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The Federation of Music Festivals of Wallonia-Brussels has written a letter to the Belgian health authorities, offering its services to assist with the country’s coronavirus vaccination campaign
Lauren Heath-Jones | Planet Attractions | 03 Dec 2020
Festival organisers have offered to assist during the public health crisis Credit: Hanny Naibaho
Music festival organisers in Belgium have volunteered their knowledge and experience to assist with the country’s coronavirus vaccination campaign.
The Belgian government has announced plans to vaccinate 70% of the population, some eight million people, as soon as the COVID-19 vaccination is available.
As the vaccines are expected to arrive in multi-dose vials, to be administered as an injection on the same day, the Belgian health authorities are planning to vaccinate people in groups.
However, this will pose a number of logistical challenges, including the speedy assembly of pop-up vaccination centres, which the festival operators say they can help with.
The music industry has been massively impacted by the pandemic, with several festivals in the French-speaking regions of Brussels and Wallonia forming the Federation of Music Festivals of Wallonia-Brussels (FFMWB) in order to protect their interests.
In a letter to Franck Vandenbrouke, Belgium’s Federal Health Minister, the FFMWB offered its services, stating that organising, assembling and dismantling pop-up structures, and working with local authorities were among “the key skills that we mobilise year after year for mass events like our festivals.”
The FFMWB also said that its extensive experience in safe crowd management, as well as its number of available skilled workers made them the ideal partner for the campaign.
“Our sector has been at a standstill for many months, and our many staff are eager to bring their creativity and dedication to the fight against coronavirus,” said FFMWB president Damien Dufrasne.
Belgium has been one of the worst hit countries in Europe, with 577,000 confirmed cases and more than 16,500 deaths attributed to the virus.
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