Festival
Lommel –
In Lommel they are already working on the next edition of Rampage Open Air, the drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep festival organized by Limburger Hans Machiels, alias DJ Murdock and Kristof Darcon. In recent years, the festival has added more and more attractions in addition to the musical stages. Next year, a roller coaster will be added and you can get to the festival grounds by train.
Friday, December 8, 2023 at 12:06 PM
“From next year, a train will depart from Brussels South that will make a direct connection to the festival site via a stop at Antwerp Central Station,” says Hans Machiels, who organizes the festival together with Kristof Darcon. “The train uses a service track that is no longer active for passengers and stops in the Kristalpark. As a visitor you only have to walk 20 meters to arrive at the campsite. For travelers coming to our festival from the east or south – with visitors for whom the new train connection is of little use – the existing options will continue to exist, such as shuttles and bus connections.”
© Rampage Open Air
The train departs on July 4 and has a capacity of 400 visitors. “But we’ll see how it goes. We can expand that number if necessary. Even after the festival, the train will take visitors back to Brussels and Antwerp.”
Co-organizer Hans Machiels (right) — © Rampage Open Air
At Rampage Open Air they are building a platform to receive train passengers. “That meets all the conditions of the NMBS in terms of height, width and length. It is like building a festival stage, but low and long.”
(read more after the video)
Now also with roller coaster
In the meantime, the festival continues to grow rapidly. The capacity will be increased from 20,000 visitors per day to 25,000 per day by 2024. Presales have now started and around 20,000 tickets have already been sold, while the first artist names will not be announced until January.
(read more below the photos)
© Rampage Open Air
© Rampage Open Air
© Rampage Open Air
The entertainment offering in addition to the music stages is also expanding again. If Rampage Open Air was half a fair last year, it will now become an amusement park. There were already bumper cars, a shooting gallery, swimming pools, a skate ramp and other attractions. From 2024 there will be a roller coaster (the Wild Mouse), a water course with tree trunks, an XXL version of a swing carousel and an arcade hall with games. “That roller coaster in particular is something we have wanted for a long time,” says Machiels. “In terms of feeling, it fits well with the music genres that we perform. We will become the first festival in the world with a roller coaster. But we have now reached our limit in terms of attractions. We will continue to do fun things, but not add even more roller coasters and the like to the range after ’24.”
And a team that cleans up the vomit? “Well, we didn’t receive a single report of this last year: people know well enough when they should or shouldn’t get on an attraction.” Keep it like that. Rampage Open Air will take place on July 5, 6, and 7 next year. All info: www.rampageopenair.eu (cru)