This weekend marks the start of Belgium's biggest music festival, Tomorrowland. Local police have warned visitors to be aware of pickpockets on the festival site.
The coming two weekends (Friday 21 until Sunday 23 and Friday 28 until Sunday 30) will see the small town of Boom (in the province of Antwerp) transform into the dance capital of Europe. A total of 600,000 festival-goers bought tickets for the event last year, which took place across three weekends. This year, tickets reserved for the Belgian public sold out almost immediately.
While the festival is a moment of euphoria, police have warned ticket-holders to be vigilant and protect their valuables, or better still, leave them at home. It expects pickpockets once again to be active on site.
Last year, around 20 pickpockets were arrested on the festival site and at the campsite. The suspects, most of whom were from South America, were said to have travelled specifically to Europe to target festivals as easy places to steal valuables such as smartphones and jewellery.
Revellers make easy targets for pick-pockets in the thousands-strong crowds. Credit: Belga
This year, the local Rupel police zone will be reinforced by a specialist team from the Antwerp police to better combat pickpocketing. They will be patrolling the area with a keen eye on suspicious behaviour to catch culprits in the act. One behaviour to watch for is people who seek physical contact with other festival-goers while dancing.
No-drone zone
The police are also calling on festival-goers to report any incident to the police. As in the past, police will also implement a no-fly zone for drones during Tomorrowland.
Only drones belonging to emergency services and the organisation are allowed to fly in the area. In the public domain of the Boom and Rumst municipalities, possession of drone equipment is also prohibited.
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"The measures are necessary to prevent festival-goers, staff or volunteers from being hurt by a drone, and to ensure that the emergency services can always go to the site quickly, safely and unhindered for an intervention," said Commissioner Nick Noël of Police Zone Rupel.
During the 2022 edition, the local police zone confiscated seven drones, each with a fine of up to €8,000.
