On Wednesday April 15, the National Security Council decided to cancel all major events until August 31. Among those events: Jazz Middelheim. “A particularly hard blow,” admits Jazz Middelheim director Bertrand Flamang. “Everyone was super excited about this year’s line-up, and then suddenly, you see it all go up in smoke. That’s tough, and not just for the team. The artists, our audience, all the suppliers, everyone is hit hard by what is happening right now. Even though everyone also understands the decision to cancel the festival summer, and we’ve received lots of support from our visitors. That feels really good.”

The festival director, however, already wants to start looking ahead. “The audience’s response to this year’s line-up was overwhelming,” says Flamang. “You could tell people were looking forward to it tremendously. We don’t want to disappoint them, and therefore we have already started talks with most headliners for next year. Obviously, it’s too soon to make any announcements, but the artists are all very enthusiastic to ‘return’ to Jazz Middelheim – probably as enthusiastic as we are about turning next year’s festival summer into the most memorable ever!”

So make sure to already put the dates of the next edition – preferably in fluorescent colours – in your calendar: August 12 to 15, 2021. ☺

But what about the tickets for this summer? Every ticket buyer will be contacted directly by the end of June– be sure to keep a close eye on your spam folder! Those who bought a ticket for this summer will receive a voucher of the same value – valid for two years. All Belgian music festivals have subscribed to this arrangement, which has also been put in a ministerial decree to protect both the festival and the music industry as a whole. More information can be found on www.saveyourticket.be.

Furthermore, Jazz Middelheim will see to it that anyone who bought a ticket for a particular festival day this summer will be the first to get the chance to exchange his voucher for a festival day with a similar line-up next year. Ticket buyers will be informed about this in good time and in person.

Those who had not yet bought a ticket for this year, but still want to support the festival will soon also be able to purchase gift vouchers for the next editions.

In the meantime, keep taking good care of yourself and everyone around you, so we can all enjoy an absolutely fabulous 2021 festival summer!