Not helped by the rain, the Esperanzah! festival still welcomed some 32,000 festival goers from Thursday to Sunday at Floreffe Abbey, its organisers announced on Sunday evening.
By doing almost as well as in 2022 (36,000 festival goers), the alternative festival from Namur has once again shown that its offbeat programming can attract a wide audience.
"Our aim was to stand out from the crowd by asserting our singular character through an ever more daring line-up, with equal representation (50% women), made up of both emerging and established artists from all over the world," explained the organisers.
"So once again, the gamble has paid off, although we know that we could have done much better if the weather had been better."
The line-up for the festival's 21st edition included Pomme, Chilly Gonzales, Naâman, La Femme, Tiken Jah Fakoly, Jok’Air and Mandragora.
There was also a strong focus on various forms of street art and raising awareness of societal issues, starting with climate change.