The Dour festival
The Dour festival is a European festival of alternative music, independent music and multicultural music organized by Carlo Di Antonio, taking place every summer in Belgium in Dour, near Mons, during 5 days, on the wind farm of Dour, near the French border in the province of Hainaut.
history
Dour is a French-speaking commune in Belgium, located in the Walloon region in the province of Hainaut. The Dour Festival was founded in 1989 by Carlo di Antonio and Marc de Fays.
Since 2005, the Dour Festival has hosted an associative village: a space for information and awareness of causes that are rooted in current events and that are defended by alterglobalist associations and NGOs such as Oxfam, International Voluntary Service, the FGTB, etc.
In 2010, the Dour festival was elected "Best festival in Europe ", against its competitors from Spain, Poland, Germany, Switzerland and many others. In 2015, the festival reached a record attendance with 228,000 festival-goers in total over the 5 days. In 2019, the festival reaches a new record with 251,000 attendees. The Dour festival is now the largest musical and tourist event in French-speaking Belgium.
In 2015, the site occupies 100 hectares.
In 2020, the 32nd edition is cancelled because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
attendance
The festival is getting bigger and bigger and also has more and more people coming from all over the world (Australia, America, France, England...).
In 2002, the 100,000 visitors were reached.
The festival sold out for the first time in 2005 with 128,000 people attending over the four days. The event sold out in 2007 several days before it opened: 144,000 festival-goers over the duration of the festival. The festival had to turn away 15,000 people per day. Of these festival-goers, 32,000 slept at the campsite, with a record 23,000 people arriving the day before the opening.
On the occasion of Mons 2015, the festival takes place over 5 days with a special evening on Wednesday. 270 artists are programmed and the festival goes from 4 to 5 days from that year.
Dour is the leading festival in the French Community of Belgium in terms of visitors The prices listed are for the full concert pass. From at least 2016, camping is included.
Scenes and musical styles represented
Dour festival 2012 in the mud. Every year the festival offers a different and international program (28 different nationalities in 2007). It is open to all musical genres: pop, house, punk, hardcore, rock, post-rock, hip-hop, metal, indus, drum and bass, electro, R&B, reggae, ska, noise, indie rock or techno. More than 220 bands and DJs perform on seven stages. They are spread out over the site (2 open-air and 5 marquees), each with its own sounds and aspects. These stages are animated from 1 pm to 5 am.