Max SteventonLive Nation’s acquisition of Pukkelpop has been approved by the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) with commitments in place to keep the festival’s artistic and operational decisions independent for at least ten years.
The BCA said Pukkelpop (cap. 66,000) will retain independent control over decisions relating to the organisation of the festival, including artist selection, booking agents, programming, ticket and service pricing, suppliers, staff, venue, dates, duration, capacity and staging suppliers.
Held in Hasselt, this edition of the festival featured a lineup including Tyler, The Creator, Florence + The Machine, Deftones and Yungblud among its headliners.
The commitments follow a competition investigation into Live Nation’s acquisition of the Belgian festival, announced last year. It was launched after concerns were raised about Live Nation’s position in the Belgian festival market. The company already organises some of Belgium’s largest outdoor music festivals Rock Werchter, Dour Festival and Graspop Metal Meeting.
Under the agreement approved by the BCA, operation of Pukkelpop and its related assets will be transferred to an organisation controlled by founder Chokri Mahassine. The operating rights may also be transferred to an independent third party. Live Nation will retain formal ownership of the festival.
The commitments allow Pukkelpop to procure standalone services from Live Nation, provided they are supplied on market terms and on a non-exclusive basis.
Live Nation said the commitments reflect its approach to the acquisition from the outset and confirmed that Pukkelpop will continue to be run by its existing team.
The BCA said its investigation had concluded without finding an infringement by Live Nation.
Live Nation Belgium president Herman Schueremans said, “Pukkelpop is Pukkelpop because of the people behind it and the identity they have built over many years. That will remain the case. These commitments confirm the approach we had in mind from the start, while Live Nation continues to support the festival’s future. We are pleased that the [BCA] process has concluded and that the focus can now return to the festival itself.”
BCA prosecutor general Damien Gérard said, “[the decision] preserves diversity and independence within the Belgian festival scene by allowing Pukkelpop to continue operating as a distinct festival with its own artistic identity and organisational autonomy.”