Open Air Belval 2027 aims to cater to all music lovers said Olivier Toth, CEO of Rockhal, at a special press breakfast in Esch-Belval on Monday morning, 19 October. The occasion was the official unveiling of the venue's upcoming summer programme – starring a strong set of musical acts and a revamped physical layout.
"It's not what they [concert goers] are used to when they come at the Rockhal. Normally it's indoors", he continued. "You have the scenery with the blast furnace, you have the Rockhal. There'll probably be some moon up there at some point and some stars!"
The organisers of Open Air Belval 2027 intend on "mirroring" the layout of previous years. "It's a change of perspective. The stage that was in front of the blast furnace will be at the foot of the Rockhal, right where normally we have entrance doors.
At a press breakfast at Rockhal on Monday, 19.10.26, RTL Today Radio learned that Sting, Angele, and die Fantastischen Vier were coming next summer.
And why the change in layout?
"Because it's fun to change perspectives! At the same time, there's a very pragmatical reason, which is that on the other side of the street, at the foot of the blast furnace, there is limited space and we can't expand it.
"We felt productions have become bigger over the years, so we felt that we had to have a bigger stage." The front of the Rockhal, so Toth explained, was the ideal solution.
With the just-announced Open Air series of concerts comes a line-up befitting the picturesque venue. During the press breakfast at Rockhal Café – which also featured some choice bites of avocado toast – CEO Oliver Toth and producer/booker Paul Bradshaw unveiled the musical acts that would be performing next June.
Die Fantastischen Vier had previously been confirmed for Friday, 25 June, 2027. New to the public was the announcement that Sting – in a new, '3.0' configuration as a live trio – would perform on 15 June.
Belgian pop sensation Angèle would also take to the open-air stage on 20 June, so the Rockhal organisers.
"Sting is a no-brainer", Rockhal booker/producer Paul Bradshaw said after that morning's presentation. "I think most people can agree on that."
"Die Fantastischen Vier? It's their final tour, they're stopping after this one. It's an iconic German hip-hop act, one of my first memories in the 90s, like my first cassette tape. I'm that old, yes."
On the logistical side of things, Bradshaw explained that Rockhal might contact 20 to 30 different artists – 4 to 5 of which turn into more concrete conversations.
Then there's questions of audience capacity (Bradshaw mentioned ten to eleven thousand for Open Air Belval) and festival exclusivity clauses.
If a band is booked to play at Glastonbury, for example, "they'll only play Glasto". Booking big acts sounds like delicate diplomacy at times.
But Rockhal, remarkably, had booked Belgian singer-songwriter Angèle back in November 2018, shortly after the release of her debut LP Brol and well before she reached the pop-cultural heights she enjoys today.
"It was like four degrees", Bradshaw noted. "People wearing hats, it was super cold." But it was also a great show, by all accounts. "And for that reason, I think maybe she remembers that gig."
With a foot in the door, Rockhal were thus able to discuss a 2027 show with Angèle – and cover multiple linguistic bases.
It's also the "luck of the draw", Bradshaw elaborated. "Being able to have conversations with agents where they understand our territory and what we're doing, because we have such a multilingual potpourri of languages."
A top-secret, fourth act was also unveiled at the press breakfast at Rockhal Café – although the word 'embargo' was used repeatedly.
Rockhal CEO Olivier Toth put it delicately: "People should be excited about it. But give us a few more days and hopefully we can reveal some more. It's going to be a big act."
This fourth act, which will be officially revealed on Monday, 26 October, will almost certainly mark one of next summer's cultural highlights. And sell out very quickly. As such, keep an eye out on Open Air Belval 2027 page, as more announcements are expected.
Tickets for Die Fantastischen Vier are on sale for their show on Friday, 25 June.
Presale access for Sting and Angèle is live, with registration available.
