"The 48th edition of the Rock Werchter festival proceeded calmly," stated the Mayor of Rotselaar (Flemish Brabant), Jelle Wouters, on Monday afternoon.
"There were no major incidents, music remained at the forefront," the local mayor continued, offering a positive summary of the festival’s four days.
"Last year, following significant traffic jams, we conducted a detailed mobility review," Wouters said. "This review had a positive impact: significantly fewer traffic disruptions occurred this year."
The festival hosted the likes of Dua Lipa, Foo Fighters, Maneskin and Lenny Kravitz this year.
Rock Werchter music festival in Werchter, Thursday 04 July 2024. Credit: Belga / Virginie Lefour
In view of next year’s festival, Wouters already plans to enhance bicycle parking capacity – although a full assessment has not yet been made. Out of 88,000 daily visitors to this year’s festival, about 20,000 arrived by bike, a record-breaking number.
By mid-day, approximately 12,000 attendees had already left for Leuven via De Lijn shuttle buses, which ferry visitors between the festival site and the station. The main access roads and local streets in Werchter were re-opened to traffic around 13:45 on Monday.
The festival will mark its 50th anniversary from 3 to 6 July 2025, dating back to its first-ever edition in 1975. It has taken place ever year since then apart from in 2020, when it was cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
