‘Terrorists Are Not The Ones We Fear’

David Dehard is the coordinator of Court-Circuit, the venue network of the French-speaking part of Belgium. He points out that military had been roaming the streets of the country’s capital Brussels even before the March bombings.

Yet, they couldn’t prevent them from happening. When the city’s venues closed in the immediate aftermath of the attacks, they did so because “they were asked to by authorities, not because they wanted to,” Dehard explains. When the city of Brussels gave the green light to reopen, most venues did not change their security approach (“a security guy at the entrance, not more”), apart from one aspect: people are asked to leave their bags at the entrance, at least in Brussels.

The attacks rather affected Belgium festivals, where security checks at the entrance were carried out much more thoroughly than usual. It didn’t, however, affect ticket sales, Dehard says. While other promoters told Pollstar that Rock Werchter for example did experience a decline in sales, Dehard says that, if anything, the weather was to blame.

“There are a lot of venues that are going to be closed,” he says, “but that’s not because of security or terrorism. It’s just because the authorities think that it’s better to have luxurious buildings with flats that will attract rich people.”

What doesn’t make life easier for venue operators, promoters and bookers is the fact that the city of Brussels engages in putting on live shows. According to Dehard, “they are buying venues, they producing and promoting festivals. And they are also the ones granting venues their licenses.”

The city for example operates the Brussels Summer Festival and Bruxelles-Les-Bains. As usual when the government uses its resources to produce events, they are able to offer artist and entrance fees regular promoters can’t compete with.

Which is why Dehard concludes, that “terrorists are not the ones we think about in Brussels.”