Pukkelpop Festival is gearing up to welcome between 40,000 and 45,000 visitors for its “official pre-party”, as early starters for the event arrive at the site on Thursday.
The festival gates are not set to open until 18:00 on Thursday but already the crowd is gathering on Kempische Steenweg in Kiewit. The campsites have been accessible since 09:00. The first festival-goers have been dropped off by the De Lijn buses, programmed shuttles running to and from Hasselt train station.
Teenagers are being dropped off with their gear by their parents in the designated kiss-and-ride zone. Around midday, a group of about 100 cyclists that had travelled from Heusden-Zolder velodrome arrived at the festival grounds.
Thursday’s line-up includes Coely, Brihang, and Meltheads. The Marquee stage will feature performances from Portland, Equal Idiots, and Bizkit Park. The Boiler Boys, Guy Legein and Gery Bessemans, will give an emotionally charged set for their 20th and final concert at the Boiler.
No tickets were originally planned for this Thursday evening and only festival-goers possessing weekend passes or a ticket for Friday can attend the evening’s concerts.
For the second year in a row, Limburg province, Pukkelpop festival, and the city of Hasselt have provided a supervised bike parking area, with space for 13,000 bicycles on the festival site. Bike motorways are also planned on the various routes leading to the site.
