The news of a 10-hour marathon electronic dance open-air being organised in the centre of Brussels will be music to the ears of party-goers, but one action group has heavily criticised it.
Hangar, the party collective known for its popular electronic music festival inside an old industrial warehouse in the Brussels Canal Zone, will be taking over Place Rogier in the heart of Brussels this Saturday. It is teaming up with TuesdayTV to organise the "first ever event to be organised under the circular canopy on the square."
The open-air party on the recently renovated square will last for 10 hours, from noon until 22:00, and the line-up includes some big names in the electronic music scene, from DJ BORING, Fiona and Kappen to Luisa and Yung Singh.
However, the festivities are much less welcomed by the action group Free54, which has been campaigning throughout the summer against the commercialisation of public space in Brussels, including on Place Sainte-Catherine.
'Non-location'
The organisation said the arrival of a large open-air festival raises serious questions, especially regarding how much the organisers had to dip into its pockets to obtain the city's approval to occupy Place Rogier, calling it "a blatant commodification of public space."
"The renovations of Place Rogier were finally completed in 2018 after significant delays and at a conceivable additional cost of as much as €42 million," Free54 said in a statement. It added that, to its discontent, the new "eye-catching pavilion" located at the centre of the "bare concrete square" was left to none other than Starbucks.
An aerial view of the city centre of Brussels including the Place Rogier in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. Credit: Belga/ Thierry Roge
"The absence of benches has turned the place into a non-location for the city's citizens. Now, here we are as taxpayers who have just laid down a nice chunk of money for a square that seems to have been tweaked to suit the city's event urge."
It asked the government what its reasoning was behind the decision, allowing private organisations to benefit significantly from public infrastructure, which is meant to serve the public but now excludes them. It referred to the fact that tickets are not affordable for all citizens, criticising an early-bird ticket sale.
"Early-Birds tickets cost €17.50 but are completely sold out. Everyone knows that there are only a limited number of these tickets, meant as a marketing stunt to attract a larger audience," the action group wrote on its social media accounts. The regular and last minute tickets cost €25 and €30.
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The action group also denounced the lack of transparency about the city council's decision and how much the city profited from it.
"What benefits do we as citizens get from this initiative and why do we have to keep swallowing the pills of events that are not publicly accessible and take place in public spaces?"
