Music festival Extrema Outdoor opens officially this weekend and will welcome as many as 70,000 festival goers, Het Belang van Limburg reports. Belgians making the trek to the Flemish municipality of Houthalen-Helchteren can expect pleasant weather all weekend.
Last year, the festival celebrated its tenth anniversary in true Belgian fashion. Heavy rains wreaked havoc in the Limburg province, causing a mud bath for festival goers. However, this year's festival will be better than ever, organiser Ugur Akkus says.
The festival is divided into seven stages, dubbed 'districts', which surround a central lake. Extrema prides itself on musical variety, offering everything from "hard techno to soft house." The first few 'districts' are dedicated to fast-paced music.
This year, the organisers have significantly upgraded stages two, five and seven. Stage five is partially covered and has been called "impressive" by the organisers.
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"On stage two, visitors all stand on the beach between colour blocks. It’s huge. We don’t usually talk about a 'main stage' here, but you could call this one that anyway," Akkus explained. "On district seven, there are numerous LEDs installed that we can programme individually. It’s going to be incredibly beautiful."
There are definitely some curiosities planned for the festival. Notably, Extrema features a silent disco and video games stage. "There is more, but we will let everyone discover that for themselves."
Sunny side up
Unlike the slip-and-slide of last year, this edition of the festival is set to be a scorcher. Temperatures will typically sit above a pleasant 20℃. Sunny weather should persist from Friday through to Sunday.
"Visitors who arrive early should be careful of the high UV index and apply sunscreen… There is no risk of sunburn after 17:00. A jumper is definitely recommended for the cooler evenings,” weather reporter Ruben Weytjens recommends.
The festival crew are already working hard to prepare for the arrival of guests from across Belgium and Europe. "The crew numbers around 200 people in the run-up to the festival. On the festival days themselves, there are around 1,500 of them a day," the organiser said.
