If our guides to the three other biggest European festivals in Sziget, Glastonbury and Roskilde haven’t convinced you of the continents insatiable appetite for large scale music events Belgium’s Rock Werchter certainly will.
Beginning as a one-day event in 1977 the festival has gradually grown throughout its history to include four days.
When you factor in its 85,000 daily ticket holders that expansion seems only natural and organiser Herman Schueremans has been fidgeting with the scale of the event since its explosion in popularity.
It evolved to the scale of double festival, labeled Torhout-Werchter, with the municipality of Torhout included as the second festival site. That was until 1999 when it reverted back to the single location of Werchter.
Given its popularity though it might seem a little surprising that a double festival wasn’t viable. Especially when you consider, that much like Tomorrowland, the majority of festival punters come from outside of Belgium.
However given that the festival shares acts with Roskilde and Arras Main Square Festival in France a double event seems hardly necessary.
Those events are held on the same weekend with Glastonbury sometimes also clashing with Rock Werchter.
Much like the aforementioned festivals this Belgium event shares the same reverence in its beautiful setting, top notch facilities and for its ability to run smoothly year in year out.
And you’d expect as much for a festival that has run for nearly 40 years. The organisers capacity to deal with around 139,000 attendees every year is integral to its success but its past lineups have helped forge this festival ahead into the future.
Having David Bowie headline two years in a row probably doesn’t hurt and nor does booking the likes of Iggy Pop, The Cure, Jeff Buckley, Bjork, Sonic Youth, Lou Reed, Radiohead, Blur, Nine Inch Nails, Oasis and The Chemical Brothers just to name a few.
Much like its contemporaries that run every year you can expect Rock Werchter to be drawing big name acts and international revellers for many more years.
Lineup
The 2014 Rock Werchter lineup is easily one of the event’s best bills in its history. Just mention the first six headliners in Metallica, Arctic Monkeys, Pearl Jam, Kings Of Leon, Placebo and The Black Keys and you should be sold.
Not convinced? What about when we add in Scottish indie rockers Fran Ferdinand, New York three-piece Interpol and the legendary Pixies?
Even if rock isn’t your thing the likes of Skrillex, Major Lazer, Ellie Goulding, Damon Albarn, Rudimental, MGMT, Foster The People, SBTRKT and Metronomy ensures that a broad range of listeners can enjoy this event.
To see the full extent of this massive lineup follow this link.
Where And When
This rock music event will take over the Belgium village of Werchter from the 3rd to the 6th of July.
How To Get There
Ticketholders will first have to organize flights to Belgium with the capital of Brussels your likely destination.
Carriers such as Qantas, British Airways, Malaysia Airlines, KLM and Singapore Airlines amongst others can take you there.
The following are a list of estimated return airfares that were available at the time of writing.
Adelaide: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $2400.
Brisbane: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $1700.
Melbourne: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $2000.
Perth: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $2000.
Sydney: Two-stop flights are valued upwards of $1900.
At the basement of Brussels Airport punters can take a train to the nearby town Leuven. However to travel from Leuven Railway Station to Werchter’s Festival Park you’re encouraged to use De Lijn’s special shuttle service.
You can claim one free and nominative E-Train Ticket from here. These tickets are also valid on the shuttle service between Leuven and the festival site. For more details of this deal follow this link.
Alternatively you can check out travel packages from the UK here.
Where To Stay
Camping tickets come in at the reasonable price of €18 per person in presale or €25 at the entrance of the campsite.
There are three zones to the campsite, which is located on the outskirts of the festival site. It’s a first come first serve basis in terms of which zone you’d prefer so keep that in mind when planning your journey.
All campsites provide free washing facilities, toilets and toilet paper. Showers may set you back a few euro depending on the campsite you’re staying in.
There are no powered campsites or glamping options however you could seek out accommodation at the nearby towns of Leuven and Mechelen if camping isn’t your thing. To begin your hotel research follow this link.
How To Get Tickets
For the full festival ‘Combi Ticket’ potential punters will have to fork out €205. One day tickets are quickly selling out at €83 a piece so we’d advise you to get in quick if there’s one day you’d prefer over another.
To purchase a festival ticket, camping add on and food and drink tickets click this link.
If the ticket option you want is sold out there might be still a chance that you can attend this event. Just sign up for the waiting list here and the festival will contact you when a ticket is sold back to the organisers under their ticket exchange program.
Insider Tips & Tricks/Things You Shouldn’t Miss
Rock Werchter knows a hungry festival goer when they see one and they’ve been doing this long enough to know that a large variety of taste buds need to be catered for. The food stalls at the festival offer everything from pizza and sandwiches, to spring rolls, salads, wok dishes, French fries (well, duh), fruit, waffles, pasta, ice cream and so much more.
Need some fluids to wash that delicious food down? You’ll find plenty of stalls that sell coffee, milk, fruit juice and wine to quench your thirst.
All food and drink can be purchased through drink tokens which are available all throughout the festival site, however we’d advise that you stock up when you purchase you festival ticket just to avoid the lines.
Losing your friends and having no phone reception to find them at any festival or big event is a nightmare. Rock Werchter have you covered though with all mobile-phone operators providing a temporary increase of capacity during the festival. There are also charging posts throughout the grounds just in case your device runs out of juice so don’t forget your charger!
Cash and festivals can be a tough predicament but the organisers have you covered here as well. There are plenty of ATM’s throughout to withdraw money, however all food and drink stalls accept plastic so there is no need to carry large wads of Euros with you.
International travellers should also take note of the lockers in the festival grounds. We recommend that you utilize them for your passport and valuables. They’re large enough to easily fit 2-3 jackets so don’t hesitate to share with your friends and fill that space.
If you’re on a tight budget the festival provides one beverage token for every 20 empty plastic cups or PET bottles that you help recycle.
For more details head to the official Rock Werchter website
