The Gladiolen festival in Olen celebrated a sold-out 26th edition over the weekend, attracting nearly 20,000 visitors.
The two-day event, held in warm weather, was deemed a “top edition” by spokesperson Kristof Geens, thanks to performances by artists such as Pommelien Thijs and the retiring band XINK.
“Just days before, lorries had to be hauled out of muddy grounds,” Geens explained. “It’s incredible how it turned into such a wonderful and sunny festival weekend. We implemented extra measures, such as offering water on a ‘buy one, get one free’ basis and providing additional cooling stations near the main stage.”
This year’s line-up included acts like Zwangere Guy, Yong Yello, Sons, High Hi, Glintsal, and Pommelien Thijs. A standout moment was XINK’s farewell concert, marking the end of the Flemish pop-punk band’s brief reunion in recent years.
As part of its programme, the festival also hosted a retrospective on 50 years of punk history. Dubbed ‘Bloody Bloody Kempen,’ the segment featured collaborations between The Priceduifkes and Thibault Christiaensen.
Gladiolen has long been a staple of the festival circuit in the Kempen region, known for championing Belgian artists, alternative genres, and its strong volunteer-driven ethos. Last year, it was honoured as ‘Best Small Festival’ at the European Festival Awards.
In addition to the ticketed events, the village square of Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-Olen hosted the free Boekel Boulevard street festival on Saturday.
