Belgian W-Festival files for bankruptcy, 2024 edition cancelled

Just two weeks before the W-Festival was supposed to take place in the Belgian coastal city of Ostend from 23 – 25 August 2024, the organisers of the festival announced yesterday that they have filed for bankruptcy and that the 2024 edition of the W-Festival will no longer take place:

“Dear W-Festival ticket holders, On August 9, 2024, the festival sector will become a bit quieter. After years of struggle, the last notes have been played on the W-Festival stage, as our organization, with a heavy heart, officially will file for bankruptcy. The W-Festival board has taken extensive steps to keep the company running, but now, just a few weeks before the start of the festival, we are faced with the heart-wrenching decision to throw in the towel. The COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting restrictions have had a devastating impact on the event sector. Additionally, the W-Festival faced the bankruptcy of our ticket provider, Festicket, in 2022, and unfortunately, we are experiencing disappointing ticket sales in 2024, contrary to all forecasts. After years of dedication and efforts to adapt to the new circumstances, as well as various initiatives to mitigate the damage, it is no longer possible for the W-Festival to keep the organization afloat. […] The company Wave to Synth will submit an application to the court and will take the necessary steps to ensure the bankruptcy proceeds in an orderly manner, in collaboration with a curator. The board states: ‘It is incredibly painful to conclude this musical adventure after 9 years. For now, our focus is on closing the bankruptcy properly.'” – W-Festival

The organisers also state that they were “just like you, immensely looking forward to staging this 9th edition”. Some of W-Festival’s profiles on social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram have already been deleted.

While the main stage featured acts from the Eurodance genre, amongst others, the second stage, “Batcave Live”, was of particular interest to the gothic scene. This year, Then Comes Silence, Combichrist, Diary Of Dreams, The Cassandra Complex and Girls Under Glass were among those scheduled to play on this stage. The statement by the Swedish post-punk trio Then Comes Silence illustrates that the bankruptcy and cancellation of the W-Festival 2024 is not only a surprise for the festival’s visitors:

“The organizers at Wfest haven’t informed us, but it’s clear that it’s been cancelled after the bad news on their website yesterday. We have expenses remaining, but we’ll manage and sort it out somehow.” – Then Comes Silence

The British electronic rock band The Cassandra Complex was apparently not informed about the bankruptcy and cancellation either:

“We have just found out that W Festival has been CANCELLED! We don’t know any other details, but obviously we will not be appearing there. Not sure yet what this means for people who already bought tickets – please contact the Festival for more info.” – The Cassandra Complex