Brussels, (Brussels Morning)- Fans who wanted to go home by car after Ed Sheeran’s concert last week had to queue until two o’clock in car park C. Next Friday, a lot of people are expected again on the Heysel plateau with four performances in a row by Coldplay, although the exodus is not necessary. “We aim to spread the word as much as possible and reward cyclists with something small.”
Last Friday and Saturday Ed Sheeran was in a full King Baudouin stadium. Especially after his first performance, the exodus of thousands of concert-goers proved to be particularly difficult, at least for those who had come by car. Parking C, good for ten thousand parking spaces, was almost completely full.
“We haven’t seen that since the U2 performance in 2010. We were surprised by the number of cars,” Xavier Wilkin of concert promoter FKP Scorpio Belgium told BRUZZ. “The car park is struggling with a bottleneck. That problem did not exist in the 1970s, because there were fewer cars then. The world has changed, but the parking lot has not. It must be set up differently in order to better manage the car flows.”
Nevertheless, the concert promoter is convinced that the King Baudouin Stadium is a suitable location for concerts. That is also the view of Scelta Mobility, the agency that drew up the mobility plan for Coldplay’s concerts next week. “It’s definitely a good concert venue. There is a metro connection, several trams are running and let us not forget that there is also a smooth car connection,” says expert at Scelta Mobility Frederick Vervaeke. “Moreover, Brussels is centrally located.”
‘Public transport is not the answer’
Following the parking misery after the Ed Sheeran concert and in view of the four Coldplay performances, the mayor of the City of Brussels Philippe Close (PS) has requested a report from the police. The Brussels Expo car park manager would deploy more staff during Coldplay, “so that pedestrians would not get in the way of cars,” said Closes spokeswoman Carole Poncin. But it should come as no surprise that fans have to queue for up to two hours after a performance. “Originally, that parking lot was intended for trade fairs,” said the spokeswoman.
“The origin of the problem is that you have a very concentrated influx and outflow at major events such as concerts. It is not comparable to a stock exchange. After a concert, everyone leaves en masse to go home at the same time,” Vervaeke continues.
“What we are trying to do is to focus as much as possible on spreading over different transport modes. “If people come by bicycle or public transport, that means fewer cars on the road and in the parking lot. It is true that public transport is not the best, because there too you have a limited capacity. That is why we spread out as much as possible.”
Attract cyclists with presents
Scelta Mobility was not involved in Ed Sheeran’s concerts, but the mobility agency was responsible during the Stones’ performance earlier this month. “There were no problems then,” says Vervaeke. “There were about a thousand cyclists that evening and we had also facilitated private buses. Those are ways in which we can get people out of the car to a large extent.”
Scelta Mobility also proudly refers to Metallica’s performance in 2019. When frontman James Hetfield called on fans to come to the Heysel by bicycle, which resulted in overcrowded bicycle parking facilities. A present for the first thousand cyclists was supposed to convince doubting metalheads. “That was a Metallica pick with Manneken Pis on, specially made for that performance,” Vervaeke remembers.
“The Rolling Stones also had gadgets for cyclists. It’s small things that can make people come by bicycle. About two thousand people had come by bicycle for Metallica. With Coldplay we will try to match that.” The Coldplay fans who will cycle to the King Baudouin Stadium next week can also expect a little something. The two guarded bicycle parking spaces with lockers are free.
Private bus or night train
If you still want to come by car, there is a second car park next to parking C. “We are putting these on the market more expensively, just to push people towards bicycles and public transport,” says Vervaeke. Concert promoter Live Nation advises car drivers to use the transit car parks on the outskirts of Brussels. After all, concert-goers can use public transport within Brussels for free thanks to the Event Pass.
Before and after the concerts, STIB will strengthen its network, including on metro line 5. Live Nation also works together with the NMBS. It uses night trains that run from Brussels South to Ostend, Roeselare, Lokeren, Mol, Tongeren and Welkenraedt. Return tickets cost ten euros.
Finally, Live Nation also uses private buses. These connect the King Baudouin Stadium with some twenty cities and municipalities throughout the country, from Ypres to Beringen. Here a return ticket costs fifteen euros. These are all alternatives that deliberately cost less than twenty or twenty-five euros for a parking space.
