in Belgium?

Mainly June to August. Graspop and Rock Werchter open the summer in late June, July brings Tomorrowland, Dour, the Gentse Feesten, Les Ardentes, Cactusfestival and the Francofolies, and August closes with Jazz Middelheim and Pukkelpop. Outside those months there are indoor and city events, but the open-air season is concentrated in the summer holidays.

Which Belgian festivals are best for electronic music?

Tomorrowland is the obvious answer, but far from the only one. Dour has a strong underground electronic programme, Pukkelpop devotes a dedicated dance hall to techno and drum and bass, and there is a busy circuit of smaller dance festivals and open-air club events across Flanders, Brussels and Wallonia.

Are there free festivals in Belgium?

Yes, and some of the best-known ones are free. The Gentse Feesten offer ten days of free concerts and street theatre in Ghent, Brussels has free summer programmes on its squares, and many towns run free stages during their annual fairs, as does the Francofolies in Spa. Free does not mean amateur: these stages are booked by professional organisers and are a normal part of a Belgian musician's summer.

How can I perform at a festival in Belgium?

For the big festivals, work through a booking agent or get noticed at showcases and club nights; open applications are rare. For city festivals, fairs and side stages, contact the organisers directly with a short video, a clear price and your availability, ideally in the language of the region. A complete EuroActs profile does that work for you and lets Belgian organisers book you directly, with no commission.

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