Brussels Is Burning??? Yes, indeed!!! This needs some explanation, not? At first it was never our intention to leave Antwerp. But in a few years time the event grew way to fast just to organise it in every average location.

We started two years ago in five clubs (Zillion, Café D’Anvers, Fill Collins Club, Club Geluk, Bozo) had to expand to seven for the next edition (Liverpool & Zuiderkroon) and moved due to closing of the two biggest locations (Zillion, Zuiderkroon) for a semi-outdoor edition in April 2002 to the Waagnatie.

In the first place we were very happy with the Waagnatie which is a beautiful and large location. Expanded with 2 tents, Fill Collins Club and Café D’Anvers, it should be the ideal party site for 15.000 clubbers. But, happiness turned into sadness when authorities closed a part of the event on one of the highlights for many people, without any reason. It’s an organisations worst nightmare, when you are sure you have all permissions (110 db till 05.00) and you had so many meetings with official instances. It’s unbelievable that such things could happen on an event that’s so important for the city of Antwerp. We like to apologize again to all people who were having a great time and making an unbelievable atmosphere during the DJ-set of Tiësto. Of course the biggest part of the event was more than OK, with a great atmosphere when Richie Hawtin was hitting hard, Ken Ishii who never disappoints at AIB, a stunning 6 hour set from Mr. Roger Sanchez, and a few thousand people who couldn’t get enough from DJ Pierre @ 7 in the morning and shouted for half an hour like it were the last minutes of their live.

We decided that for all next editions, we would only organise this event if it could take place in a top-location with all facilities to host at least 10.000 people, without any problem. In Antwerp there’s only one location which is suitable to organise this event, but due to circumstances it’s not possible to have it on the first Friday of September. It’s unbelievable that a major city have no decent possibilities to host a large youth event like this, but hey, that’s not our job to solve such problems.

So we booked a fantastic line up for the 6th of September but, no location, and that’s a big problem, not? We started searching, kept on searching and after lot’s of talking, discussing and convincing we’ve got the opportunity to organise the event in one of the top 3 venues in Belgium. For the first time in the history of Forest National a nightly event (21.00 – 06.00) got the permission from the major to take place.

Brussels is Burning will go on with the same spirit as we always did. Programming an excellent line up, making a combination of artist who are already big in Belgium (Remember: Luke Slater, Ken Ishii, Richie Hawtin, Roger Sanchez, Bob Sinclar, GREEN VELVET) and bringing the real top of the world, who are not visiting our small country on regular basis (Remember: JUDGE JULES, Paul Van Dyk, Tiësto, MAURO PICOTTO, SISTER BLISS). Expanding musical horizons and not only focussing on techno like most Belgium events.

One big location gives us the opportunity, for the first time, to bring a show never seen in Belgium. Production and concept is done by the people who created the shows for Holland’s biggest dance-events. Brussels will definitely be burning!!!

For those who think, less is more, we plan a again a smaller “one ticket, one city, five clubs” – edition somewhere in the beginning of 2003. And we promise we will be back with a full-scale edition of Antwerp’s biggest youth event somewhere in April 2003.

More info @ brusselsisburning.be !

• August 22,2002
• brussels is burning, party