The bad weather has rained on many parades in recent weeks and is likely to dampen the mood at various events taking place in Belgium this weekend.
The world's largest heavy metal music festival – Wacken Open Air (WOA) held annually in northern Germany – told fans on Wednesday to stay home if they are not already there, due to poor weather and the "extraordinary" amount of rain.
"All metalheads in motor vehicles of all kinds are urged to cancel their trip to Wacken if they are already en route, or not to start at all," read a statement on the WOA's official Instagram page. "This applies until the end of the festival."
Festival goers at both weekends of the dance music festival Tomorrowland, which takes place every year in Boom (Antwerp) and has in the past experimented with methods to tackle the bad weather, were welcomed with a wet and far from summery climate. Meanwhile, the final day of the Les Ardentes festival at the start of the summer was cancelled due to the predicted rain, hail and strong winds.
This weekend, it is likely the bad weather will once again cause issues for Belgian festivals.
When it rains, it pours
In Wallonia, organisers of the Ronquières Festival are preparing to battle the capricious weather, noting that they want to "reassure festival goers who may have been traumatised by the cancellation of the last day of the Ardentes festival."
In the event of rain, the covers will help shelter as many people, while the canal bridge on the festival grounds, which are already muddy, can accommodate around 10,000 people under its surface. Organisers also stressed the importance of carpooling and free shuttles to avoid congestion should an evacuation prove necessary.
In the Flemish province of Limburg, festival organisers are also looking to take extra measures, ranging from erecting extra tents to possibly housing performances indoors or even cancelling one of the festival days.
A rainy day at Werchter earlier this summer. Credit: Belga / James Arthur Gekiere
In Genk, where the Absolutely Free Festival will take place at the end of this week, extra tents will be erected at the C-Mine so that visitors can take shelter during performances or when dining at bars. Similar measures are also being taken at the campsite.
This weekend, Hasselt's city centre will also host the preview of the upcoming edition of Pukkelpop with free concerts taking place at three venues. Indoor venues are being considered as alternatives to performances on the city's squares.
Finally, Friday night's free programme of Paal op Stelten in Beringen will be cancelled, but the rest of the three-day festival will go ahead as usual. Here, the organisers are not currently taking any additional measures against the expected bad weather.
