Pukkelpop has cancelled its 2021 edition due to changes in entry requirements that are undermined by its current testing capacity to run the event safely.
The festival, which is held near Hasselt in Belgium, was set to return next month with a capacity of up to 7,000 tests per day to allow for fans to attend during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
But organisers said today (July 23) that a recent reduction in the time needed to conduct rapid antigen tests and PCR tests ahead of the event has caused issues for the festival, which would have to triple its testing capacity to meet the demands of the new rules.
As a result, Pukkelpop cannot proceed safely and has been cancelled. Ticketholders can choose to roll over their 2021 tickets to next year’s event, which will take place from August 18-21, 2022, or receive a refund.
Organisers wrote on Facebook: “The government finds itself in an unenviable position and so do we. Originally a negative PCR test carried out within 72 hours of arrival was enough but on Monday this was reduced to 48 hours. In addition, a negative antigen test was no longer sufficient for fans to be admitted to the festival. Since Thursday antigen testing is allowed again but the initial validity of 48 hours has been reduced to 24 hours.
NO PUKKELPOP 2021If there’s one certainty with Covid-19 it’s the uncertainty and when you’re trying to organise a…
Posted by Pukkelpop on Friday, July 23, 2021
“Initially we planned for a capacity of up to 7,000 tests per day at the Pukkelpop site but the 24/48 hour limit for the validity of, respectively, a rapid antigen test (RAT) or a PCR test means that we would have to triple this capacity. To put things into perspective: this is 21 times the capacity of the Park Spoor Noord testing village in Antwerp at the height of its activities. The 24/48 hour limit effectively means tripling the number of tests but there is no way we could guarantee the government we can organise this under safe circumstances. This is simple math and a healthy dose of common sense.”
They concluded the message with thanks to their fans and the government – particularly the festival team who “moved heaven and earth to make Pukkelpop 2021 an unforgettable event. Unfortunately it wasn’t to be”.
Liam Gallagher, Future, Editors and Marshmello were among some of the acts playing this year’s festival between August 19 and 22.
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