Pukkelpop 2010

[Semprini]

With the new year fast approaching I thought it was time to get the ball rolling for next years Pukkelpop festival in Belgium

This will be my 4th visit in a row and, as the thread title says, it should be extra special this year as they're celebrating the 25th edition. Since taking the plunge back in 2007 I've been totally captivated by this festival and can't wait to get back over to Hasselt/Kiewit for another lost weekend!! The all important dates are Thursday 19th to Saturday 21st August, although the campsite opens on the Wednesday and they also hold the pre-party in the legendary Boiler Room that night.

I actually booked our hotel a couple of months ago as you can reserve on credit card without being charged and I'll hopefully sort out flights in the next month or so. Although I've never camped all the reviews I've read are favourable (aside from it being a bit crowded and there's always a big queue to get in on the Wednesday) and it's included in the ticket price which is a bonus!! You also get free travel in and out of Belgium included too, which when you consider that tickets were about 140 euros last year is still a complete bargain even with the crap exchange rate.

If previous years are anything to go by then no names will be officially announced until April but some bands will begin to self-confirm on myspace in the next month or so. The rumour mill has just started up though with the news that Blink 182 have been confirmed for two festivals in Germany on the same weekend as Pukkelpop so there's a chance they may headline either the Thursday or Friday. Every year I make predictions about who will play that are always wrong so I'm not going to embarrass myself this time round . If I had my way though the line up would definitely include The Prodigy, Underworld, Doves, Orbital, Girl Talk, Balkan Beat Box, Gaslamp Killer, LTJ Bukem, Danny Howells, Joris Voorn, Andy C, Gui Boratto and (fingers crossed!!) Daft Punk. There's over 200 bands/DJ's each year spread over the 8 stages so you're never stuck for someone to see.

Tickets don't go on sale until May and although the festival has never actually sold out, it came pretty close last year. I read an interview with the organiser a couple of days ago and he said that the site can only accomodate a few thousand more visitors than they had in 2009. Last year was a record attendance (180,000 over the three days) so it wouldn't surprise me if it sells out this time round. It's not like Glasto though where all the tickets go in the first few hours so there's no panic to get them. The organiser (Chokri Mahassine) also said there will be no Polsslag festival this year as they want to concentrate on making Pukkelpop as good as possible.

Loads of questions have been answered in the /index.php?showtopic=90965&hl">2008 and /index.php?showtopic=114055&hl">2009 threads but feel free to ask if there's any info you need, although I'm not promising I'll know the answers . So is anyone else thinking of heading over next summer????

[anx]

pukkelpop was one of my favourite festivals this year, would love to go again, definitely worth the trip to beligum, not sure if i will though, since reading is usually the following weekend, and I was a little rough to say the least after doing both this year

will wait for the lineup

[Createur]

Was there 2006 with Radiohead, Beck, Massive Attack and Daft Punk headlining. Best festival I've ever been to.

@Semprini: Can you please post the link to the interview with the organiser? Would love to read it.

@Pukkelpop 2010: Can't wait.

[Semprini]

I've had a search through and can't find where the interview was but I'll keep looking. It was all in Dutch but Google translate gave a pretty good idea of what was said. The interviewer tried to get some info on who would be playing but he wasn't having any of it. From what I can remember most of it was talking about how the festival has evolved but Chokri did mention some of his favourite performances over the years and they included QOTSA, Nirvana and Underworld so hopefully he's feeling nostalgic and will book Underworld to close the Dance Hall on one of the nights.

The line up in 2006 was amazing and I'd have loved to have been there for that, especially Daft Punk. I went to V in 2005 and booked early bird tickets for the following year as soon as we got back but when I started looking into alternatives across Europe I was gutted that I had jumped in so quickly

There's a poster doing the rounds that has supposedly been 'leaked' which says that Green Day are playing on the Friday night. I don't know how legit it is but I would be a bit surprised if it is true as Green Day are confirmed for Rock Werchter and the two festivals don't really share headliners. Some other websites are saying that Blink 182 have also 'leaked' their tour dates and Pukkelpop is on the list, along with Lowlands. If both of these are true then it only leaves the Saturday headliner to come. Tbh I don't get too hung up on who headlines the Main Stage as the only ones I've watched in the last three years were Basement Jaxx and Kraftwerk - there's always too many other things going on at that time

[DDave]

We'll be there again. Last year was amazing, the weather on the first day helped as well!

What hotel are you staying in, Semp?

[pumpkinprincess1]

every year now i am faced with the dilemma of can i afford to come back to this again! damn.

as its the 25th anniversary of some awesome fests i have been to i am desperate to go to one.

also, the chilli noodles at pukkelpop were some of the best i have EVER tasted! and still cant stop thinking bout them!

aaaaaah. damn credit crunch and euro exchange! oh the pressure!

may have to wait for news on lineups.

but bugger, i really did love pukkelpop, although not the walk home one night as the bus to town left before the main headliner finished! my feet were tired! haha.

hello again semprini!

[Buglet]

I missed out on going to Pukkelpop last year because my bugger of a bank manager proved to be numerate and realised that there was no way i could afford it.

Deff intend to go this year though, Pukkelpop is a cool fest. Already booked my ferry tickets, the only problem would be if Lowlands released a stonking line up 'cos the wife would rather try going there.

I really like the layout of PP, it's very quick and easy to get from anywhere on the site to anywhere else, a necessary consideration for those whe, like me, are a bit of a spanner and have trouble walking around.

If I can persuade them to let me take the camper and avoid the missus seeing any info on Lowlands, I should be there for sure!

[branvan]

i have been to many festivals all over europe, used to go to beni before the english invasion, then summercase, werchter, southside, 11xrock am ring etc. last year i was at the melt festival and pinkpop for the first time and this year i'm planning to go for the first time to pukkelpop.

my question: is it easy to get back after the last concerts/dj-sessions by bus to hasselt, where the hotels are. if no buses, are there taxis at this time of night?

[ketel]

pukkelpop is near Hasselt, only 2 or 3km from the centrum of Hasselt.

It's easy to get there.

It is a great festival and i think it's going to be a great line up this year becouse the festival exist 25 years.

Don't pay attention to my writing

[Semprini]

What hotel are you staying in, Semp?

[pumpkinprincess1]

there is a taxi rank?! no way? how on earth did i miss that the night i had to walk back into town!! doh.

must have been the many beers!

i am thinking i might book my hotel just now, can then cancel if i cant afford to go! oh the pressure!!

[branvan]

yes, book now, then we can walk together

[Buglet]

yes, book now, then we can walk together

Edited January 9, 2010 by Buglet

[pumpkinprincess1]

i dont fancy the walk again, my feet were not loving it after a couple of days festival going! if only i had known the taxi rank was there. i must have completely missed it. and the bus!

[branvan]

has anybody stayed in THE CENTURY? i have to decide between the century or holiday inn express. on pics the century looks very nice, but it seems to be a little further away from the station?

[Semprini]

I'm pretty sure some lads from on here stayed in the Century last year and they didn't mention anything about it afterwards, which I suppose is a good sign

It does look really nice on the website and, judging by the map, it's roughly the same distance to the station as the Hoiday Inn Express (10 minute walk) so I wouldn't worry too much about that. I suppose the main thing is how they compare on price but the Century does have apartments which would be good if there's a few of you to split the cost. They also do a weekend deal which is good value but it says you have to arrive on a Friday to get it. Might be worth asking them though if they will do the deal from the Thursday, they can only say no

[ketel]

The walkingdistance to the century is a littlebit further as the holiday inn, about 2 minutes.

There is also an other hotel called the ibis.

I think it is about the same price as the holiday. it is across the holiday inn.

[TheNewUnion]

Planning Pukkelpop this year. Hoping to travel on Eurostar from Liverpool (change in London) to Brussels then use the free train travel to get to the festival.

Going to camp to keep he cost down, had originally intended to Hotel it but it's just too expensive at the moment. Maybe book a hotel for the day after the festival so we can recover!

Assuming arriving on Wednesday evening that there will be plenty of places to camp (3 small tents).

Never done an "abroad" festival before so really looking forward to it. I'm sure they'll come thick and fast over the coming months, but what are the top tips for the festival (especially sine I'll be on the train and will have to trave very light)?

Learned loads off these forums before I started my Glasto going and am hoping to do the same for Pukkelpop.

Thanks All

(on the plus side, mate who is coming with us worked in belgium for a couple of years. Work was in Genk but he lived in Hasslet for months)

[Buglet]

Was next to rather than in the campsite last time, but it didn't look too bad throughout. Certainly not in the league of Glasto campsites, there did appear to be room to swing a cat. And unlike Glasto campsites, it seemed quite quiet, and you didn't get the feeling that someone somewhere actually was trying to swing a cat.

No. I don't know what that means either.

[stubbs]

Im looking at going to this fest this year.

Whats the easiest way to get to it from the North east of England?

When do the tickets go on sale?

How many days camping do you get with the ticket?

Sorry if theses have been answered

[ketel]

camping is from wednesday untill sunday 12 h i think

[stubbs]

camping is from wednesday untill sunday 12 h i think

[Semprini]

Yes that's right, everyone has to be off the campsite by 12pm on Sunday. This is fairly standard procedure for all festivals though.

In reply to your other questions, there's various ways you could get there from the North East. The quickest is obviously to fly, usually into Brussels or Amsterdam. Some people come over a day early (Tuesday) and stay in a hotel before heading to Hasselt on the Wednesday, with Amsterdam being the popular choice . You could train it to London and Eurostar over but that would probably take a long time and be quite expensive. The cheapest, but maybe the longest, method would be the ferry over to Amsterdam. I'm not sure but I think there's one from Newcastle and one from Hull.

Tickets go on sale the first week in May and will probably be between 140-150 euros. As you probably know, this includes camping and all trains and buses in and out of Belgium on the day before (Wednesday) and the day after (Sunday) the festival.

Edited January 29, 2010 by Semprini

[pumpkinprincess1]

do we know when they might start to announce any bands? i cant remember from the last time i went! feels like so long ago, although it was only 08!

the lure of the 25th birthday is proving difficult to ignore. that and the chilli noodles. damn.

[ketel]

You can also take the ferry from dover to calais and drive from there to hasselt. i dont know if that's faster for you.

I did that last year when i went to the uk