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🇧🇪 Belgium /Culture & Society

'Zomer in Linden' festival doubles ticket sales, adds second stage amid challenges for small events

From VRT NWS · () Dutch

Translated from Dutch, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

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  • The 'Zomer in Linden' festival in Lubbeek, Belgium, is holding its largest edition yet with a doubled ticket sale and a new second stage.
  • Organizers cite rising costs and the need to scale up to cover fixed expenses as reasons for expansion, despite challenges faced by small festivals.
  • The festival relies on volunteers, sponsors, and a loyal local audience to sustain its operations.

The village festival 'Zomer in Linden' in Linden, Lubbeek, is set to host its 12th and largest edition, boasting a doubled ticket sale and the addition of a second stage. This expansion marks a significant step for the festival, which began as a small scout event in 2014 and now anticipates 12,000 visitors.

You can safely call it the biggest edition ever.

— Adriaan RemsAdriaan Rems, who co-founded the festival and remains on the core team, describes the current edition's scale.

Organizers acknowledge the increasing complexities of staging a larger event, including more permits, applications, and mandatory safety measures like first-aid stations, ambulances, and reusable cups. These requirements, along with rising costs for logistics, drinks, and artists, contribute to the need for expansion. "A small festival must increase its scale to cover all these fixed costs," explained co-founder Adriaan Rems. "Otherwise, the organization must come from a city, as with the city festival Beleuvenissen."

A small festival must increase its scale to cover all these fixed costs. Otherwise, the organization must come from a city, as with the city festival Beleuvenissen. The costs of logistics, drinks, and artists also continue to rise. That makes the organization challenging at times.

— Adriaan RemsAdriaan Rems explains the financial pressures driving the festival's expansion.

Despite the challenges, 'Zomer in Linden' continues to grow, largely due to strong community support. "'Zomer in Linden' is truly a village event, where we can always count on a loyal audience," said head organizer Quinten Vanistendael. "Our sponsors and volunteers also keep the festival going." This support extends beyond financial contributions, with local businesses lending equipment and resources.

'Zomer in Linden' is truly a village event, where we can always count on a loyal audience. Our sponsors and volunteers also keep the festival going.

— Quinten VanistendaelHead organizer Quinten Vanistendael highlights the community support that sustains the festival.

The festival's resilience was tested three years ago by a rain-soaked edition that depleted reserves. However, with favorable weather forecasts this year, organizers are focused on delivering their most ambitious event to date. While the festival is nearing its maximum size for the village location, the focus remains on providing a memorable experience for attendees.

That was a heavy blow. We burned through a lot of reserves then. Lubbeek exceptionally gave us something then.

— Adriaan RemsAdriaan Rems recalls the financial impact of a previous rainy edition.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by VRT NWS in Dutch. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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