Pukkelpop Bounces Back

With crowds averaging 63,000 per day, Belgium’s Pukkelpop appears to have taken a big step toward recovering from last year’s cancellation, which was forced by a deadly storm.

Regular Pukkelpoppers look to have kept faith with the event, although it wasn’t possible to refund last year’s ticketholders as the tragic incident that caused five deaths, uprooted trees and leveled two stages was classified as an unavoidable accident, making it impossible to lodge an insurance claim.

Two weeks before this year’s gathering, a memorial service was held on the Kiewit-Hasselt site to honour those who lost their lives.

The heatwave that swept Europe during the Aug. 16-18 weekend made its presence felt at Pukkelpop, where – literally and figuratively – it was one of the festival’s hottest editions.

Twitter followers could have found glowing reports of the festival, including tweets suggesting it was “the European Coachella” or even “the best festival in the world.”

The 211 acts helping things come right for the 27th edition of Pukkelpop included The Stone Roses, Foo Fighters, The Gaslight Anthem, Wilco, Feist, The Black Keys and Tinie Tempah.