Festival goers at Les Ardentes music festival near Liège are feeling bitter after the last day of the festival was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.
On Sunday, organisers cancelled the festival in anticipation of rain, hail and strong gusts. Following a risk assessment conducted by a regional coordination committee and local police, a decision was made to cancel the last day of the festival for safety reasons.
The organisers advised ticket holders not to travel to the site and asked campers to leave the site.
Many attendees are now calling this decision into question, given that the poor weather largely failed to materialise. "There was no hail. We had maybe 45 minutes of rain. It was a little frustrating actually," one attendee told RTL Info.
The order to leave the site caused significant disruption. Many campers sheltered in a nearby underground carpark and shopping centre. Thousands were forced to leave the festival grounds, some with no means to get home.
Once the weather warning was lifted, the City of Liège instructed those stranded to return to the campsite and spend the night there.
"The night went well, just having to keep going back and forth was quite unbearable," another guest complained, referring to the order to vacate the festival site.
Dangerous weather
Liège authorities are now defending their decision to cancel the last day of the festival, amongst public outcry at the cancellation. Many participants travelled from neighbouring countries to attend the festival.
"I completely understand the disappointment of the festival goers. I understand the organisers' disappointment. I understand the traders' disappointment. But, if I had to do it again, I would do it again," Liège Mayor Willy Demeyer told RTL Info.
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Warnings issued by the Royal Meteorological Institute (RMI) could not be ignored, the Mayor explained. The RMI predicted 90 km/hour winds, 40 litres/m2 of rain per hour and hailstones of 4-5 cm in diameter. "We cannot play heads or tails with a prediction like this," he said.
There is also a historical precedent behind the decision to cancel the last day of the festival. In 2011, five festival goers were killed when two tents collapsed in bad weather at the Pukkelpop festival. Liège is also an area prone to flooding.
Les Ardentes organisers insist that customers will be refunded as a result of the last-minute cancellation. The RMI forecast impact is expected to be "colossal" on the finances of the festival. At some point today, organisers will contact ticket holders about how to claim their refund.
