Belgium, Lokeren, August 6th 2026
Jo helped us again. Thanks so much Jo, wouldn’t be able to go so many times without your help. Thank you!
I have to work first, Ozzy’s holiday started already. I can leave a little early, Ozzy will pick me up from work at 3pm. I get changed first, then we leave towards Belgium. The drive is about 3 hours. Luckily the boys won’t start until 10 pm. They changed the time, They were supposed to start at 10:15, but its 15 minutes earlier now, that’s awesome.
We are be able to see De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig as well. They are a Dutch band. They also play on MainStage, but before The Streets. They start at 8:30 pm.
On our way. I got a message from Baz, if I’m coming today, he has something for me. We will see him after the gig.
When we arrive in Lokeren we go to McDonald’s. Ozzy is hungry. And I thought why not. Then we park the car in the grass and take the shuttle bus. Only 10 minutes by bus.
When we get out we follow the signs which said “guest”. Only it’s all around town, to the guest parking, which we didn’t have a voucher for, but not the entrance, should have been walking to the main entrance, we would have past the guest entrance, oh well… that’s good for the steps.
We have backstage access. Thanks so much Jo. This is amazing!! We walk past the tour bus, but we heard from Baz, that he’s probably asleep right now, so the other boys as well probably cos it’s very quiet here.
We walk to the press and guest bar. It’s the cafeteria of the local swimming pool. Also quiet here. We walk to the main stage. We get to the fence up front, but on the side of the stage. We’re not allowed to stand here, we have to go to the aide, to the other side of the fence.
We walk around the festival. I like this festival. People are friendly. To buy something, you have to get an app, so you can put money on your wristband. We’re not doing that.
After we’ve been to the toilet, we walk back to the main stage, we go through the gate, we walk under the stage. Towards the press guest area. We have a beer. We see the boys from de Jeugd van tegenwoordig, when we peek through the fence. They are being interviewed.
We see Max. He gets through the gate. We want to wait for “de Jeugd”, so we decide to wait near the stage entrance. Then we see Wayne. We show Wayne the way to Studio Brussel. There is a lady playing there who is a friend of a friend. He wants to see her, but doen’t know how to get there. We see Max again and we say hello. He walks with us.
But Ozzy and I go back to the stage entrance for “de Jeugd”. Soon Max walks by. Guess he didn’t like it much. soon Wayne walks by as well. He thought it was ok. He’s going to rest.
Then the boys from “de Jeugd” walk by. They say hello to us. Vieze Fur said “Goedenavond” We said “Veel plezier”. Willy Wartaal smiled at us. Lovely boys. Also Faberyayo walks by, but he doesn’t say anything. We go to the toilet. Then we walk to the main stage we want to be up front for the streets. We get pretty close to the front, but we want to be on the other side.
We walk back inside, all the way around the back of the stage to the other side. Then we go through the gate again and we try to go to the front again. It’s a bit harder to do from this side, but we get pretty close. 2nd row. De Jeugd isn’t very good, but they are very funny. Loved their set. But I was happy with my ear plugs.
Now we have to wait half an hour for The Streets. We see Ollie and Baz already. Baz waves at us.
The stage is very highly thou we can only see the roof of the bus stop.
They are very quick with setting up the stage. They start like 5 minutes early. Just before 10 they are on.
Luckily Mike stands at the edge of the stage a lot. And the songs in or near the bus stop we can watch on big screens.
The encore is amazing. Mike gets in the crowd again. When he walks back he gives Ozzy a hand and me a hug.
The English guy shouting at us may shout at us anytime. At least we danced this once.
At the end, someone gives me a folded piece of paper. When I unfold it, it’s the setlist. OMG thank you!! I know him. We went to the pub with him in Brussels, but I didn’t get his name.
We leave right away. We go to the backstage area. We go to the press guest bar for a drink. We wait for Baz. As he has a present for me.
When our drinks are finished, we go back to the stage. We’re getting cold. Luckily we brought our hoody. We hope to see Baz. When he walks by, he said omg sorry I wanted to give you the cup, but it’s packed in the truck. He still went inside to search for it. And he found it. It was all the way in the back of the truck. But he got one. Thank you so much!! He’s going to get his stuff.
We are leaving. We get the shuttle bus. Then we get in the car. At the border we stop at McDonald’s for a burger and a cup of coffee.
Im home at 3am.
We load Ozzy’s car with a few suitcases and other stuff. He’s coming with us on a holiday on Saturday. But my mum is also coming. So we’re happy Ozzy can take some of our stuff. cos with 4 people in the car and all our stuff, the car is full.
Good night all. At 7 my alarm goes off for work. Last day, at this location. After our holiday, the office moves to a new location. But that’s not my problem just yet. I don’t have to help my colleagues move. I will think of them, when I drop my ice cream in the sand.
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