Features
Dour Sets Record
Belgium’s Dour Festival fell only a little short of selling out is 45,000 capacity, but still did enough to break its overall attendance record.
Photo: Mathieu Drouet
in Belgium
Organisers say there were 195,000 across the five days (averaging 39,000 per day), and it’s likely no one would protest if they claimed a sellout.
Last year’s 25th edition of Dour – the previous record-holder – drew an average of nearly 37,000 per day to the Plaine de la Machine à Feu site near the French border.
In 2008 there were 144,000, but that was when Dour was only a four-day festival and the average was 36,000 per day.
Dour’s Isabel Podowski says this year’s breakdown was 25,000 visitors on the first day, 40,000 on the second, 43,000 on the third, 44,000 on the fourth and another 43,000 for the finale.
Earlier reports from Rock Werchter and Graspop Metal Meeting had already suggested the Belgian major festival market could be heading for a record-breaking year.
The acts helping Dour to a full house July 16-20 included Boys Noize, Paul Kalkbrenner, Little Dragon, Klaxons, and Maximo Park.