opening night canceled due to thunderstorms, seven people injured

The opening night of the Eurockéennes de Belfort, scheduled for Thursday June 30, is canceled due to storms, reports France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard. The site is completely evacuated. Seven people were injured, learned the franceinfo journalist present on the spot.

The gates to the festival opened at 4 p.m. as scheduled. But the organizers began to evacuate the site at 5 p.m. due to the torrents of rain falling on the region. A torrential rain and gusts of wind pushed the first festival-goers to take shelter. The Territory of Belfort is placed in orange vigilance for storms by Météo France.

At the time of the gale, tent canvases flew, tree branches were torn off near the media area, trees fell to the ground, barriers were swept away. The roof of the main stage was half torn off, noted a journalist from France Bleu Montbéliard. The site of Malsaucy, where the festival is held, is transformed into a field of mud.

Seven people were injured and are in relative emergency. Some fell, others were hit by objects. A person suffers fractures after falling from a tent.

The prefecture asks festival-goers not to go to the Eurockéennes campsite, which can accommodate up to 20,000 people. A crisis unit is assembled on site. Between 1,500 and 2,000 campers are accommodated in a permanent structure for the night. Those who stayed in tents that survived the gale can stay there to sleep. A safety visit is scheduled at the festival site on Friday morning.

An “apocalyptic” spectacle

As described by the reception manager of the campsite at France Bleu Belfort Montbéliard, the enormous gust of wind tore tents, barriers, a spectacle “apocalyptic”. Heavy traffic jams were underway around 6:30 p.m. in the area. “Our objective at the moment is to secure the perimeter of the site and the campsite” says Hervé Casteran, festival communication manager, “we will check the entire perimeter to make sure everything is working for a recovery tomorrow”.

All the concerts of this first evening of the festival are canceled, announces the prefecture. Vald, Stromae or even Bob Sinclar were programmed. For the moment, the day of concerts on Friday is not threatened, but a new storm is announced by Météo France. And the organizers will have to work to restore the site and the large stage which has been damaged.

After two years of cancellation of the festival because of the Covid, this cancellation of the opening night is a blow for the organizers. This 32nd edition initially planned over four days must be that of the rebirth.