Volunteers from the W-Festival in Ostend have put together a modest alternative programme to replace the event, which was due to take place this weekend. The organisers declared bankruptcy two weeks ago and cancelled the music festival.
Around 15,000 tickets had been sold for the W-Festival when it was cancelled. A group of seven volunteers from the event have now decided to organise an alternative themselves.
“Our original plans were quite grand,” says Nick Mertens. “When the news broke that the company behind W-Festival was bankrupt and that there would not be another edition, I got a lot of phone calls from friends and other festival-goers. A lot of them had already booked a hotel in Ostend and had little desire to spend the whole weekend at the beach.”
He joined forces with volunteer colleagues to come up with an alternative event at short notice and with limited funds. There will be a programme of DJ performances at Twilight café, a familiar spot for W-Festival regulars and Ostend locals. And on Saturday, from 11.00 to 15.00, there will be a communal brunch at the Klein Strand, where the original festival was supposed to take place.
“That spot was a proposal from the city council,” says Mertens. “We immediately thought it was a good idea because it means we are also sticking up a middle finger to the organisers who have let us down. As the intention is to keep everything free – ticket holders have already lost enough money – we ask people to bring their own food and drinks, as well as a picnic blanket and a rubbish bag, so we can leave the beach tidy.”