The Primavera Festival in Barcelona was the warning. An entire evening, Saturday, had been devastated by a violent storm which prevented headliners such as Massive Attack and Bad Gyal from performing on the main stage, causing a series of accusations against the organization by the public present. The following weeks, however, were no more kind.
The incredible heat wave of recent weeks has hit the summer of festivals particularly violently, with cancellations, postponements, concerts and entire days cancelled. Last weekend, given the climate situation in Europe, saw a series of stops for example. A “red alert for extreme temperatures” has led to the cancellation of Defqon.1, a Dutch electronic music festival. Same genre and same fate for the Nous'klaer Festival in Rotterdam. Here too, the alarms of the local authorities blocked the festival just one day before it started. A plague that also affected Concert at Sea and Scandal in the Netherlands, which launched a message of confidence in its Instagram bio: “We'll be back.”
The Werchter Boutique, in Belgium, however, ended early, with the cancellation of Katy Perry's performance. “I'm sorry but I can't control the weather,” the pop star wrote. “I'm just as unhappy as you, but it's something that doesn't depend on me.” In Belgium, Paradise City and Couleur Café also stopped at the request of the authorities.
The B-52's, like Katy Perry, saw their concert at the C Trop Music Festival in Tilloloy, France, canceled shortly before going on stage. “A total disaster”, commented leader Fred Schneider. «At first there was lightning, but the organizer still had our team set up the stage and told the band to prepare to perform. Luckily our tour manager said to wait 10 minutes because it wasn't safe and we needed to see how the storm developed. Then a very strong wind arose, similar to a hurricane, accompanied by pouring rain. Most of our crew were trapped and had to take shelter wherever they could. The festival was evacuated. We couldn't even leave because it was too dangerous to drive. Behind the scenes the power went out several times.” Also scheduled, but then cancelled, were performances by Kaytranada and Anderson .Paak.
Also in France, Garorock also had to cancel Saturday and Sunday due to “code orange”, while other cities prohibited the consumption of alcohol in public during the usual Music Festival celebrations which were held on 20 and 21 June.
In Italy, however, for now the climate situation has not yet led to any cancellation by the authorities. Only Loredana Bertè canceled one of her concerts in Perugia, explaining her choice as follows: «The heat puts my health at risk».
New heat waves are expected in the coming weeks which risk putting a long series of European festivals at serious risk. The Yourope network, which includes 136 festivals from over 30 European countries, spoke to NME of an “unprecedented situation”. Between perfect storms and heat waves, it has become increasingly difficult for festivals to organize, coordinate and react to adverse weather conditions: «Success [dei festival] it will depend on the ability to prepare as best as possible from an operational, communication and infrastructure point of view”, continues the Yourope spokesperson. “At the same time, recent events have demonstrated that some extreme weather phenomena go beyond what is reasonably predictable or planable.”
