Festivalpark Werchter Belgium
This was a strong edition. Reviewers generously bestowed high praise on the stars. The headliners on the Main Stage and in The Barn (Red Hot Chili Peppers, Muse, Iggy Pop, Fred again..) scored especially highly, as did the majority of the sizable Belgian contingent (Charlotte de Witte, Oscar and the Wolf, Tamino, Amenra, Compact Disk Dummies, etc.). New audience favourites included Gabriels, Touché Amoré, STONE, Danielle Ponder, and The HU.
On the bill: 100 names, including 16 Belgians. Our national delegation has never been so large. British acts were in the majority.
Iggy Pop is the festival’s newest elder. The 76-year-old American dethroned Paul McCartney, who was 74 when he headlined the festival in 2016.
Interesting fact: the most-viewed video on the Rock Werchter channel was the one featuring Lovejoy. This is the band of UK internet phenomenon Wilbur Soot, who closed Sunday at The Slope.
Rock Werchter 2023 was sold out. The festival welcomed 88,000 visitors per day: 67,500 four-day tickets and 20,500 one-day tickets per festival day.
There were 50,000 campers, including 28,000 at The Hive campsite and 3500 at The Hive Resort.
Tickets were sold in 106 countries. The national rankings were as follows: (1) Belgium, (2) The Netherlands, (3) United Kingdom, (4) France, (5) Germany, (6) Israel, (7) Luxembourg, (8) Ireland, (9) United States, and (10) Italy.
About 5000 visitors were treated at the Red Cross medical stations over the four days – a lot less than the previous year.
The three bicycle parking stations welcomed an average of 15,000 cyclists per day.
Rock Werchter 2024 will take place from Thursday 4 to Sunday 7 July.
All the artists, crew, volunteers and the 150,000 music fans.
You Rock Werchter.