Ghent (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Ghent cancelled Jazz in ’t Park festival despite €50000 invested, angering vzw Muziekmozaïek and artists like Jef Neve. City offered €30000 too late to save the 32nd edition, says Alderman Vandenbroucke.
As VRT News reported, the sudden cancellation of Ghent‘s jazz festival has caused disappointment among organisers, musicians, and cultural institutions. The city’s Festivities Department informed them of the decision. The organisation responsible for the music said they were not consulted.
They had already planned the 32nd festival for September 2025 and had already invested 50000 euros. The city handles the festival’s logistics, but the organisers were not informed about the decision.
Why did Ghent cancel its Jazz festival amid cultural support?
After the cancellation, VZW Muziekmozaïek and other Belgian jazz musicians wrote an open letter to Alderman Joris Vandenbroucke. They asked him to reconsider the decision. The letter highlights the festival’s importance as a cultural institution and a key platform for new artists in Belgium.
Famous musicians such as Jef Neve, Lara Rosseel, and Fulco Ottervanger, and many concert organisers and cultural centres, signed the letter. They argue that the cancellation affects opportunities for young musicians and damages the city’s cultural environment. The letter urges city officials to work with the organisers again to find a way to preserve the festival’s history and future.
Ghent responded to the criticism about cancelling the jazz festival. They said they are making changes and looking at things again. Alderman Joris Vandenbroucke, who handles culture, said the city is thinking about how it organises events like the jazz festival.
He wondered if the city should still be in charge, noting that Ghent has many skilled cultural professionals who could do it. He said the city wants to help, but doesn’t need to do everything itself.
Vandenbroucke likes the festival and goes often. But he also mentioned the city’s money problems. Ghent needs to save €120 million. The city is deciding which tasks it should keep doing and which ones it should stop or let others do. Cancelling the festival is part of this cost-cutting plan.
To help the festival happen this year, the city offered €30,000, but co-organiser Karel Van Keymeulen said this plan won’t work. He said the festival was already planned with a much bigger budget. It’s not clear if the city will give money in the future. Vandenbroucke couldn’t promise funding for 2026 or later.
The organisers worry that if no one else helps, the €30,000 might not be used and will go back to the city. He mentioned that this could mean the end of the festival, which has helped Belgian jazz musicians for over 30 years. This situation worries the cultural community. They are concerned about Ghent’s support for smaller, artist-led events, especially with money problems.
“This week, we will be making a specific appeal to the city council. We will distribute it to partners in the jazz world and hope that there will be a response, so that there will be a festival after all,” says Vandenbroucke. “That timing is really unrealistic, nobody can get this done. This is a disguised saving,”.
Jazz in ‘t Park, a popular festival in Ghent, had about 15,000 visitors in 2024. The festival moved to the Muide district. This area is a working-class neighbourhood. The move was to bring culture to places that don’t always get it. Officials mentioned that the goal was to make the arts available to more people in the city, including those from different backgrounds.
Jazz in ‘t Park moved to Muide, and it was a success, according to Filip Verneert from vzw Muziekmozaïek. Verneert said the cancellation was disappointing because the festival was doing well and reaching new people.
